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my target - 2% per day...

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:14 am
by bazmonaut
Did you know...

Start with 2,000 (dollars, pounds, zloty, shekels whatever)...

Grow this by just 2% per day and in a year you'll have 291,000 profit...
At 2,000 starting capital, 2% is just 40 per day...

Coincidentally, this is also a 'rule of thumb' for maximum risk per trade (although I use 1%)...

Don't take my word for it, work it out yourself (google the formula for 'compound interest')

Trading days per year = 21 (per month) x 12 = 252 days
Excel formula = 2,000 * ((1 + 2%) ^ 252 - 1) = 291,950
English translation = Capital x (100% plus dailygrowth%) to the power of number of days (minus 100% as this is profit only)

When I get to 6% profit (120 if your capital is 2,000) I STOP TRADING for the day. Likewise, if I hit 3% loss (60 if your capital is 2,000) I also STOP TRADING for the day.

(Stopping trading means I stop trading and focus on testing, reading/education etc)

Assuming I have one profit-stopped day for each loss-stopped day, I'm still exceeding my target.

This advice is repeated time and again by experienced traders on forums, in books and training sessions. Trouble is, it's one of those things that takes most people (including me) some time to really understand and take on board as part of their trading plan.

I'm an 'experienced newbie' - been trading for a year, 50% up on a modest starting capital, learned from my (many) mistakes and looking forward to my reward for being a good boy - an Audi RS6 Quattro Avant (I love German V8s).

In absolute (funds available) terms I'm a loooong way off, in % per day terms I'm just nine months away - that's March next year.

There just isn't any way to 'get rich quick' in this game - so forget about it, and focus on getting rich slowly.

bazmo

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:44 am
by jacal1
I also have this target per day in the begining now the funds have grown I have moved to 3 positions open/closed or 20-25pips per day whichever comes first.

Even better trading using TRO's Drain the banks, I suggest looking it up if your not using it yet.

Believe me if you have been successful this will double your succes.

aaaah

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:07 am
by bazmonaut
mmm... I would have called myself moderately successful until the last couple of days trading - 6% loss each day. Yes, broke my own rules and paid for it.

A small sum in real terms, but a bit of a blow in % per day terms. Gonna have to work smart to make that up again.

Still chasing consistent success...

I have traded DTB with mixed success. I take a partial exit (75%) after 5-10pips and leave my stop at entry +/- 10pips (usually 3 to 5 pips beyond the semafor), which works very well to protect profits. However, I keep getting stopped out of moves that did end up being profitable well beyond my partial exit point.

So, trading is suspended until I get my head back together.

bazmo

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:44 am
by jacal1
yes success is quite addicting but that is where discipline is important believe me a good haul is quite addicting I should know but it all comes down to discipline lucky me I have my three boys under 5 to pull me away from the comp

add a full stochastic wait for signals to be below 20% or above 80% I have noticed this works really well in the 5m using the main 1h as trend

Quick in and outs want to be really sure 1h then 15m then 5m if all three is semafore and your 5m and 15m are all below 20 or above 80

and your stops seem to be quite good i prefer 10pips and also given where S/R lines are

but dont let 3 days knock you down you have just been delay not derailed

Good trading and discipline after everything else

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:06 pm
by Patch
bazmo & jacal1

Thanks for these last three posts.

Fear and greed -- the greatest challenge we each face is ourselves.

These posts are a great help along the way.

Patch
In VA

Add:
jacal1

A couple questions. What is your STO criteria, before entry long, that the STO just be below the 20, does going down or going up matter if the 1H, 15M and 5M Sems are all on? What consideration, if any do you give to the daily direction?

How do you, what have you learned about growing self control?

thx, jb

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 1:33 pm
by bazmonaut
jacal1 & Patch - thanks for the advice and the pep-talk.

The trick I think is to be fearless and confident - my last trades on both of these black days were motivated by the feeling of 'oh no, I don't want to end today down...' Looking at these two trades in retrospect, they were motivated by fear, I had no real reason to enter when I did, just convinced myself that I did... (if you know what I mean, and I'm sure you do!).

Tsk tsk, classic case of throwing good money after bad.

I'm not giving up, just taking stock and re-learning some lessons. After two such un-disciplined days in a row I am sending myself to the naughty corner for re-education! I'm going to focus on coding/testing for the rest of July and re-enter the fray come August...

I believe that I will get to the stage where I can replace my current 'day job' income, but not without a load more hard work.

I KNOW it's not rocket science, it may be simple but it sure as hell isn't easy! (...unless you already know how...)

bazmo

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:33 pm
by MightyOne
If you had $2,000 to trade with and you deposit $500 to your trading account then you could risk 8% per day over 40 pips and it would be like risking 2% per day only with dramatically different results.

At 10% compounded weekly your account grows from $2,000 to $284,086
At 40% compounded weekly your account grows from $500 to BILLIONS.

Same risk in dollars

Much different reward :shock:

If you lost $1500 and funded your account for the 4th time with $500 then how many weeks would it take to break even?

About 3.3 weeks!

(assuming you blew up 3 times due to bad luck and not because you suck at life :wink:)

Image

Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:35 pm
by jacal1
Patch,

I have watch the 1h 15m and 5m I dont seem to have use for volumes.

now STO comes into play when as a reassurance on the 5m chart

I did not trade these today but I would have used them as good signals

3 possible 4 trades 3semafore on left bottom corner denotes trend (I missed as I was sleeping)

with trend I would go 10 pips strict not thinking about making more

second position against trend 5 pips strict again

third same possible 10pips and fourth also another 5pips

Now this is something I would use to say get back after a bad day as the second attachment shows semaphores are very good all onits own but sometimes a little reassurance helps.

Bazmo I post this for your encouragement.

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:37 am
by Patch
jacal1

Thank you for your help, I think I am starting to understand DTB. I too don't understand the volume and stop volume but that is for another day. I read in a post by a smart trader today that he only expects to trade about half the trading days out of the month, or there abouts. He said he only want to trade the best setups. I start to thinking, just think, taking only the best trade setups with 1 or 10 or 50 or 100 or 1000 contracts and net 4 pips. Now that could amount to something.

I am attaching my current #/$ M5 for the time you show above. Note that I've come to like Bollinger Bands and trend lines, and over the last couple weeks been looking at the STO with 5-3-3. Mine settings set is bold on the chart. I like your 10-3-3 much better with the Sema things. Do you see what I think I see, the two working together and confirming trade entry and exit? On a short trade with the STO 10-3-3, what do you look for above the 80 line, one or both lines being above the 80, the lines crossing above the 80, or something else?

What do you see, or use so far as the volume indicator? I need lots of help on this.

I spoke with a business friend of mine this afternoon, and he confided in me that his family business of 40 years has been bleeding for the past several years and he needs to improve profits significantly, else close the doors. I thought what would a trader versus a long term investor do in this situation. I am sure that this is what one of several million business men and women are facing in today's business environment. It stinks.

Thank you so much for this post of yours. jb

Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 4:36 am
by Patch
Bazmo

Hey, just read your post from 9.33 am. Isn't it great to be a learning trader? You get to make many of the mistakes that every successful trader makes and already has made, I think it is called experience.

First thing I suggest is cut your lot size down to .01 or .02 or .03. It cuts the cost of your re-education down considerably. Are you trading a demo or a live account right now? A big bad thing I learned a while ago is that if I can't earn money in demo, I will loss lots of money in live cash. At the same time I like trading real money versus demo, so if you can't use mini lots with your current broker, go find one you can.

Hey, we are all in this together. Small steps. jb