Two posts in a month! Feels like old times!
After months of delays, I finally started trading last month. I decided to trade with the $8,000 I had, which translated to $16,000 after margin. I mistakenly thought that I would get 4 to 1 margin ($32,000), but that only happens if I deposited $25,000. That really pissed me off, but then I remembered something my brother Alex told me:
“Doesn’t matter how much money you trade with. What matters is that you test your pattern and it works.”
And so, on May 29th, my 2nd try at live trading began. My first trade was made with a stock that wasn’t even on my watchlist, FTR. I made the mistake that I always make in my first live trading session: trade based on bullshit logic, not the pattern. I saw that FTR was a penny stock and I believed it went down enough to go up a couple of cents. My basis for that belief? Absolutely nothing. As a result I ended up with a $176 loss on my first trade, and I was so angry with myself. How could my first trade NOT be based on that precious pattern that worked so well in simulated training?! Why do I keep doing that? After a few days, I refocused solely on pattern trades. No thought, just go for the pattern. This is what happened:
June 2nd: $180 Profit
June 7th: $60.70 Profit
June 8th: $17.77 Profit
June 13th: $62.85 Profit
June 14th: $60.82 Profit
June 16th: $131.97 Profit
June 20th: $60.78 Profit
June 22nd: $21.78 Profit
Obviously, I felt really good at this point. Nothing but green and I was on a roll. The problem with someone like me getting on a roll is that I can get careless and sloppy. On June 23rd I initiated a trade by accident and lost $10.89. But the biggest mistake came on June 26th. I made a trade, and then started watching the last episode of Battlestar Galactica. What I didn’t know (because I didn’t place my alerts on) was that my pattern had broken and the stock tanked. While my stock was tanking, I was busy watching Admiral Adama finally lead the humans to Earth. By the time it was over, I checked the stock and saw that I had lost over $300 at that point. I shook my head at how stupid I was, waited for the stock to go up a bit, and then sold for a $209 loss. For the remainder of June I couldn’t trade... and it’s cost me. I missed at least 18 great pattern trades on the week of the 26th, but I was so gunshy after the $209 loss that I couldn’t initiate a damned trade.
So, what happened in June? Well, I finally jumped into the pool for Round 2 in the stock market, and I was happy to see that my pattern works. My chances of making real money in this field went from 1% to 5%, and that’s kinda neat. But there’s a catch: I have to pay fucking attention. It’s not like sim trades where I could make a trade and then go take a dump or watch Kodi, waiting for that wonderful “ding” letting me know that I just made a nice bit of money. I have to use common sense along with my pattern, and I have to find a way to get dedicated time for trading. Paying attention to nothing but red and green bars for hours is hard enough, but watching it on a small ass cell phone is damned near impossible. But I think I figured something out, and July should be even better because of it.
Starting Investment: $8,000
Ending June: $8,158.55
Net Profit: $158.55
P.S.: In my old sim trade posts I would get more technical and write about the specific stocks I trade. I've decided not to do that with live trading. If I actually get good at this stuff then maybe I’ll start adding stuff.
P.P.S.: I'm still working on my real estate and food reports. I didn't realize just how difficult it is to track down 3 months worth of poorly kept receipts.
After months of delays, I finally started trading last month. I decided to trade with the $8,000 I had, which translated to $16,000 after margin. I mistakenly thought that I would get 4 to 1 margin ($32,000), but that only happens if I deposited $25,000. That really pissed me off, but then I remembered something my brother Alex told me:
“Doesn’t matter how much money you trade with. What matters is that you test your pattern and it works.”
And so, on May 29th, my 2nd try at live trading began. My first trade was made with a stock that wasn’t even on my watchlist, FTR. I made the mistake that I always make in my first live trading session: trade based on bullshit logic, not the pattern. I saw that FTR was a penny stock and I believed it went down enough to go up a couple of cents. My basis for that belief? Absolutely nothing. As a result I ended up with a $176 loss on my first trade, and I was so angry with myself. How could my first trade NOT be based on that precious pattern that worked so well in simulated training?! Why do I keep doing that? After a few days, I refocused solely on pattern trades. No thought, just go for the pattern. This is what happened:
June 2nd: $180 Profit
June 7th: $60.70 Profit
June 8th: $17.77 Profit
June 13th: $62.85 Profit
June 14th: $60.82 Profit
June 16th: $131.97 Profit
June 20th: $60.78 Profit
June 22nd: $21.78 Profit
Obviously, I felt really good at this point. Nothing but green and I was on a roll. The problem with someone like me getting on a roll is that I can get careless and sloppy. On June 23rd I initiated a trade by accident and lost $10.89. But the biggest mistake came on June 26th. I made a trade, and then started watching the last episode of Battlestar Galactica. What I didn’t know (because I didn’t place my alerts on) was that my pattern had broken and the stock tanked. While my stock was tanking, I was busy watching Admiral Adama finally lead the humans to Earth. By the time it was over, I checked the stock and saw that I had lost over $300 at that point. I shook my head at how stupid I was, waited for the stock to go up a bit, and then sold for a $209 loss. For the remainder of June I couldn’t trade... and it’s cost me. I missed at least 18 great pattern trades on the week of the 26th, but I was so gunshy after the $209 loss that I couldn’t initiate a damned trade.
So, what happened in June? Well, I finally jumped into the pool for Round 2 in the stock market, and I was happy to see that my pattern works. My chances of making real money in this field went from 1% to 5%, and that’s kinda neat. But there’s a catch: I have to pay fucking attention. It’s not like sim trades where I could make a trade and then go take a dump or watch Kodi, waiting for that wonderful “ding” letting me know that I just made a nice bit of money. I have to use common sense along with my pattern, and I have to find a way to get dedicated time for trading. Paying attention to nothing but red and green bars for hours is hard enough, but watching it on a small ass cell phone is damned near impossible. But I think I figured something out, and July should be even better because of it.
Starting Investment: $8,000
Ending June: $8,158.55
Net Profit: $158.55
P.S.: In my old sim trade posts I would get more technical and write about the specific stocks I trade. I've decided not to do that with live trading. If I actually get good at this stuff then maybe I’ll start adding stuff.
P.P.S.: I'm still working on my real estate and food reports. I didn't realize just how difficult it is to track down 3 months worth of poorly kept receipts.
No comments:
Post a Comment