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A CL Trading Journal

  #121 (permalink)
 Upupandaway 
Dallas/Tx
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL Crude Oil
Posts: 281 since Sep 2011
Thanks Given: 168
Thanks Received: 166

June 19 2012 -575.76

Well today I lost more than I wanted, and did things I shouldn't of. Bummer. I had up a chart I dont ever use, took trades off if (for things I thought I saw). Thats the meat of it. So that's not in my plan, so I'm going to get back to trade my plan tomorrow.

Thankful that I didn't let it become a disaster like I used to. Gives me a some hope that maybe, provided I can stick to my game plan, I can do this. Still up for the week 136 dollars about. So hopefully this will become a lesson learned and not one I'll revisit anytime soon.

O and also I had the wrong contract up at first.

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  #122 (permalink)
 Upupandaway 
Dallas/Tx
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL Crude Oil
Posts: 281 since Sep 2011
Thanks Given: 168
Thanks Received: 166

Well pretty bummed out. I lost 3500 dollars today. My account now reads "4152.80". Forgive me for not posting the charts, or any stats. I just can't see the point now. So...this will be my last post for this. I do not know what I'm doing, I mean as trading is concerned, what I do doesn't work. Though it did, decieved myself into thinking so. I really thought I wouldn't do this "AGAIN".

My plan was poor. Thought it was good. I definitely know different now.

Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Started this thread
  #123 (permalink)
 
Big Mike's Avatar
 Big Mike 
Manta, Ecuador
Site Administrator
Developer
Swing Trader
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Broker: IBKR
Trading: Stocks & Futures
Frequency: Every few days
Duration: Weeks
Posts: 50,398 since Jun 2009
Thanks Given: 33,173
Thanks Received: 101,537



Upupandaway View Post
Well pretty bummed out. I lost 3500 dollars today. My account now reads "4152.80". Forgive me for not posting the charts, or any stats. I just can't see the point now. So...this will be my last post for this. I do not know what I'm doing, I mean as trading is concerned, what I do doesn't work. Though it did, decieved myself into thinking so. I really thought I wouldn't do this "AGAIN".

My plan was poor. Thought it was good. I definitely know different now.

I am very sorry about your account.

If you decide that you still want to be a trader, here is my advice:

a) Close your futures account.
b) Open a spot forex account, $500.
c) Trade currencies at $0.10 cents a pip. You can set appropriate stops and still trade less than 1% of your capital.
d) Don't try to "make back" your losses. Just focus on turning a profit, based on percentages. Forget the dollars for a while.

Do this for a while. Realistically, you may need to re-fund the $500 account a few times before you finally have sufficient experience to turn a profit. But if you keep risk at 1% per trade and limit to two or three trades a day, at least a $500 account should last you a while.

I also encourage you to keep posting to the journal. Don't worry so much about chart stats on entries and exits, it's more about why you entered, and why you exited. You need to try to write down the elements that made up your trading decision, so that when you are reviewing your journal in a week or two, you can look for patterns.

You will notice patterns for winners, and patterns for losers. They will likely be very surprising and be the opposite of what you would expect (ie: the trades you feel the most certain about will be the losers, it turns out).

I also hope you'll take a few days and read through this thread:


The thread is a gold mine. You can see the common mistakes people are making over and over, and hopefully formulate some of your own ideas on how to avoid them.

Take a break, gather your thoughts, and decide how you want to proceed. And if you decide that trading is not for you, then good for you. Most cannot be so honest with themselves. Trading is not for everyone, yet everyone thinks they can beat the odds. There is no shame in admitting trading is not for you.

Mike

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  #124 (permalink)
 
Vikings1's Avatar
 Vikings1 
Minneapolis, MN, USA
 
Experience: Master
Platform: ninjatrader, TOS
Trading: Weekly Options
Posts: 188 since Sep 2011
Thanks Given: 26
Thanks Received: 418


Upupandaway View Post
Well pretty bummed out. I lost 3500 dollars today. My account now reads "4152.80". Forgive me for not posting the charts, or any stats. I just can't see the point now. So...this will be my last post for this. I do not know what I'm doing, I mean as trading is concerned, what I do doesn't work. Though it did, decieved myself into thinking so. I really thought I wouldn't do this "AGAIN".

