Thurs. 10/16

1:50pm CDT - What's with the spike today? Crazy volatility.  Again, if only I could hold trades longer...  If anyone knows of a free real-time news website for crude oil happenings, please let me know.  I searched for a reason for that spike but found nothing.  Perhaps just algos firing on all cylinders?  Interesting to me was that the CL Inventory report was the 2nd highest in past 2 years and far exceeded forecast, yet price did not sell off, thus making my short at that time (at 80.88) a terrible idea. So much for trying to mix some fundamentals in!

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	10
Net $P/L:	236
Wins:	5
Losses:	3
Win%:	63
Avg$Win:	176
Avg$Loss:	-215

Wed. 10/15

2:40pm CDT - Missed the first of two 6E system signals early this morning because I was eating breakfast and didn't have my computer volume up high enough to hear the Ninja alarm I have programmed.  Of course that was a winner and the next signal I caught was a big fat loser.  If that wasn't bad enough, OEC had major problems today with delays.  Charts went from lagging a few minutes to as much as 13 min. at one point!  How can you trade like this? - see below pic for 4 snapshots of what I was staring at.  The only saving grace was my DTN:IQ Feed data feeding my Ninja charts so I knew what was really going on.

Tried to make a few things happen in the early going on CL to no avail but was able to get above water and erase the 6E loss despite broker frustrations.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
CL $797(12), 6E -$530(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	13
Net $P/L:	267
Wins:	4
Losses:	7
Win%:	36
Avg$Win:	356
Avg$Loss:	-165

Tues. 10/14

1:40pm CDT - One of these days I'm going to surprise myself and hold a position all day.  Too bad it wasn't that last short today!  IEA cut its 2014 oil demand growth forecast to its weakest since 2009 but that was early this morning.  Not sure what caused the bottom to fall out at 12:45pm CDT?

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	4
Net $P/L:	262
Wins:	3
Losses:	1
Win%:	75
Avg$Win:	89
Avg$Loss:	-4

Mon. 10/13

2:20pm CDT - If, like me, you recently noticed your balance to be ever so slightly higher from where you thought it should be, and you have a broker that doesn't communicate so well, there's a reason I just learned.  The NFA reduced fees by 50% on Oct. 1st.  Thanks for the extra pennies NFA!

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	1
Net $P/L:	206
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	206
Avg$Loss:	0

Fri. 10/10

1:45pm CDT - Not sure what my problem is with Crude Oil this week but I misread it way too many times.  Perhaps I'm just not comfortable with the increased volatility yet.  For the week, +$641.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
CL $1(11), ZS $496(3)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	14
Net $P/L:	497
Wins:	9
Losses:	5
Win%:	64
Avg$Win:	100
Avg$Loss:	-81

In other news, while most exchanges are going toward around-the-clock trading hours, CME is reducing hours for Cattle and Hog futures. In 2 weeks, say goodbye to overnight trading your steak or bacon! http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/lookups/advisories/ser/files/SER-7194.pdf

Thurs. 10/09

2:30pm CDT - Could have quit after that first trade but thought I could capture more.  Misread things nicely after that.  I need to do more work to better define my stop placement and when to move to BE or trail.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	6
Net $P/L:	-377
Wins:	1
Losses:	5
Win%:	17
Avg$Win:	305
Avg$Loss:	-136

In other news, my broker's parent company CEO is selling big. Does he know something or just diversifying by thinning his company stock holdings?
http://leaprate.com/2014/10/05/gain-capital-ceo-glenn-stevens-pockets-more-than-400000-from-sale-of-shares

And this caught my eye only because I wonder who the "educator" is. That detail is nowhere to be seen in this ad. Don't everybody apply all at once now!
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/acc/4701754433.html

Wed. 10/08

1:45pm CDT - Tough day with too many mistakes or poor judgement.  The 2nd CL short trade should not have been made and the last CL short trade should have been a win but I took it off for small loss to lock in an overall profit on the day afraid it would end up a bigger loser.  Had a nice win in 6E but even there I overrode my system and took profit 10 ticks early, costing me $125.  And ZS was inexcusable as I bought twice above 9.43 just after the open.  Sorry no chart to show there but that was near the high of the pit session.  But tomorrow's another day...

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
6E $245(1), CL $210(9), ZS -$348(2)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	12
Net $P/L:	107
Wins:	5
Losses:	6
Win%:	45
Avg$Win:	170
Avg$Loss:	-124

Tues. 10/07

1:55pm CDT - Better day.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	2
Net $P/L:	391
Wins:	2
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	195
Avg$Loss:	0

Mon. 10/06

1:55pm CDT - Mismanaged is the word of the day.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	4
Net $P/L:	22
Wins:	4
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	6
Avg$Loss:	0

Fri. 10/03

1:25pm CDT - Finally had a system trade on the 6E.  There's only been a handful this year and I missed the last one a month or so ago which was a winner, just like today's.  CL trades shown.  For the week, net +$475.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
6E $220(1), CL $202(4)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	5
Net $P/L:	422
Wins:	4
Losses:	1
Win%:	80
Avg$Win:	147
Avg$Loss:	-165

Thurs. 10/02

10:25am CDT - If not for that first perfectly placed stop, it would have been a really good day. Glad to settle for a green day after that.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	9
Net $P/L:	210
Wins:	3
Losses:	3
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	307
Avg$Loss:	-237

