Hi Everybody!

A New Year again and a new chance to become a profitable trader . . .

You CAN do it — maybe you just need a little help.

This is what we’ve done in the Trading Room this month, so far:

January 24-28:

The computer algorithms are leaving their footprints and we may add a signal based on that. Until then, it takes discipline to wait for the good days that will come . . . like Friday (1/28). Here’s what we did this week:

January 24 $77.50
January 25 $240.00
January 26 $27.50
January 27 -$150.00
January 28 $506.25

Total = $701.25

January 28

The good day/bad day offset continued this morning.  Yesterday was a bad day so I could expect a good day today or Monday.  We got it today and we stayed until almost noon to get some extra trades.

Not in their order taken:

S&P -$100.00
S&P $50.00
S&P $50.00
T-Bonds $31.25
EuroFX BE
EuroFX $62.50
EuroFX $75.00
EuroFX -$87.50
EuroFX $75.00
EuroFX BE(CO)
Crude Oil BE(3)
Crude Oil $100.00
Crude Oil $250.00

Total = $506.25

January 27

Today the market was just untradable.

Of course that’s only apparent in hindsight, but another one of my rules saved it from being a devastating day: when there are three losing trades without any profitable trades, I quit for that day.

I over-ruled the first two (otherwise) losing Crude Oil trades and so we only had a small, unprofitable day that could easily turn out to be a $1,000+ losing day with all the price whipping that continues now into the third consecutive week.

EuroFX BE
EuroFX BE
Crude Oil -$100.00 (over-ruled)
Crude Oil -$150.00 (over-ruled)
Crude oil -$150.00

Total = -$150.00

Many of the guests (trials) in the Trading Room today probably left looking for whoever has a flashy website or is taking trade after trade in this mess.  I hope at least some realize the value of knowing when NOT to trade — or when to stop — is at least as important as knowing when to pull the trigger.  I think it’s more important.  We’ll still be here next week and next month when the flashy traders have blown-out their clients’ accounts . . .

January 26

Mistake #1: I normally never trade on Fed Announcement days.

Mistake #2: I also should have stopped when the lower end of the Daily Profit Target was reached but some did not get the first EuroFX trade.

These are the results you get when you break long-standing rules:

Crude Oil BE
EuroFX $75.00
EuroFX $75.00
EuroFX $62.50
EuroFX $12.50(CO)
Crude Oil -$100.00
Crude Oil -$110.00

Total = $27.50

January 25

We changed the approach just a little and it made a nice difference today.

Crude Oil $50.00
EuroFX -$100.00
Crude Oil $80.00
EuroFX BE(Scratch)
EuroFX $62.50
Crude Oil $10.00
EuroFX $62.50
EuroFX $75.00

Total = $240.00

January 24

The choppy, whippy price movements caused by extensive computer algorithm trading continued today. We got stuck with FAR too many BEs . . . so I may go to all-or-nothing on those. Our Entries are good, and the computers are definitely leaving a big footprint so we have additional scalps that I’ll start calling tomorrow or Wednesday.

(In no order):
Crude Oil BE(4)
Crude Oil – $100.00
Crude Oil $100.00
Crude Oil – $110.00
S&P BE
EuroFX BE(3)
EuroFX $62.50
EuroFX $125.00

Total = $77.50

January 17-21:

As a sort of “post-mortem” of this past week — very tough trading — but not too unusual that the computer algorithm trading was so much more extensive because in most markets we were trading at significant highs (or lows).  Price always gets crazy then and with the addition of flash-trading computers, it’s a little harder.

January 17 — No Trades (Holiday)
January 18  -$285.00
January 19  $75.00
January 20  $367.50
January 21 $137.50

Total = $295.00

January 21

A rough end to a rough week . . . but we made money and that’s what counts!

Price was extremely choppy today, so we had tons of BEs (break-even trades).

Just remember, while we’re not making as much as we’d like to be making, there are many, many traders who are losing their accounts during this mess!

And two of our S&P trades today were scratched losers . . . meaning that if the reason for entering the trade changes, I get out at BE. So we saved over 2-points in losses by sticking to the rule.

Crude Oil BE
S&P BE
Crude Oil BE
S&P BE
EuroFX $137.50
S&P BE
Crude Oil BE

Total = $137.50

January 20

A pretty good day although price was still whippy.  The computer algorithms may be getting a little easier to spot . . . but it’s too early to say for sure yet.  They can’t “think” for themselves, have to be programmed by humans and there are only so many ways to trade . . .

Crude Oil $150.00
EuroFX $125.00
Crude Oil -$70.00
EuroFX $62.50
Crude Oil $100.00
EuroFX BE

Total = $367.50

January 19

Trading continues to be very difficult as the computer algorithms kick in, literally double volume for a few seconds and spike price up-and-down. We could barely stay in our best trade today ($150.00) . . . and one Member even bailed early . . . because price kept spiking back-and-forth before finally going down.

