Has the end of tax year affected the market?

[specialfx]

For the last two weeks I have done nothing but loose money. It's as though all of the rules have changed.

My system has worked since new year and have heard that the market changes wiping people out. This being my first year doing this I was wondering if this is temporary and things will return to how they were when easter is over or is this a change which I must now adapt to?

Has anyone else experienced signifcant losses the last two weeks or so?

[shadow]

Like the old saying goes, trading is ten months grind and two months gravy. You will always have losing periods when trading. January and February were real nice to me as well, and yes I too feel as though I'm milking bessie for all she's worth and only getting a few drops. Also, have you changed anything? I know everytime I tried to fiddle around trouble started happening. But ya, things will get better just make sure that this losing period doesn't make you psychologially distraught. Also you said significant losses! Do you mean many or large ones? If you mean many make sure your not overtrading and if you mean large ones, you might need to change your exiting technique. And if by a large amount you mean 4-5 don't worry, you hear people say that ten is not uncommon in a row. However, this doesn't matter, the method you have will win whatever your winning percentage is in the long run. Hope this helps

[toptick07]

Hey specialfx, I don't know your particular situation, so take these comments as generalizations. The more complicated the "system" is, the less likely it is to be effective over the long run. It seems that simple, longer-term trading set-ups are more adaptable to varied market conditions. (I have yet to see a mechanical system, out of a box, that works year in and year out without significant periods of drawdown.) Can you lay out your basic approach without giving away your secret recipe? Maybe some of the seniors here can help you out.

In general, the majors have been a little quiet lately. I encourage you to check out the blogs on this site and see if your experiences of late are similar to theirs. Sometimes the thing to do is to do nothing. Best of luck in your trading…