Worth noticing

It is worth noticing: I had a red day today, and at a certain point around 11 a.m. I stopped trading. Looking back now after the close, nothing I was watching would have helped me, so deciding to stop with a small loss saved me from a bigger loss.

Overtrading and a little out of control -5%

Relative volume didn't help today. Today seemed like "up is down and down is up" kind of day. Fed Chair Powell was speaking into and during the open. That should have been a huge red flag to sit still or at least go extra small. Or HEY! How about take the day off? I thought I could be too smart. Instead I wasted 2 hours and 5% of my account, plus the psychological toxicity. Really, <SELF> take these days off and call it a green day.

If my biggest trading fouls are

1. "trading like an ass"
2. too big position
3. not stopping losses
4. not quitting at max loss
5. trading too big spreads and/or illiquid option
6. overtrading

Today I was guilty of #5 for sure. Also one case of #4. I think these offenses lead to #6, which I think is "damage control" but often just makes it worse. Also, I kept trading despite the sensation of #1 at a certain point.

Reflecting on my p/l in general, I need to come up with a method to trade Thursdays and Fridays. I think trading this week options on R,F is a recipe for disaster...as tempting as it is. The volatility makes it hard for me to do the right thing all the time. 

Still need to work on answering the question, "What makes me stop?" Is it maybe 2 loses? Maybe I shouldn't take any new trades after 10am in general, green or red.

Here's what I did do right today: Control position sizes. Stop while red instead of continuing to try to redeem the day.

Something else to keep in mind: Beware the instant loser (red right away, no partial). If I have properly small position, the instant loser won't hurt me financially or psychologically. That should be plenty enough reason to keep positions small, and to trade next week expiration on Thursdays and Fridays.

Introspection on losing streak

I'm not sure what happened. I don't know how it started. I don't know what I did to end it, but I feel like I have my mojo back. Now I hope I can restore my account! I got hurt pretty bad. 

Maybe I have a certain comfort zone with account size. When I've gotten about 2-3x that size, I have blown out more than once. As much as it seems like I should just be able to scale and scale, I think I get emotional. Maybe my comfort zone is 1/3 or 1/2 that big $number. Maybe I should skim off gains and trade solidly and consistently in that comfort zone. It seems like that's less growth potential, but actually, it will perhaps just be steady gains vs exponential rise and precipitous fall. 

How do I keep trading sane like this? How do I pull in and STOP! when it's not working instead of getting all crazy? I think there was a video I once liked on this topic. I need to find it. Maybe the gist of it was: a loss sucks, but I can generally make it up in a few days (if not the very next day!). And there's going to be days like that. But if I let it go nuts, it's going to take a much longer time to repair. 

My number 1 job should be to keep losses under control by stopping!

I'm going to post for now, but this is a topic I definitely need to continue to ponder, examine, expand on.

UPDATE. I reviewed July and Aug entries, taking notes and processing. Attached.

Pretty good article about losing streaks. Not losing more than an avg daily gain, regaining confidence in a demo account.

My piece for +14%. Peace.

 Another satisfying and profitable trading day Baruch Hashem!

I didn't get the most money, I didn't get the biggest runners. But I took my picks, traded my plan, grabbed MY money. I got my piece, and PEACE.

Clockwork and a little luck for +19%

 After a multi-multi-week losing streak, it's nice to have another sizable winning day (albeit on small account). A+ lesson is to preserve capital while regaining a grip. The smartest thing I did when I started going downhill was to set money aside (and then more money aside) to keep some powder dry. This made it easier for me than simply trying to restrain myself with 2 small trades. I need the cash out of sight. It is still out of sight. I might leave it aside for weeks/months. 

Today I tried to integrate a lesson I've become aware of recently about relative volume, and it goes to conviction. I am working on a theory that the higher the opening relative volume, the more I can trust the move (therefore hang on through a spike against me). Well, at least today, it kept me in CRM for a winner. 

Good old clockwork +15%

I am trying to do a lot of mental work around trying to trade my best. Trying to put the brakes on losses and more so, trying to put the brakes on bleeding my account out. I have moved so much cash out of my account, I'm trading like a newbie. And yet, I think this is a very sophisticated move... to preserve capital while I'm being a jerk. 

So today I decided to allocate my capital across 4 trades, with the option to double into something. 

First trade was BILI, which did a nice first leg, then stalled below my target. I yanked it for capital preservation, but then missed the next leg up. Still, +7% is a solid trade and most of all, I didn't lose.

Get in, grab my money, get out.

BABA ran really well, and I had the sense to yank it at the top, which saved me from losing it all. AZN, I took a late entry and ate it when it reversed. 

In fact, everything reversed pretty hard.