Mon. 10/11

1:20pm CDT - Beans were choppier than expected today after Friday's limit up day perhaps due to Columbus Day holiday and Thanksgiving in Canada. Who knows? Made a few trades last night after the 6pm open but 3/4 of today's take is from today.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $415(53)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	53
Net $P/L:	415
Wins:	7
Losses:	8
Win%:	47
Avg$Win:	255
Avg$Loss:	-171

Fri. 10/08

2:00pm CDT - USDA reported corn yields down which had all grain markets locked limit up most of day. ZS never took 1 tick below the up limit and the DOM was like watching grass grow:

ZW came off limit for part of day and I tried scalping long twice figuring it would get back to limit up (since corn and beans stayed there all day). Stopped out on first one and right on second but only held for 2 cents instead of 5...

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZW $41(6), ES -$3(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	7
Net $P/L:	38
Wins:	1
Losses:	2
Win%:	33
Avg$Win:	285
Avg$Loss:	-124

For the week, net was $728 in beans, $41 in wheat, $196 in crude oil, -$3 in the ES.

Thurs. 10/07

1:20pm CDT - Quit while I was ahead today after learning yesterday that trying to force trades to go some distance in a dead market just doesn't work!

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $899(10)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	10
Net $P/L:	899
Wins:	3
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	299
Avg$Loss:	0

Wed. 10/06

1:50pm CDT - Had 1 winner to start the day then the losers piled up. ZS was due for a choppy day after its recent trends but I did not figure this into my day until it was too late. Many of my trades would have worked had my stops been wider. The old "catch-22"...

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$2209(48)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	48
Net $P/L:	-2209
Wins:	1
Losses:	7
Win%:	13
Avg$Win:	344
Avg$Loss:	-365

Tues. 10/05

1:20pm CDT - Caught a long in beans and scaled out.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $1057(6)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	6
Net $P/L:	1057
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	1057
Avg$Loss:	0

Mon. 10/04

1:25pm CDT - A nice start to week, however, it was partly luck. Apparently, I accidentally clicked the sell area in my DOM on CL when I shut my platform down last Friday around 3:15pm CDT. So I was short 1 CL at 81.60 all weekend and didn't even know it. I guess I should review my nightly broker statements more closely huh? When I logged in this morning and saw I had a position, I covered it at 81.40. Only other trade today was a long in ZS.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $982(6), GCL $195(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	7
Net $P/L:	1177
Wins:	2
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	589
Avg$Loss:	0

Fri. 10/01

1:55pm CDT - The opportunities were nearly limitless in ZS today, to the downside. Corn ended down lock limit, -30cents and beans were down 4.5%. Of course being the first day of the Oct. and my new focus on only beans, I missed most of the action and skipped many signals that would have each netted 4-20 cents. I thought, "It's too risky to sell at those prices - it'll bounce up and take out my stop." NOT! 1 contract sold at open and bought at close would have been $2150 profit. Makes my 33 contracts traded for $630 look not so great.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $630(33)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	33
Net $P/L:	630
Wins:	3
Losses:	5
Win%:	38
Avg$Win:	453
Avg$Loss:	-146

For the week, net was $2970 in beans, -$1210 in crude oil, $180 in the euro, and -$950 in the TF.

Quarter 3 2010 Trading Results

And the bigger picture, year-to-date:

September Trading Summary

Net breakdown:
ZS -$2571, GCL -$1673, 6E $120, RLM -$950

RESULTS FOR SEPTEMBER
Contracts:	389
Net $P/L:	-5075
Wins:	66
Losses:	99
Win%:	40
Avg$Win:	251
Avg$Loss:	-219

Thurs. 9/30

3:15pm CDT - A fitting losing end to the month and quarter. Crude kicked my butt again and you can see why:

However soybeans bailed me out so it wasn't too bad of day. My discretionary trading this month (since stopping my systems) has been mediocre at best. As I have known from past discretionary runs, I am my own worst enemy most of the time. I need structure and hard and fast rules to dictate what I do on each and every trade. Otherwise, I short change my performance.

Since I quit trading my CL system on 8/18, I have lost $1500 in CL. The system's results in the same time period would have been $5000 (hypothetically).

Since I quit trading my ZS system on 9/16, I have made $3000 in ZS. The system's results in the same time period would have been $2000 (hypothetically).

