Oh oh Classic sucker punch (£1700 down)

I write this blog to record my trading so I can improve my performance. I was £1600 in profit for the month yesterday and feeling really good about my trading. It's the final day of the month and I should have refrained from trading and enjoyed taking money out of the market.

Instead I decided to go long yesterday before the Fed's announcement, the trend is up and there's a bullish vibe. It was obvious QE was going to stay on the table at this level for the foreseeable future but news moves markets and there was a tiny hint of doubt raised that they could, might bring it forward to December.

Not that the Fed said they would begin tapering in March next year or even suggested they would bring it forward from a date they haven't declared. Still someone reads something into it, traders decide they've had a good run and they don't need much of an excuse to book profit. As they sell prices fall and I find myself on the wrong side of a pullback.

I stayed awake all night and through a combination of 'force open' trades and increased funding keep my position alive. I plot my charts and see support and lo and behold it holds. I close my 'force open' shorts for a few quid and start the rise up.

My funding of the account is £5000 and at 7pm this evening I have managed to bring it back to that from a low of £2500 earlier in the day. At that point I force open shorts to lock in my position and that should have been the end of my trading for the day where I could relax and plot my next move.

I see the price holding and fading ever so slightly, I have my 30 min chart and 5 min chart and there looks to be good support a few points down. After half an hour and little movement I close my force open trades for a £100 profit whereby the index proceeds to drop EIGHTY POINTS in the remaining half an hour. So I type this with my account balance at £3300 instead of a peaceful break even £5000 a mere 60 minutes previously. I played is so well up until that fateful click of the mouse.

This is another opportunity for me to learn, I should have been very happy getting back to break even, if the market went a further 30 points in my favour and I missed out on £700 profit then so what, I had peace of mind.

Next time this opportunity arises that's exactly what I shall do. In the meantime I'm still alive and really nothings changed. The easy money is on the table for now, traders have a new month with new money to play with tomorrow and if I had to pick one direction it would be long. I may have to be a little patient for a few days but if that's the price I have to pay for learning and to make money count me in.

I shall update tomorrow.

£1600 profit but rolling it over

But I've decided to roll it over and trade with it in the account.

Update in a few days with hopefully more good news.

Monthly report Monday

I promised to post my closing figures here today but I miscalculated my month end.

It takes 3 days for my withdrawn funds to clear in my account from IG which means I can trade Monday until Dow closes and that's it for the month.

My £3000 capital from 5th October stands today at £4600. I traded lightly this week content to scalp 5 minute candles but was tempted into shorting the Dow 5 minutes before close when it climbed 20 points, it's since climbed another 20 but I'm pretty confident of a fade before open Monday.

In hindsight that last trade was the first time this month I've taken a trade based on greed. Turning £3000 into £4600 should have been a good enough feeling and I should be typing this without having a position so I can fully enjoy the weekend stress free. It's a good reminder to respect the market at all times and be on my guard and aware of my emotions. I've had a migraine all day and so missed most of the day and was itching to make a trade.

Still, whatever happens I'm going to control the situation and record another profitable month which is my primary goal. Although the additional profit is highly welcome the most important part of this is to continue to trade profitably month after month after month.

Final report Monday evening, nice weekend all.

Positive update

I'm thrilled to report last weeks profit of £500 is now standing at £1383. There's a bullish vibe to the markets so I'm trading pullbacks and going long.

I traded lightly Friday and haven't made a trade at all today (lunchtime Monday). Unless I see a great opportunity I won't trade.

What's most important to me is to trade profitably month after month. If I don't add a penny to this months total it still equates to an outstanding month and a nice sum for pressing a few buttons on my computer in the comfort of my own home.

Whatever happens I'm withdrawing funds Friday so will post months final figures then.

Mid month update

So far I'm £500 to the good. I've been £1700 down but as I'm playing within my account size I can live with the swing and wait for it to move into profit, I haven't made a single trade today as I'm just watching the candles and enjoying it unfold.

It's an interesting week to say the least as the US struggles to pass it's budget and raise it's borrowing levels. I think I'll wait until Wednesday night when the situation becomes clearer. Whatever decision is reached there will always be an overreaction, it's human nature and so I'll wait for an hour or so then trade the pullback/bounce.

I'll probably post an update at the end of this week.

Good luck.