A Bad Day

Opening balance £452

Closing balance £422

Trading loss £30


This only tells half the story. I have an open position short at 5581, currently the index is at 5631 so I'm technically a further £150 worse off.

How did I let this happen when I have been so disciplined?

I didn't even look at the index until 9.30am. Knowing I have made errors previously by jumping into trades before fully awake I made a cup of tea, popped Bloomberg on TV and then observed the live charts for 10 minutes.

Although the trend was up I noticed regular retracements yet I was too eager to trade and perhaps a little trigger happy when entering this trade. Now, I have to confess to working form home this morning and so my attention was divided between trading and fielding phone calls and emails. Before I knew I was 10 points adrift, then 12 and finally 15. I didn't act quickly enough in closing a losing trade. I worked so diligently yesterday to collect £60 that I didn't want to give up £30 in my first trade (£3 a point).

Long story short I'm 50 points away from my entry level in a bullish market. I did have an opportunity to close when at one stage it dropped to within 12 points but I foolishly turned the chance down.

I have made a number of other trades, popping £4 a point on retracements and at one stage playing the dow (and I said I would NEVER do that) which have resulted in my £30 actual loss as things stand.

So, more lessons to be learned, not that I haven't sat this class before! I have a sign on my kitchen wall reminding to always play with a 10 point stop loss.

So I get what I deserve which is terribly disappointing after 3 consecutive positive, disciplined days.

Ultimately I think I have to realise I can't work and trade at the same time as I do neither justice. All I can hope for now is the index falls away overnight and/or opens down tomorrow as without closing my position I cannot scalp.

Idiot signing off.