Well, as of today I’m still bobbling along that break even line. Big red day today but closed nothing, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. I published my first trading journal post this morning. Sets the scene for the road ahead.
Break-even is still a win, it means you’re protecting your capital while sharpening your edge!!
Keep stacking those journal entries, tomorrow might be the day it all clicks. Don’t get discouraged and let's review together some of the trades you took.
I’m stretching it to claim break even. Since I got back into trading in April this year I’m still in the red. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve begun to see that I need to change my approach completely. I’ve been trading options and it’s eroded my gains over time. My balance fluctuates wildly day to day. My IG account becomes closing only after tomorrow, so I’m going to use that as a natural break. I’ll see what’s left of my trading capital and then decide how to proceed. I may restrict myself to take only one or two trades at a time. And to exit early if they don’t work as expected. Rules and risk management are my number one priorities.
Respect for being brutally honest about where you’re at!!! that’s harder than any trade. "Rules and risk management are my number one priorities." I love that! This is the right mindset.
Once you have the plan, share it with me!! I want to make sure you stick to it!
Mostly long calls with 1-2 WTE. Unfortunately my account doesn’t let me take spreads. My main failing is letting these positions run too long whether they go against me or in my favour. So first fix is to start setting stops. With my new platform I will be able to set stops and limits based on the underlying stock price, which will be a big advantage over how I have been trading.
I see. Yeah, as we all know, the key to making money is managing risk and knowing who you are as a trader. I had been buying stocks and forgetting for years, but I started trading in December last year. I quickly doubled the money I put into trading options, then lost most of it due to some stupid mistakes that had nothing to do with discipline, like one time I was in a rush to enter a trade with 2 minutes until market close. I entered a call when I wanted to join a put hahaha anyways I never went negative on my account so all part of the learning process. I love scalping and intraday, but don't have the time to be on a screen every day, so I do some swing as well, and 2 months ago started doing spreads. Mainly Bull Puts, which have worked out well for me—way slower pace. I use Robinhood for scalping and intraday since there are no fees, and those add up, and I use Tasty Trades for my spreads. I keep my stops tight since I can continually re-enter a trade. When I lose, I lose and don't look back. The other thing that helps me, I feel, is that I'm very patient and play the game with a long-term mentality. Small wins become huge the longer they accumulate. I don't care about massive home runs. Slowly, I turned 2k into 4K, then four into eight, etc. Good luck, and I hope we all keep growing together!
i can relate. I have a dormant Tasty account from 2021. I discovered it still had a balance of just over $10. I was trading APLD at the time and carefully chose a deep OTM call for $10. Within days I it went ITM and I watched it go to $70. But i didn’t close. Instead I watched it go to $50then $30 and eventually to zero. Why? My biggest fault is not taking my profit. This kind of thing has happened quite a few times now. It’s made me realise I need to prioritise working on myself first.
I didn’t realise Robinhood is zero commission. That could be useful as a means to practise taking action when levels are triggered. I set up an account with Robinhood and Webull but haven’t used either yet.
Good to hear about your progress. What would you say helped you most to turn the corner and become consistent?
Sure can relate to this. It’s one of the things I’m going to be writing about in my own reflections on where I am on that chart!
I really like that idea! Looking forward to reading your reflections! Please send me the link when it’s ready!
Well, as of today I’m still bobbling along that break even line. Big red day today but closed nothing, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. I published my first trading journal post this morning. Sets the scene for the road ahead.
Break-even is still a win, it means you’re protecting your capital while sharpening your edge!!
Keep stacking those journal entries, tomorrow might be the day it all clicks. Don’t get discouraged and let's review together some of the trades you took.
I’m stretching it to claim break even. Since I got back into trading in April this year I’m still in the red. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve begun to see that I need to change my approach completely. I’ve been trading options and it’s eroded my gains over time. My balance fluctuates wildly day to day. My IG account becomes closing only after tomorrow, so I’m going to use that as a natural break. I’ll see what’s left of my trading capital and then decide how to proceed. I may restrict myself to take only one or two trades at a time. And to exit early if they don’t work as expected. Rules and risk management are my number one priorities.
Respect for being brutally honest about where you’re at!!! that’s harder than any trade. "Rules and risk management are my number one priorities." I love that! This is the right mindset.
Once you have the plan, share it with me!! I want to make sure you stick to it!
What type of options do you trade? Calls and puts? Spreads?
Mostly long calls with 1-2 WTE. Unfortunately my account doesn’t let me take spreads. My main failing is letting these positions run too long whether they go against me or in my favour. So first fix is to start setting stops. With my new platform I will be able to set stops and limits based on the underlying stock price, which will be a big advantage over how I have been trading.
I see. Yeah, as we all know, the key to making money is managing risk and knowing who you are as a trader. I had been buying stocks and forgetting for years, but I started trading in December last year. I quickly doubled the money I put into trading options, then lost most of it due to some stupid mistakes that had nothing to do with discipline, like one time I was in a rush to enter a trade with 2 minutes until market close. I entered a call when I wanted to join a put hahaha anyways I never went negative on my account so all part of the learning process. I love scalping and intraday, but don't have the time to be on a screen every day, so I do some swing as well, and 2 months ago started doing spreads. Mainly Bull Puts, which have worked out well for me—way slower pace. I use Robinhood for scalping and intraday since there are no fees, and those add up, and I use Tasty Trades for my spreads. I keep my stops tight since I can continually re-enter a trade. When I lose, I lose and don't look back. The other thing that helps me, I feel, is that I'm very patient and play the game with a long-term mentality. Small wins become huge the longer they accumulate. I don't care about massive home runs. Slowly, I turned 2k into 4K, then four into eight, etc. Good luck, and I hope we all keep growing together!
i can relate. I have a dormant Tasty account from 2021. I discovered it still had a balance of just over $10. I was trading APLD at the time and carefully chose a deep OTM call for $10. Within days I it went ITM and I watched it go to $70. But i didn’t close. Instead I watched it go to $50then $30 and eventually to zero. Why? My biggest fault is not taking my profit. This kind of thing has happened quite a few times now. It’s made me realise I need to prioritise working on myself first.
What is your new platform?
Trade Station
I didn’t realise Robinhood is zero commission. That could be useful as a means to practise taking action when levels are triggered. I set up an account with Robinhood and Webull but haven’t used either yet.
Good to hear about your progress. What would you say helped you most to turn the corner and become consistent?