Maybe some of you might remember me, as I had a thread titled" Strangles and Directional Option plays". But, as we moved to a new platform, my old content seems to be gone forever. So, here I am starting a new thread, with a new title, as I have branched into futures since March and also dabble in occasional stocks plays, that I intend to hold overnight. My capital basestands at $15,000 as of today (October 17th, 2016). My goal for this account is to grow it bit by bit, and I mean it literally. In the past, I have suffered big losses, not necessarily wiped the account, but sure enougn big losses, that left scars in my heart and bank account. So each time, I learn smth imporatant. In general, the losses were the result of a number of factors: 1. Inappropriate sizing. In other words, money management was not up to par. 2. Not cutting losses before they became insurmountable. 3. Emotional trading. No need for explanation. So as you can see, these are prety mundane stuff. I think anyone who trades in ral markets with real money knows that these 3 elements are at the core of any loss. Also, I am under PDT, which makes it even more challenging the task of growing my account. Recenty, I was laid off, so trading currently is the only source for an income for my family. It means, that I am not going to fool around here and will post only serious stuff. The purpose of this thread is first to be accountable, which I hope will help my trading, and maybe to help one of you guys, to not make mistakes that I make and learn good things. Hope you will enjoy my materials. I will try to post here every day, and I plan to include actual trades (screens), my P/L (weekly), charts (sometimes). And also will add my analysis. Wish me a luck and stay safe!
Indeed! Welcome back @Sniper Trader I remember you well from the old boards. Best of luck to you man!
Thank Gil and Cy! So here we go: October 17th 2016 (Monday): Methodology: Currently, I use a number of straightforward strategies in trading futures, options and stocks. Futures: I tend to scalp moves from important S/R levels, with tight stops. Major B/O probabilities in futures, gives me statistical advantage in terms of RvR. I place my stop orders beforehand, and stops as well. In situations where major B/O occurs, I tend to make 1-5/10 RvR. Options: I analyze charts for select number of stocks, that I can understand. And try t identify high probab moves in either direction taking cue from the overall market direction. I try to buy option contracts, for high volatility names 10-20% gain is more than enough for me. Risk is usually at about 10% fixed in options. No ER plays, just straighforward directional bets. Stocks: I do trade stocks less and less, and only in situations, the risk level dictates me to use stocks directly rather than options. It takes up too much capital, hence I try to lean towards options and futures. I don't have daily goals, just a ballpark number. I will posting my weekly gains/losses as well. Monday (Oct 17th 2016): Current positions: AAPL Nov 4 118 calls: I beleive 120 is coming. WFC 18 Nov 46 calls: This bank has been punished without too much merit. I am a buyer. Bog position. See from chart that it's being consolidated, SBUX 18 Nov 52.5 calls: I have no clear clue why SBUX is not loved any more. But also see from chart that it's in consolidation period. EXPE 18 Nov 125 calls: Nice B/O pattern from 170 level. My target is 175 for this beast. Have overtraded futures today. Major reason is that, I am no seeing a conviction to either side. Lesson: Overtrading is bad so I am constantly working on this aspect of my trading. But, I can't pass the trade if the charts says to execute. At the end f the day, trading is a numbers game, so numbers dictate me that I should improve my RvR.
I decided to provide update on a weekly basis. October 17 - 21: 1. I had to withdraw capital from my account, which is unfortunate, but I have enough to continue trading. This week, I dealt with job interviews and family matters, which didn't leave me much time for trading. Overall, I had some trades but nothing substantial. So this week, there is nothing to post here. I just want to update that, my starting capital here is $10K not $15K as I mentioned in my introductory post. 2. I have a clear strategy for options, stocks and futures. The important thing is to follow them from now on. You will observe first hand what I am doing to grow my capital base. 3. Please follow me on twitter: @talgat_akhmetov. There I provide minute by minute tips (but not all of them, only the ones I had time post). You can ask me questions in real time. 4. As I mentioned, I will be trading heavily options, stocks (swing only) and futures (very select set ups). 5. Main idea for trading options is that I take cue from the stock price action, and place stops based on the stock price.
October 24-28' 2016: 1. Overall the week ended with 1.75% loss. 2. Out of 5 days, 2 days finished in the red, while 3 in the green. 3. On Thursday made a mechanical mistake of entering wrong order, so had a loss. 4. On Tuesday, had a terrible trade in CL. 5. Swing position held for the next week: SPY Puts of various strikes and expiration dates. I expect a flush in the markets come Monday morning.
