October Trading Summary

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $309(20), CL -$248(4), NQ -$6926(550), 6E $570(1)

RESULTS FOR OCTOBER
Contracts:	575
Net $P/L:	-6294
Wins:	45
Losses:	76
Win%:	37
$Commissions:	1567
Avg$Win:	302
Avg$Loss:	-261

Thurs. 10/31

1:25pm CDT - Just a ZS trade today.

RESULTS FOR DAY
ZS Contracts:	2
Net $P/L:	27
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	27
Avg$Loss:	0

Wed. 10/30

3:50pm CDT - No trades yesterday thanks to AT&T U-verse 14 hour outage!  It affected a "limited" number of customers nationwide after a software upgrade to residential gateways caused them all to have to reauthorize at same time and the servers couldn't cope.  That's one story I read anyways.

Today's CFTC meeting on enhancing customer protections that was webcast today got pretty boring and was basically a non-event. You can read some it here under "October 30."

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	15
Net $P/L:	-339
Wins:	4
Losses:	7
Win%:	36
Avg$Win:	122
Avg$Loss:	-118

Mon. 10/28

2:50pm CDT - Out with the old, in with the new.  I tossed out my old discretionary approach I had been trading and dusted off something I had developed years ago.  I'm not sure why I didn't pursue it more back then but I think it's a good way forward for me.  Starting small size for now...

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	1
Net $P/L:	67
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	67
Avg$Loss:	0

Thurs. 10/24

10:15am CDT - Time for a break.  Down 14% on year.

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	45
Net $P/L:	-3038
Wins:	0
Losses:	7
Win%:	0
Avg$Win:	0
Avg$Loss:	-434

Wed. 10/23

2:40pm CDT - You can't accuse me of only showing winning trades...  (ZS winner not shown)

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $215(2), NQ -$1029(30)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	32
Net $P/L:	-814
Wins:	1
Losses:	6
Win%:	14
Avg$Win:	215
Avg$Loss:	-171

Tues. 10/22

3:50pm CDT - An NQ trade stopped out for a tick and a 6E system trade made it to target.
Net breakdown (contracts traded):
6E $570(1), NQ $12(5)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	6
Net $P/L:	582
Wins:	2
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	291
Avg$Loss:	0

Mon. 10/21

11:35am CDT - Today, like Fri. was a good example of why wider stops are a mixed bag. Earlier last week they did great for me and allowed trades to work. But today I take 2 losses and I'm done, not willing to risk more. Both trades today I had the direction correct but just got in way too early.  And getting stopped out 3 ticks of the high is always fun! In hindsight, there are of course reasons I should have managed things differently. I have been mostly using longer timeframes (5 min.) but am considering at even longer (15 min.) after some work over the weekend. Taking larger losses is okay as long as they match up with wins of equal or greater size (I've yet to prove I can actually do this). I've always believed that I can be a very happy trader if my typical week results in 4 days that cancel each other out and 1 day with solid wins. The road to get there however, is proving rocky.

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	15
Net $P/L:	-1834
Wins:	0
Losses:	2
Win%:	0
Avg$Win:	0
Avg$Loss:	-917

Fri. 10/18

10:20am CDT - Took 2 early losses, ~$1700 total, and then had a nice long trade that came within 2 ticks of breakeven for the day.  I stubbornly kept my stop just above entry to give trade lots of room to work higher and paid the price when price worked lower to stop me out.  Calling it a day early to work on strategies.  For the week, net loss -$159.
Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$21(4), NQ -$1743(45)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	49
Net $P/L:	-1764
Wins:	1
Losses:	5
Win%:	17
Avg$Win:	224
Avg$Loss:	-398

This infographic tells us what we all know but most passive investors do not...
The Myth of the Successful Money Manager

Thurs. 10/17

1:30pm CDT - The market wore me down today.  Too many mistakes...

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	45
Net $P/L:	-493
Wins:	3
Losses:	5
Win%:	38
Avg$Win:	216
Avg$Loss:	-228

Wed. 10/16

12:45pm CDT - Not sure what afternoon gyrations will be but I'm content to call it a day after catching a good chunk of the early up move.

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	20
Net $P/L:	1063
Wins:	1
Losses:	2
Win%:	33
Avg$Win:	1774
Avg$Loss:	-356

Tues. 10/15

2:25pm CDT - With the market jumping up and down on every new headline coming out of Congress about debt ceiling/default negotiations, today felt more like gambling.  Glad to get out positive after being down, unrealized, more than $1800 at one point. 