My plan was poor. Thought it was good. I definitely know different now.

Upupandaway, I am willing to help you, drop me a private e-mail and let's chat. It hurts to read what you wrote and I too was once there. But first off, takes Big Mike's advice and stop trading. Feel free to look at my journal and you decide.

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  #125 (permalink)
 
ericbrown's Avatar
 ericbrown 
Tulsa, OK
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Tradestation, TOS, Python
Broker: IQFeed, Tradestation, TOS
Trading: ES, SPY, Options
Posts: 201 since Jan 2011
Thanks Given: 339
Thanks Received: 258

@Upupandaway - sorry to hear about your account.

Take Big Mike's advice and stop trading. Stop immediately. I've been in your shoes and have fought back to where I can now say I'm a consistent trader. An outcome of that consistency is that I'm now profitable.

How did I do it? I stopped trading. I took all the 'stuff' from my charts and decided to start from scratch. I revisited my 'system' and realized it wasn't MY system but someone else's. So I started over and rebuilt my system with my rules to ensure i know exactly what i'm doing.

Go back to the basics and start a sim account or do as @Big Mike says and trade Forex. Do this until you can rebuild your confidence and until you are consistent.

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  #126 (permalink)
iTrade2golf
Nashville, TN
 
Posts: 38 since Jun 2011
Thanks Given: 5
Thanks Received: 79


Upupandaway View Post
Well pretty bummed out. I lost 3500 dollars today. My account now reads "4152.80". Forgive me for not posting the charts, or any stats. I just can't see the point now. So...this will be my last post for this. I do not know what I'm doing, I mean as trading is concerned, what I do doesn't work. Though it did, decieved myself into thinking so. I really thought I wouldn't do this "AGAIN".

My plan was poor. Thought it was good. I definitely know different now.

I know it hurts to lose over 40% of your account in one day. This is one of the things I warned you about. People say you can't get rich without taking risk. HOWEVER you can control the amount of risk you take. Trading 3 contracts on CL with only $7000 is too much risk for most people. I would say to you to reevaluate your methods and money management along with your discipline.

Today on CL was a great day, you should have made a killing shorting CL from the NY open until lunch time. My associates called Oil short right after the open and we all jumped on it, I never took one single long trade today on CL up until lunch.

I am pretty sure that if you honestly evaluate yourself today, you probably did the same mistakes today as previously. I even wonder if you took bigger positions than 3 contracts and also traded against the trend and over traded. I say this without even seeing what you have to say because this is what most inconsistent traders do.

This business is not too be taken lightly, there are hard rules that you should never break. This is a business that is built one brick at a time and not a get rich quick scheme. When you think you are too good and you break the hard rules then it is not if but when you get bitten.

Also as Big Mike said trading is not for everyone. So you have to decide right now if you can do the things that have to be done to last in this business or if you think you can fly above it all and do it anyway you want. If you notice I kept saying the same things to you each time and those are the important things. If you want help then keep this journal going and learn to trade with consistency.

I can give you advice, however you will not like what I have to say because I will say what you need to hear not what you want to hear.

This is a point in your trading life where you have to decide right now if you can make the changes that will make you a trader or if you still think this is some easy game that allows you to work 60 mins a day and be on easy street.

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  #127 (permalink)
 
Hapster's Avatar
 Hapster 
San Diego, California
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader, Felton
Trading: CL, GC
Posts: 141 since Aug 2009
Thanks Given: 40
Thanks Received: 81


Big Mike View Post
I am very sorry about your account.

If you decide that you still want to be a trader, here is my advice:

a) Close your futures account.
b) Open a spot forex account, $500.
c) Trade currencies at $0.10 cents a pip. You can set appropriate stops and still trade less than 1% of your capital.
d) Don't try to "make back" your losses. Just focus on turning a profit, based on percentages. Forget the dollars for a while.

