November Trading Summary

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $1652(19), ES $207(2), TF $821(118), 6E -$194(4)

RESULTS FOR NOVEMBER
Contracts:	143
Net $P/L:	2486
Wins:	68
Losses:	47
Win%:	59
$Commissions:	431
Avg$Win:	322
Avg$Loss:	-543

Fri. 11/29

12:25pm CST - Saw a nice gap open for ZS on this shortened day so decided to trade.  No luck and every trade went against me so glad to be out for even.  

RESULTS FOR DAY
ZS Contracts:	8
Net $P/L:	9
Wins:	2
Losses:	2
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	92
Avg$Loss:	-88

Wed. 11/27

11:25am CST - Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $207(1), TF $102(3)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	4
Net $P/L:	309
Wins:	3
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	103
Avg$Loss:	0

Tues. 11/26 + Custom Audio Alerts

2:25pm CST - The first 45 min or so were so dead I did not expect anything much to happen today and passed on lots of buy signals on the slow crawl up!

RESULTS FOR DAY
TF Contracts:	4
Net $P/L:	50
Wins:	1
Losses:	2
Win%:	33
Avg$Win:	215
Avg$Loss:	-83

Custom Audio Alerts

For those that like to have your trading software make noises at you when an indicator says it's time to enter a trade or time to look for a trade, did you know it's real easy to create custom .wav files? I watch several markets so I have custom wav files say "Soybeans" or "Nasdaq", etc. using Voice Recognition software. And to alert me to which indicator on a chart might be firing I combine wav files to create, for example, one that makes the "boing" noise followed instantly by the robotic voice saying "Soybeans". The sky is the limit. I guess you can record your own voice with your microphone but I don't want to hear myself bark out alerts to myself and the computer generated voices sound much more professional and allow you to select different voices and vary the pitch, etc.

Anyways, if interested, the links to the free software I use are below.
Speakonia - Voice Recognition Software
Audacity - Audio Editor (to combine .wav files)

For Ninja users, if you don't know how to allow the selection of a wav file in the indicator's parameters, here's the basic code you can add to the proper sections.  Be sure you put any custom wav files you create into the C:\Program Files (x86)\NinjaTrader 7\sounds folder.  Email me if you need any help.

Ninjascript
#region Variables
private string alarmFilename = @"Bullet.wav"; //default alarm
private bool soundAlarm = false;
#endregion

protected override void OnBarUpdate()
if (SoundAlarm)
PlaySound(alarmFilename);

#region Properties
[Description("Sound Alarm when triggered")]
[GridCategory("Parameters")]
public bool SoundAlarm
{
get { return soundAlarm; }
set { soundAlarm = value; }
}
[Description("Filename of Alarm from Ninja folder")]
[GridCategory("Parameters")]
public string AlarmFilename
{
get { return alarmFilename; }
set { alarmFilename = value; }
}
#endregion

Mon. 11/25

3:30pm CST - Just 2 trades today, short TF and long ZS.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $77(2), TF $307(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	3
Net $P/L:	385
Wins:	2
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	192
Avg$Loss:	0

Fri. 11/22

2:35pm CST - Tough day again but at least I eeked out a tiny gain.  For the week, net gain $788.  That's not even a tick per contract traded.  This week has been a bit of a break from strategy work and I plan to retool some things this weekend and perhaps test drive a new method next week.  We'll see. With Thanksgiving on Thurs., I expect a quiet week.

RESULTS FOR DAY
TF Contracts:	28
Net $P/L:	27
Wins:	11
Losses:	10
Win%:	52
Avg$Win:	93
Avg$Loss:	-99

Symbol Range, Part 2

For those that use NinjaTrader and are data geeks like me, I thought I'd share the indicator I made that you can use to pretty quickly analyze any chart data (see Sat. post).  You can download it here
(EDIT: - after selecting download link you will see a couple files. You don't want either of those but the ".zip" file.  At the top of page you'll see "File Edit View Help" menus.  Select File, then download to get the .zip file.)  and then in Ninja, "File - Utilities - Import NinjaScript..." and it should appear in your indicator list as SymbolRange.

It prints data to the Output Window in Ninja so be sure you have that open.  You can save that data as a .csv file and then open in Excel if you want to analyze further. I purposely put commas between the labels and the data just so I could import to Excel.  If you use a super fast chart (like a 1-tick) it will make your CPU crawl so be careful not to have too many days of data on your chart.  For a 1-tick chart, less than 15 days isn't bad!  For minute data, years is very quick.