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	30
Net $P/L:	521
Wins:	3
Losses:	1
Win%:	75
Avg$Win:	445
Avg$Loss:	-813

Mon. 10/14

1:45pm CDT - Between Columbus Day here, Canadian Thanksgiving, and Chung Yeung Day in Hong Kong, I didn't expect much today.  Turns out there was another $2500 move up after I got out of a winning long trade.  And after seeing this, why is it we celebrate Columbus?

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	10
Net $P/L:	514
Wins:	1
Losses:	1
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	737
Avg$Loss:	-223

Fri. 10/11

2:50pm CDT - A good week but same problem as yesterday.  Trailed a stop too soon and too tight.  For the week net +$3052.  I heard this song today and it reminded me, like many things do, of my trading journey.  Comments from last Friday's post seem to indicate that opinions are across the board regarding not having a back up plan as a winning attribute.  Time will tell.  In the meantime, I will carry on!

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	5
Net $P/L:	512
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	512
Avg$Loss:	0

Thurs. 10/10

3:00pm CDT - When will I learn?  Had 4 good trade entries but only got 6 pts. out of the 41 pt. NQ range today.  When trades go instantly in my favor, I tend to trail a stop to quickly and, of course, I get stopped.

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	23
Net $P/L:	575
Wins:	4
Losses:	1
Win%:	80
Avg$Win:	147
Avg$Loss:	-13

Wed. 10/09

3:25pm CDT - Last 3 trades today were CL.  I mistakenly thought there might some good, tradeable moves just after the inventory report.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
NQ $848(20), CL -$243(3)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	23
Net $P/L:	604
Wins:	3
Losses:	4
Win%:	43
Avg$Win:	516
Avg$Loss:	-236

Tues. 10/08

9:35am CDT -

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	5
Net $P/L:	987
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	987
Avg$Loss:	0

Mon. 10/07

2:30pm CDT -

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	10
Net $P/L:	374
Wins:	1
Losses:	1
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	987
Avg$Loss:	-613

Fri. 10/04

12:45pm CDT - Revamped the trade plan to focus on slower timeframe charts, fewer trades (2-3 per day per symbol), and wider stops.  Of course the market laughs at my plan on the first day trading it.  And the 4th trade, which I did not take, went over $2500 in the money.  What do they say, without bad luck I'd have no luck at all?

RESULTS FOR DAY
NQ Contracts:	15
Net $P/L:	-2089
Wins:	0
Losses:	3
Win%:	0
Avg$Win:	0
Avg$Loss:	-696

Weekend thoughts: This graphic spoke to me when I saw it. "You're going to have to sell" doesn't really apply but the rest are spot on when it comes to trading imho. I really like "Don't have a backup plan!" :)
** 8 Things Successful People Traders Do and Why They Work **

Thurs. 10/03

3:15pm CDT - Before my daily curve fell off a cliff, I had at least 6 NQ trades that stopped out at breakeven to instantly go at least 5 pts in the planned direction.  Extreme frustration.  Took a large loss on trade #21 because I decided my stops were too tight for today's wild action.  That didn't work either.  Discretionary trading is still as hard as ever...

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$46(4), NQ -$1525(101)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	105
Net $P/L:	-1570
Wins:	7
Losses:	15
Win%:	32
Avg$Win:	97
Avg$Loss:	-150

Wed. 10/02

3:00pm CDT - Couldn't quite get back yesterday's loss but close enough.  Captured some consecutive screen shots of ZS DOM which shows why you shouldn't always let really high ASK quantity keep you from taking longs.

  

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $4(4), NQ $807(45)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	49
Net $P/L:	811
Wins:	6
Losses:	5
Win%:	55
Avg$Win:	246
Avg$Loss:	-133

Tues. 10/01

11:20am CDT - NQ did not cooperate and I overtraded a bit in the chop to try to make something happen.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $129(4), CL -$4(1), NQ -$1115(65)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	70
Net $P/L:	-990
Wins:	4
Losses:	11
Win%:	27
Avg$Win:	175
Avg$Loss:	-154

An update on my old TF system which I haven't traded in 2 months. Turns out I've only missed a tiny drawdown: