Most interesting turn of events. Those that warned that the market will test this was correct. I’m pairing back my lot sizes a bit more to ensure real capital isn’t burned in order to “weather the storm”…i.e. the market turn as of late. I do have a ton of open positions and I may have to close a few out to take a small hit to free them up in order to trade another day. I knew there would come a time when I may need to do a little house cleaning. Well, that time is here. For 8 months this plan seemed to be rolling right along. Perhaps my lot sizes were a hair too large for the account. Perhaps .01 and .03 lots for every $2k in the account (running 20 pairs) was a bit too ambitious. I will close a couple of positions, take a small hit, and slowly as positions close move my lots and TPs back to less-ambitious settings. Maybe the magic number is .01 and .03 for every $5k, $10k even. I have to figure that out. Still there is something to be said about lot sizes and take profits sizes in relation to the overall account size. Hindsight for me is that I didn’t watch the Margin account % number as closely as I should have. Mine was hovering around 100-200 when it probably should have been more around the 500 range. Moving my lots back, closing a few positions, and moving lot sizes back a bit should help to get my margin account % back up to a healthier level. It may take time, but as long as I can maintain my capital (both initial deposits as well as money earned) I’ll live to trade another day.
Just an update. I’m not one to report only good news. The market turned and I’m still here…just not making the same amount I was on a daily basis (until some positions come back).
~knotthead