Do this for a while. Realistically, you may need to re-fund the $500 account a few times before you finally have sufficient experience to turn a profit. But if you keep risk at 1% per trade and limit to two or three trades a day, at least a $500 account should last you a while.

I also encourage you to keep posting to the journal. Don't worry so much about chart stats on entries and exits, it's more about why you entered, and why you exited. You need to try to write down the elements that made up your trading decision, so that when you are reviewing your journal in a week or two, you can look for patterns.

You will notice patterns for winners, and patterns for losers. They will likely be very surprising and be the opposite of what you would expect (ie: the trades you feel the most certain about will be the losers, it turns out).

I also hope you'll take a few days and read through this thread:


The thread is a gold mine. You can see the common mistakes people are making over and over, and hopefully formulate some of your own ideas on how to avoid them.

Take a break, gather your thoughts, and decide how you want to proceed. And if you decide that trading is not for you, then good for you. Most cannot be so honest with themselves. Trading is not for everyone, yet everyone thinks they can beat the odds. There is no shame in admitting trading is not for you.

Mike

Not to be, but that's probably the WORST advice to give this guy, Mike. I'm frankly surprised. The Forex guys will skin the last bits of that account he'll open with those spreads. Can't give any other great advice, but that's NOT what I would have suggested. But that's just me. We all find our way in this gig sooner or later. It's all part of the learning process. Good luck, Up.

H

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  #128 (permalink)
 
Big Mike's Avatar
 Big Mike 
Manta, Ecuador
Site Administrator
Developer
Swing Trader
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Broker: IBKR
Trading: Stocks & Futures
Frequency: Every few days
Duration: Weeks
Posts: 50,398 since Jun 2009
Thanks Given: 33,173
Thanks Received: 101,537


Hapster View Post
Not to be, but that's probably the WORST advice to give this guy, Mike. I'm frankly surprised. The Forex guys will skin the last bits of that account he'll open with those spreads. Can't give any other great advice, but that's NOT what I would have suggested. But that's just me. We all find our way in this gig sooner or later. It's all part of the learning process. Good luck, Up.

H

It's ridiculous to say that it's the worst advice to give. Yes of course there are bad forex dealers out there. Do a bit of homework, and use a reputable dealer that fits your needs. You can find spreads less than or equal to CME FX spreads and use an ECN. But I am not trying to make this a futures vs forex debate thread, you are free to start a new thread and debate that in the Broker section of the forum.

The whole point of my recommendation is that Futures is the wrong instrument class for a beginner. Crude Oil is even more wrong. Multiple contracts of Crude is the worst sin.

There is no need to risk larger amounts that would be required for equities or futures until you can turn a profit on the $500 account.

Mike

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  #129 (permalink)
 
Hapster's Avatar
 Hapster 
San Diego, California
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader, Felton
Trading: CL, GC
Posts: 141 since Aug 2009
Thanks Given: 40
Thanks Received: 81

And also, Up, nothing wrong with PAPER TRADING the HELL out of your system till you are CONSISTENT.... no LIVE trades till you are. We've all been where you're at in different levels.

H

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  #130 (permalink)
 
fibfisherman's Avatar
 fibfisherman 
Australia
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: Investor RT, Multicharts
Broker: LMAX, Infinity Futures
Trading: EUR/USD
Posts: 57 since Jun 2010
Thanks Given: 167
Thanks Received: 87


@Upupandaway

Sorry to hear about your day mate. It was funny how strongly I felt your pain reading your post as I have been there and had days like that.

If on review you decide that you are going to stick with this I strongly second Big Mike's recommendation of trading spot FX with micro lots and 10c pip risk. SIM has it's place but can be a trap where you end up stuck there for years (been there).

If you take that path just do your research and find a reputable spot fx broker where the spreads arn't prohibitively large - they do exist.

And finally, remember trading is just trading - there're more important things in life. We are incredibly lucky to even get to make the choice to try trading at all.

Cheers,

FF

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Last Updated on February 6, 2013


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