Baltimore MD
Posts: 54 since Jun 2013
Thanks Given: 12
Thanks Received: 13
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So for a while now I have been trying to put a journal online. I finally found time today. Just a little background about me first: I have been tinkering in the markets for about 3 years now. I would say that I have only been serious about it for about 6 months though. Before that I was in the "I am going to be so rich" phase. I lost some money, not a ton, but enough for me to realize that what everyone else was saying was true. The markets are tough.
I had my epiphany about 4 months ago. I had done well for about a month adding 10% to my account basically by being lucky. I gave it all back and some more in one blow up day. That day I vowed "never again." I set some ground rules, and started doing some researching. At the beginning of August I went live again. For the first 2 weeks it was the same story . . . I lost my butt by taking stupid risks, chasing the market, and ignoring my rules. I was pretty good at figuring out when and where I should be trading. I was just abysmal at following my rules. It was then that I realized that the only reason I had yet to be successful was me.
I went on vacation with my family for a week in August I decided that I would take the first hour of the day looking at the market while my kids were eating breakfast and we were getting ready for the day. I vowed that there would be no trading (not even Sim), just watching and observing. I made lines on my chart where I would have entered and exited. The results shocked me. If I had just traded like I knew I should have, without any pressure or second guessing, honoring my stops and TP's, I would have had my best week ever.
When I got back I started trading with the understanding that I could never break my rules. August was my first profitable month ever. I will start to add my journal entries for August and September soon. I plan to update daily with trade results and a grade of A through F on the trading day.
Sorry for the long post.
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