Crude Oil $150.00
EuroFX -$87.50
Crude Oil $100.00
Crude Oil BE
EuroFX -$87.50

Total = $75.00

January 18

Today was TOUGH coming off yesterday’s short day.

Sometimes these next days are great . . . but today the computers were kicking in all morning and whipping price violently.

Crude Oil -$170.00
EuroFX $125.00
S&P -$75.00
EuroFX $12.50(T)
EuroFX $125.00
Crude Oil -$190.00
EuroFX -$112.50

Total = -$285.00

January 17

Today the markets closed early for the Martin Luther King holiday, so we didn’t take any trades.

January 10-14:

January 10 — $587.50
January 11 — -$237.50
January 12 — $222.50
January 13 — $190.00
January 14 — $7.50

Week = $770.00

January 14

Another tough day. These Treasury Auctions this week made trading very hard.

Today was the choppiest day so far this whole choppy week!

Crude Oil BE
Crude Oil BE
S&P -$75.00
Gold BE
Crude Oil -$100.00
EuroFX $37.50(T)
Gold $50.00(T)
Crude Oil $100.00
EuroFX -$125.00
Crude Oil $20.00(CO)
EuroFX $100.00(T)
EuroFX BE
Crude Oil BE

Too many Break-Even trades so we called it a day.

Total = $7.50

January 13

Another tough morning . . . but we still made money!

Coming off all the major Reports, I thought price would move better than it did — staying in a choppy range. Today’s difference was the computer algorithmic trading that whipped price and caused the choppy range to just be bigger.  And after the S&P spiked down on good momentum, it did nothing but chop back up all morning.

Still, we made money and that’s the name of the game!

Crude Oil $100.00
Crude Oil -$130.00
Crude Oil BE
Crude Oil $100.00
S&P -$100.00
EuroFX BE
Crude Oil $20.00(CO)
Crude Oil -$100.00
EuroFX $75.00
EuroFX $125.00
Crude Oil $100.00

Total = $190.00

January 12

A good morning . . . but tough trading.

We had quite a few Trial Members in the Trading Room this morning and trading was tough with almost all markets staying in a tight range — even after the 10:30 Crude Oil Report — but we got the Daily Profit Target of over $200.00 in just over 2-hours.

A couple of guests seemed unhappy that it took so long. One even left the Room early. LOL! Trading isn’t for him, I don’t think. You have to be patient sometimes, wait for your good set-ups and take the trades.

$200.00+ in the bank on a morning like this looks pretty good to me.

Crude Oil BE

Crude Oil $10.00(CO)

EuroFX -$12.50(CO)

EuroFX $125.00

Crude Oil $100.00

Total = $222.50

January 11

A Losing Day . . .

Well, we were due for a losing day and today we got it. But that’s just a part of trading.  Every business has expenses and losing trades/losing days are an expense of the trading business.

Crude Oil $150.00

Crude Oil – $150.00

S&P – $87.50

EuroFX – $75.00

S&P – $75.00

On difficult days, I do NOT double-up after a losing trade . . . and I’ve found that stopping and only giving back a day’s, or part of a prior day’s, profits is better than getting chopped-up trade-after-trade until I see I’ve given back 3-4 days’.

But how can I tell it’s a “difficult day”?  The trades go against me right from their Entry — in other words, once a trade is triggered, price goes 2-3 ticks and turns back under the Entry Point.  That’s what happened on every single losing trade today.

The good news is that tomorrow should be a better day.  Usually don’t have two losing days back-to-back.

Total = – $237.50

January 10

Another great day!

Gold  $150.00

Crude Oil  $150.00

Price was really choppy and volatile 9:15-10:00 a.m.

Crude Oil BE (Break-Even)

Crude Oil BE

EuroFX BE

Then around 10:00 a.m. I got nearly simultaneous signals:

S&P $75.00

EuroFX $62.50

Crude Oil $150.00

Total = $587.50

January 3-7:

January 3 — No Trading (Computer Problems)
January 4 — No Trading (Computer Problems)
January 5 — No Trading (Computer Problems)
January 6 — $300.00
January 7 — $312.50

Week = $612.50

January 7

A good day to end the first week:

Crude Oil $100.00

Crude Oil $150.00

Gold $150.00 (Mine Only — Too aggressive for the Trading Room)

S&P $50.00(CO)

The S&P was a 2-Point trade . . . and it made the full 2-Points . . . but I called an early exit (close out = CO) at just 1-Point since we had a good day already.

Total = $300.00

January 6

Like I said, my laptop died and had to be basically re-built so we got started a few days late . . . but what a good start we got:

Crude Oil $150.00

S&P – $87.50

Crude Oil $150.00

EuroFX  Break-Even/Sctratch

S&P $50.00(x2)

The winning percentages are so high that when I have a losing trade (like the first S&P trade), I usually double-up on the next one . . . and get the first loser back (or most of it) plus a winning trade.

Total = $312.50

January 3-5

I started the New Year with a hard drive crash so we missed the first few days.  Happily we made good money the last two days of that first week.

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