November 2008. results

+ 85 pips

+ 5.6 %

For me very interesting month. I had trades on 14 days. I was hoovering around break even all the time. Slightly in loss, than back up. Majority of winnings came from that great day this week. That is not important. The most important thing was not p&l this month but discipline. I managed to get away from averaging totally this month. My biggest fear was always that my pure trading without averaging will be just simply negative. Well jumping around zero is better than expected. Also when I look at my big losses this month, they are all exaggerated by stubbornness and staying in trades until -40 pips. Clearly I could see before that number that the positive development is not and option and that I'm staying foolishly in.
I breached my discipline boundaries on two occasions. In the beginning of the month when I entered trade when I was already down on the day -36 half size pips and lost -24 half size pips more. Other time was in that big winning day when I let my loss past -40 because of near support. That trade finished as -20, it would be better if I exit when it was -20 first time.

pips/day	cumulative
38	38
-30	8
10	18
-20	-2
-12	-14
10	-4
14	10
-20	-10
10	0
7	7
10	17
61	78
-2	76
9	85

Three worst days were as bad as they were because of my stubbornness to capitulate on time. Be it bad trade or bad attitude. So there is progress to be made. But I had a month without averaging totally. I never had it before. I thought that I can't trade without it, and look I can.

Again I have to mention that mental shift day. I just didn't have a day like that before. I never stay and hold profits and do it for few times in the row. Before if I could grab something after loss I would get out at b/e or at +20 or something. But this was different, this was trading without my usual mental limitations. That's why I call it mental shift.

So I'm very happy with the month. My focus isn't on p&l but on work. I know that I don't have all the answers but addressing problems from the past and managing them proves to work. Bad mental attitude is biggest single problem, maybe only problem. This month I had it under some control, at least I made sure to put boundaries on damage.

Under the radar comes the fact that I had positive month without averaging, which I would swear deep inside of me before that it's impossible. That belief was probably only reason why averaging was out of my control, nearly as unconscious action. I think that is the key why that mental shift day came. Changing beliefs is the only thing that works and the hardest thing to do. We are what our beliefs make us to be. There is no point in trying to change our actions if we didn't change our beliefs.


Now I was just reviewing my result posts from before and in July I had 5.3% up with 148 pips. My leverage this month is up, near double from than and by using half size trades I make it manageable so I got around same percentage with just 85 pips.

I wish to thank all the people that are following this blog and participate in comments. It really is working good for me and interaction with you guys make me better and more responsible trader. It's common work and probably replacement for a work with mentor. You all are my mentors, thank you for that.