Output examples looking at range for first two hours on 11/20:
11/20/2013 10:30:00 AM, 83000 to 103000, NQ, Total$Range=,385, TotalTickRange=,77, TickRangeEachBarSummed=,7827, (1 Tick chart), Ratio=,101.65

11/20/2013 10:30:00 AM, 83000 to 103000, TF, Total$Range=,890, TotalTickRange=,89, TickRangeEachBarSummed=,6769, (1 Tick chart), Ratio=,76.06

11/20/2013 10:30:00 AM, 83000 to 103000, YM, Total$Range=,340, TotalTickRange=,68, TickRangeEachBarSummed=,5606, (1 Tick chart), Ratio=,82.44

11/20/2013 10:30:00 AM, 83000 to 103000, ES, Total$Range=,425, TotalTickRange=,34, TickRangeEachBarSummed=,7348, (1 Tick chart), Ratio=,216.12

You can compare the range of any symbol against others or compare various time intervals of a day within the same symbol.

Another example looking at past 42 trading days, and averaging data in Excel, proves quantitatively what we all know, that the middle period of day (lunch time) is much less volatile.

"TickRangeEachBarSummed" for a 1-tick chart represents the total "travel" of every wiggle in price.  This is of course dependent on your data provider and may vary depending on if they filter the data you are charting.  "TickRangeEachBarSummed" for any other chart type is the addition of every bar's High minus its Low.

Thurs. 11/21

2:30pm CST - Should have quit after the first trade...

RESULTS FOR DAY
TF Contracts:	30
Net $P/L:	101
Wins:	13
Losses:	9
Win%:	59
Avg$Win:	89
Avg$Loss:	-117

Wed. 11/20

3:15pm CST - One 6E system trade and too many TF trades (discretionary).

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
6E $441(2), TF -$164(32)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	34
Net $P/L:	277
Wins:	18
Losses:	12
Win%:	60
Avg$Win:	92
Avg$Loss:	-115

Tues. 11/19

3:15pm CST -

RESULTS FOR DAY
TF Contracts:	8
Net $P/L:	369
Wins:	5
Losses:	3
Win%:	63
Avg$Win:	121
Avg$Loss:	-79

If you missed this good news yesterday, Federal Court in New York Orders MF Global Inc. to Pay over $1 Billion in Restitution!

Mon. 11/18

3:25pm CST -

RESULTS FOR DAY
TF Contracts:	10
Net $P/L:	14
Wins:	4
Losses:	5
Win%:	44
Avg$Win:	109
Avg$Loss:	-85

Symbol Range

Daily figures updated on how much range various symbols cover, on average, each day during their opening 2 hours...

Fri. 11/15

11:20am CST - Still working on the plan forward but took 2 short TF trades today and got some lunch money after the potential proceeds for a wild weekend! :)

RESULTS FOR DAY
TF Contracts:	2
Net $P/L:	15
Wins:	2
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	7
Avg$Loss:	0

Mon. 11/11

2:35pm CST - Not worth mentioning, but took 1 trade at open last night that stopped out for a tick. Happy Veteran's day to all who have served!

RESULTS FOR DAY
ZS Contracts:	1
Net $P/L:	7
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	7
Avg$Loss:	0

Fri. 11/08

1:45pm CST - Crazy day with NFP and Crop reports.  Mad at my self for moving a stop in a 6E system trade.  Some day I will learn to never break my rules.  Ever!

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
6E -$5(1), ES $207(2), ZS $1351(7)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	10
Net $P/L:	1554
Wins:	6
Losses:	3
Win%:	67
Avg$Win:	328
Avg$Loss:	-138

Thurs. 11/17

3:20pm CST - Took a full stop on a 6E system trade.

RESULTS FOR DAY
6E Contracts:	1
Net $P/L:	-630
Wins:	0
Losses:	1
Win%:	0
Avg$Win:	0
Avg$Loss:	-630

Mon. 11/04

3:20pm CST - No trades for me yet this month.  Working on the plan and new systems.  It's been 3 months since I've been focusing mostly on discretionary trading and I can't say I like the results.  For this reason, I'm going back to predominately mechanical system trading.  That's not to say there won't be some discretion on occasion but I plan to make it very limited.

The method I mentioned last week that I dusted off and thought was a good way forward I am less keen on now.  After more testing it does not produce enough profit per trade, ~2 ticks gross at best, and has too erratic of equity curve.

An update on my TF system I stopped trading 3 months ago now is that I've missed out on about $2400 in gains.  It's still performing below the average line but within expectations and I will continue to track this and may resume trading it if I don't find a better use of my time and capital.

The only other system I have right now which I have been trading is a 6E system. It only signals about 3-4 times a month and I've taken 2 trades in Sept. and one in Oct.  So far, all winners for about $1300 total.

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