Good afternoon traders,
I've not posted for a while but I have been trading. I've made a few thousand pounds which made my wife very happy as she benefited with the arrival of new jewellery, always a plus in the 'good husband' column!
I'm a mood writer & post only when I feel motivated to do so, hence the lack of posts lately.
I'm thrilled to report that after 2 1/2 years I'm finally trading profitably. It's been a long road and cost me plenty in money & time but it's given me the opportunity to supplement my income from spread betting the financial markets.
Im still respectful and wary of how the markets can decimate a position & this healthy respect for the market means the huge losses of previous years are not repeated. I'm trading a smaller size position & showing more patience for entry points. In my experience playing within your account size is infinitely more important that a stop loss. Nearly all my trades are in the direction of the 5 year trend which means I'm buying the dips.
I'm still prone to closing winning trades too early but that's the next step in my trading evolution. I trade Dow, S & P and occasionally DAX and very rarely FTSE100 and just one index at a time.
That's it. No forays into forex, no 5 minute binary bets, just those indices.
I spent two years making every mistake a new trader does, a few examples: trading way too big for my account, trading multiple positions, adding to losing positions.
Now I have rules about my stakes. Maximum ever is £20 point on Dow, £200 point on S & P and I split those into half at a time. I have two entry points and risk £10 point on the Dow at my first entry & add the other £10 at my second entry. Some will read this & say I'm adding to a losing trade but half stake at a time is working for me.
The key to ramping my winnings up is not a bigger stake but in letting my winning trades run. That's a challenge for me & one I will master. I lost a lot of money in year 1, almost as much in year 2 and I'm up slightly in year 3. I'm making good progress but I'm aware I'm only ever one mistake from wiping out again & the pain & disgust that caused I'm using positively to avoid ever repeating. The markets are brutal & ultimately spread betting is gambling but I remain convinced I will earn very well from trading in this manner & it will make a huge difference to my ability to live well & provide for my family.
For the near future I feel Dow is holding above 17000 & S & P has climbed above 1980 again after a dip in the low 1960's. That tells me that buyers are stepping in at those levels & therefore it's reasonable to expect Dow to challenge 17300 again & S & P 2000.....
If we dip below those levels I shall be watching like a hawk for a long entry.
Good luck & I'll update again sooner rather than later.
