Just finished 3 weeks of live trading (I’m not trading April 9th, low volitility due to holidays) My first week I made 7% profit of my account, the second week I made lots of mistakes and just squeezed through with a profit. The third week I made 3% profit on my account. So, averaged out over three weeks I have made 3% per week. Am I happy with this result? Yes I am. Now that my account is up I need to allow myself to let my profits run longer. I have been closing a winning trade when I am happy with the profits, but in retrospect, I could have made substantially more if I let it run. Just some open reflections…
Are you writing down a trading journal? It can very quickly improve you as a trader. Make sure to write down:
- What worked. Is it repeatable. What did you learn that is a positive tweak to your strategy.
- What didn’t work. Why didn’t it work, did you execute wrong or was it just a normal loss.
- When you entered was it because of your plan.
- Every mistake you can think of. Then make it a point not to repeat that mistake. The first thing that needs to be learned, IMO, is what not to do and to elimentate noob execution/judgement errors. I’ve found that often my trading improves the most simply by cutting out repeated mistakes, rather than looking for some holy grail. Engage the brain and think objectively NOT emotionally OR robotically. See what is there not what you hope to see.
P.S. The easiest way to let a single trade run, is simply to lock in profit and keep manuall setting the SL postive. That way you have a chance of it really going and have eliminated the possibility of it backing up on you and hitting you SL and losing money. If you think it’s really going to run and not back up to your SL, setting the SL to break even is good too. This allows a lot of breathing room and takes potential loss out of a trade. IMO, though it’s better to keep trailing the SL positive as you can, as it sucks to be in a trade for 20-1 hour and have it back up to break even after all that time.
P.P.S. Congratulations, you’re doing good, keep it up.
Yes, well done and thanks for sharing
What ThePhoenix has just said about a trading journal is excellent advice. I’ve found it very helpful keeping note of how my trades went. It’s good to refer back to past trades and learn from them. Reflections are always good
I’ve just finished my first week of live trading. Good to see another fresh live trader posting results !!