Wed. 10/01

3:15pm CDT - Not the start to the month I wanted.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	2
Net $P/L:	-309
Wins:	0
Losses:	2
Win%:	0
Avg$Win:	0
Avg$Loss:	-154

In other news, this guy tries to get strangers to fund his next blowout! He doesn't even post a compelling video - just CNBC coverage of the 2010 flash crash. WTF?
www.kickstarter.com/projects/1696997043/day-trading-endeavor

And this is a great read about a guy in Japan.
www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-25/mystery-man-moving-japan-made-more-than-1-million-trades.html

Quarter 3 2014 Trading Results

September Trading Summary

 Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$455(17), CL -$341(115)

RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER
Contracts:	132
Net $P/L:	-796
Wins:	53
Losses:	72
Win%:	42
$Commissions:	603
Avg$Win:	88
Avg$Loss:	-76

Tues. 9/30

2:40pm CDT - Tried a new tweaked method for CL. Better results but not sold yet. More work to do.  I was surprised the 11am "Small Grains Summary" moved the large grains, corn and beans as much as it did. Or maybe it was the "Grain Stocks" report? Who cares. I took advantage for 2 quick trades.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $289(2), CL $259(7)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	9
Net $P/L:	548
Wins:	8
Losses:	1
Win%:	89
Avg$Win:	78
Avg$Loss:	-75

Mon. 9/29

1:50pm CDT - CL chart too messy to show (or clean up) with all the "ghost" fill triangles thanks to a continued bug in the trading platform.  I reported it 4 months ago.  Three ZS trades shown below which sums up how my day went rather well.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$141(3), CL -$255(26)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	29
Net $P/L:	-397
Wins:	8
Losses:	16
Win%:	33
Avg$Win:	76
Avg$Loss:	-63

Fri. 9/26

1:50pm CDT - Nothing stuck long enough to even trail stop to BE.  Should have been more patient and saved some trades for later in the day.  For the week, net gain +$407.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	11
Net $P/L:	-509
Wins:	0
Losses:	9
Win%:	0
Avg$Win:	0
Avg$Loss:	-57

Thurs. 9/25

1:55pm CDT -

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	8
Net $P/L:	404
Wins:	4
Losses:	4
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	156
Avg$Loss:	-55

Wed. 9/24

1:35pm CDT - No good reason not to hold the last trade longer. This has been one of my biggest problems over the years but I do feel I am making some headway of late. Just for kicks, to finish the year at breakeven, I need to average +$260 daily net gain for rest of year.  Doable.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	10
Net $P/L:	206
Wins:	4
Losses:	6
Win%:	40
Avg$Win:	138
Avg$Loss:	-58

Tues. 9/23

1:50pm CDT -

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	1
Net $P/L:	306
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	306
Avg$Loss:	0

Thurs. 9/18

2:50pm CDT - More trade examples in the "nothing is easy" department. No trades Mon.-Wed.  Been working on strats.  More work to do to start turning my ship around.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$255(1), CL $6(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	2
Net $P/L:	-250
Wins:	1
Losses:	1
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	6
Avg$Loss:	-255

Fri. 9/12

1:50pm CDT - For the week, net -$1169.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$105(1), CL -$173(3)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	4
Net $P/L:	-279
Wins:	1
Losses:	3
Win%:	25
Avg$Win:	46
Avg$Loss:	-108

Thurs. 9/11

1:35pm CDT - Traded crop report and did fine with the first trade. After that, not so much.

RESULTS FOR DAY
ZS Contracts:	9
Net $P/L:	-274
Wins:	3
Losses:	6
Win%:	33
Avg$Win:	120
Avg$Loss:	-106

In other news, CME is finally banning "Disruptive market practices." Reading more about this, it's criminal that they ignored this for so long. Larry Levin sums it up well here.

Wed. 9/10

1:50pm CDT - Buy high, sell low.  Piss poor trading today, especially the 2nd to last trade where I tried to catch a falling knife thinking support from yesterday would hold there.  Inventory report selloff trumped that idea...

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	6
Net $P/L:	-657
Wins:	1
Losses:	5
Win%:	17
Avg$Win:	6
Avg$Loss:	-132

Tues. 9/09

7:55pm CDT - Didn't safe "official" fills before shutting down earlier so had to draw them in. 

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	1
Net $P/L:	406
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	406
Avg$Loss:	0

Mon. 9/08

1:50pm CDT - A few noteworthy exits marked on chart.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	8
Net $P/L:	-366
Wins:	2
Losses:	6
Win%:	25
Avg$Win:	11
Avg$Loss:	-65

Fri. 9/05

1:30pm CDT - Overtraded today and realized a flaw with my current method I need to address (which begs the question, how many more are there I haven't yet realized?). For the week, net +$66.

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	23
Net $P/L:	-572
Wins:	10
Losses:	13
Win%:	43
Avg$Win:	35
Avg$Loss:	-71

Thurs. 9/04

1:40pm CDT -

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	5
Net $P/L:	208
Wins:	3
Losses:	2
Win%:	60
Avg$Win:	116
Avg$Loss:	-70

Wed. 9/03

11:20am CDT -

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $32(1), CL $191(2)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	3
Net $P/L:	223
Wins:	3
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	74
Avg$Loss:	0

In other news: The God of Crude Oil Trading

Tues. 9/02

2:10pm CDT - Nice selloff after I quit for day!

RESULTS FOR DAY
CL Contracts:	3
Net $P/L:	207
Wins:	3
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	69
Avg$Loss:	0