Going forward, I will once again go back to trading only systems that I have developed and backtested. For the short term, I am going to focus on ZS.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $920(18), GCL -$984(10)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	28
Net $P/L:	-64
Wins:	2
Losses:	10
Win%:	17
Avg$Win:	727
Avg$Loss:	-152

Wed. 9/29

2:25pm CDT - Why I picked today to trade TF (RLM on the OEC platform), I have no idea!? With month and quarter end tomorrow, time for some revisions to my trade plan and refocus. More on that tomorrow...

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $813(12), GCL -$444(10), RLM -$950(8)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	30
Net $P/L:	-581
Wins:	4
Losses:	12
Win%:	25
Avg$Win:	271
Avg$Loss:	-139

Tues. 9/28

2:05pm CDT - Another okay day today. Lots of money flowed by my bucket though after I pulled it out of the river to quickly on most trades. Tomorrow I'll wear my hip waders so I can stay in longer!

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $285(3), GCL $221(2), 6E $22(6)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	11
Net $P/L:	527
Wins:	5
Losses:	3
Win%:	63
Avg$Win:	193
Avg$Loss:	-146

Mon. 9/27

1:00pm CDT - Good to be green as Kermit says! Of my 7 net break-even CL trades, this one deserved special recognition with a picture: DOH!!!!!

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $322(3), GCL -$1(7), 6E $158(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	11
Net $P/L:	479
Wins:	6
Losses:	3
Win%:	67
Avg$Win:	132
Avg$Loss:	-104

Fri. 9/24

1:45pm CDT - Not much working today but just a wee bit more good luck than bad luck to end the week green. And no, I'm not saying that my trades are all luck.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $318(11), GCL $342(4), 6E -$444(4)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	19
Net $P/L:	217
Wins:	5
Losses:	7
Win%:	42
Avg$Win:	195
Avg$Loss:	-108

For the week, net was $700 in beans, $440 in crude oil, and -$60 in the euro.

Thurs. 9/23

2:10pm CDT - Not as bad at scalping today. Still can't figure out CL lately. I think I'm fighting it too much and not just going along for the ride.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $424(5), GCL -$9(11), 6E $223(3)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	19
Net $P/L:	639
Wins:	8
Losses:	6
Win%:	57
Avg$Win:	147
Avg$Loss:	-89

Wed. 9/22

2:00pm CDT - This little break from mechanically trading any of my systems has reminded me of one thing, I am not a very good scalper. It's good to be reminded every now and then.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$196(9), GCL -$108(20), 6E $161(3)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	32
Net $P/L:	-144
Wins:	9
Losses:	11
Win%:	45
Avg$Win:	148
Avg$Loss:	-134

Tues. 9/21 FOMC Day

2:30pm CDT - Underwater early on a few CL scalps but ZS and FOMC action pulled me to plus side. Biggest mistake was selling the CL break below 75.40 after FOMC and only getting 5 cents when I could have easily gotten 40 more as the knife fell.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $152(7), GCL -$87(13)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	20
Net $P/L:	64
Wins:	7
Losses:	8
Win%:	47
Avg$Win:	117
Avg$Loss:	-94

Charlie Munger

2:30pm CDT -This is an excellent listen (all 2 hrs. of it)! Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet's 86 yr. old partner and one of the most respected capitalists in the world, talked to law students on 9/14/2010 on the state of the economy and other things. Around the 1:13 mark he's not too keen on hedge fund traders and thinks they should sell apples or something productive...

Traded lightly today and caught one nice winner in CL.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$1(5), GCL $306(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	6
Net $P/L:	305
Wins:	3
Losses:	3
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	203
Avg$Loss:	-101

Fri. 9/17

1:45pm CDT - Churned some discretionary trades today to feel out some ideas. Glad the week is over and the weekend is here.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $29(4), GCL $41(9)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	13
Net $P/L:	70
Wins:	5
Losses:	6
Win%:	45
Avg$Win:	94
Avg$Loss:	-67

For the week, net was -$3950 in beans and $230 in crude oil.

