Monthly Wrap Up - July 2012

Well, my first month of trading cash since I achieved my paper trading goal during the first half of the year.  It has been a month of ups and downs, and I've finished with a (0.25%) loss.  I'm pretty happy with that, mostly because I've been able to secure enough winning trades to cover both my natural losing trades, and the psychological mistakes that I alluded to before.

Here is a summary of my trade performance:

July Stats Number of Trades 19 Number of Wins 8 Number of Losses 10 Number of B/E 1 Average Win 0.88% Average Loss   (0.73%) Month Result   (0.22%)

Open trades at month end:
EURAUD short - currently 5 pips down (thanks to that massive swing after 6pm on friday).

I've been analysing my trade performance this morning and I've revealed some very interesting things about my trading. Being able to do this is one of the key benefits of having a comprehensive trading journal:

1) Apart from one Income Generator on AUDUSD Long, I only made money shorting the EURO this month.  I did so against JPY, AUD, CAD, GBP, NZD.  One learning is that trending strategies are more successful when a very strong trend is in place. 

2) I lost 3% trying to short GBPNZD and 1% shorting GBPAUD on various income generator and price action strategies.  Aside from an error on GBPNZD costing 1%, I followed the rules of my trading strategy on these and I can accept that these are losses within the confines of that strategy.  Finally the market did turn on Wednesday - and is now heading short (GBPNZD). That's the way it goes.

3) Trading in choppy markets is dangerous - look at GBPUSD, USDJPY, NZDUSD, trades.  Those markets have been very choppy recently, without clear direction.  I've traded them and I've been burned.

Strategy Review:

It's interesting - as I conduct this review I am seeing more and more areas where I can cut potential losses from my trading.  For example, the power pivot strategy is not one I'm that strong on, and I probably don't have an edge there.  That's 1% I'd have in my account if I hadn't traded it.  Add that to the 2-3% worth of psychological mistakes I made, and you're looking at a solid performance.  

Month Summary and Key Lessons:

1) The time trading a practice account has helped enormously.  My first month trading cash after I'd done my  K2A "training" resulted in a 20% loss. I'm more focused, I trade more like a sniper, and I'm more confident.

2) Leave the phone at home!! I lost a % this month from trading at work on my cell phone...I'M AN END OF DAY TRADER...why I'm even looking at my trades during the day I don't know.

Most of all:

3) Keep trading - keep working - keep learning - and start winning.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this - I've enjoyed putting it together, and it's been bloody interesting taking a step back and looking at what I've done.

Goals for August:

1) Achieve a 5% gain for the month

2) Implement my new risk management policy, to never have more than 2% of my account at risk in any week, and (hopefully it doesn't come to this) to switch to paper trading in any month that I'm down 6%.

3) To make sure I don't get caught out trying to pick the top of any EURUSD or related pair rally.  I made money from the EURO in July, let's not give it back in August.