Thurs. 9/16

12:20pm CDT - As I did with my main CL system a month ago, I'm going to take a break from trading my ZS system. This may last a few days, weeks, or forever but more than likely I will backtest some tweaks and resume at some point.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$1182(16)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	16
Net $P/L:	-1182
Wins:	0
Losses:	2
Win%:	0
Avg$Win:	0
Avg$Loss:	-591

Wed. 9/15

1:40pm CDT - Stopped on a ZS trade by 1 tick before target hit. My trades over past 20 sessions have a Win% of just 29%. This will not work for much longer. Either the market must change or I must!

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$1282(16), GCL $11(2)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	18
Net $P/L:	-1271
Wins:	1
Losses:	3
Win%:	25
Avg$Win:	166
Avg$Loss:	-479

Tues. 9/14

2:00pm CDT - Ho hum kind of day. On another note, I made over $18000 in Sim money! OEC is now offering clients with a live account, a free demo account. So I played around a bit today with CL churning 190 total sim contracts. The fills were great and no slippage! I can see why people get stuck on sim....

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$132(16)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	16
Net $P/L:	-132
Wins:	1
Losses:	1
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	509
Avg$Loss:	-641

Mon. 9/13

2:00pm CDT - ZS short stopped me out to the tick then went, very slowly, to target. Mondays...

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$1382(16), GCL $176(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	17
Net $P/L:	-1207
Wins:	1
Losses:	2
Win%:	33
Avg$Win:	176
Avg$Loss:	-691

Fri. 9/10

1:45pm CDT - Is summer over yet? I'm ready for Fall markets! CL had a nice $1 up move this morning that I got 13 cents out of. And beans paid on the long side but chopped me out on a short.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $780(16), GCL $121(2)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	18
Net $P/L:	901
Wins:	2
Losses:	2
Win%:	50
Avg$Win:	805
Avg$Loss:	-354

For the week, net was -$100 in beans and -$480 in crude oil.

Thurs. 9/09

3:00pm CDT - More of same. Once again ZS was within a few ticks of a nice day.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$1157(16), GCL -$9(2)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	18
Net $P/L:	-1166
Wins:	1
Losses:	3
Win%:	25
Avg$Win:	266
Avg$Loss:	-477

Wed. 9/08

2:00pm CDT - Came within 1 tick of profits in ZS today. And CL was just all over the place today. Drawdown continues - 1 step forward, 1.2 steps back has been the norm the past few weeks. Will shake out of this soon...

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$1282(16), GCL -$593(3)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	19
Net $P/L:	-1875
Wins:	1
Losses:	4
Win%:	20
Avg$Win:	46
Avg$Loss:	-480

Tues. 9/07

1:40pm CDT - Nice relaxing 3-day weekend that did not involve any charts! Beans long paid the rent today.

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $1559(8)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	8
Net $P/L:	1559
Wins:	1
Losses:	0
Win%:	100
Avg$Win:	1559
Avg$Loss:	0

Wrong side of bed

1:45pm CDT - I must have gotten up on wrong side of bed today. There's no other "good" explanation for my mistake-filled, overtraded day. To start, I got to my desk from kitchen 40 sec. after the release of non-farm payrolls report. Then take a look at my CL trades and you'll see that my brain was not working:

Then to add to the losses, I fat fingered a signal in my ZS system which should have netted $1300 today. Basically I took a long trade off that I shouldn't have and decided not to correct the error by putting the long back on. It went to target without me. Then made a few more ZS trades including the only winner of the day. So ends the week. Happy Labor Day on Monday!

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$793(28), GCL -$1185(8)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	36
Net $P/L:	-1979
Wins:	1
Losses:	10
Win%:	9
Avg$Win:	480
Avg$Loss:	-246

For the week, net was -$2120 in beans and -$580 in crude oil.

Thurs. 9/02

1:35pm CDT - Pre-Labor Day dead markets today, except for CL which moved nicely up, up, up!

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS -$1532(16), GCL $206(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	17
Net $P/L:	-1327
Wins:	1
Losses:	2
Win%:	33
Avg$Win:	206
Avg$Loss:	-766

Wed. 9/01

12:00pm CDT - Beans paid today but slippage there is getting to be the norm. You may have noticed I'm trading CL again - still backtesting but preliminary results look good so I'm feeling things out with 1 lots...

Net breakdown (contracts traded):
ZS $768(16), GCL $325(1)

RESULTS FOR DAY
Contracts:	17
Net $P/L:	1093
Wins:	2
Losses:	1
Win%:	67
Avg$Win:	942
Avg$Loss:	-791