my nightmare

[WhyAlwaysMe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F7Qq7U64Fc

[valve]

i dont even know the tools of the toy, i do everything manually. if it wasnt for the inplay timer i'd use the old version.


this was a bad trading day:

i was trading normally when i've been distracted by a phone call from work.
while i was at the telephone i forgot to cancel the unmatched bets, so a lay at 7,2 was taken and the race started.
do i need to say who was the winner, between 20 horses? the one that had my lay matched, obviously.
and 15% of my bank is gone.

in the rest of the day, trading aggressively, taking risks and hitting a lucky race when i won a lay at 1,01 i retrieved 12%, so the daily loss is "only" -3%

I know similar situations when I want to get back what I have lost, there are 12 horses but i dont know why that one layed wins :WTF maybe I should try back at 11 or so... It such a situation its better to stop betting for some hours what I still cant reach.

[valve]

Glad you are back on track. I am still in a downward spiral and am resetting as of today and making some stern rules, goals etc etc.

I have a bank level I need to get back to, and I have vowed to not touch a drop of alcohol until that point and make trading my number 1 priority again.
I have noticed an attitude change towards money where I place very little importance on it, and I need a good kick in the ass in regards to the money missing out of my account. Any normal person would laugh if I said I was a professional.

While I am in the horrors, the reality is, I am still in front of where I was at the same point last year, and still averaging probably more than most people I know for a daily wage. But when your average daily profit drops from 850 down to just over 200 it is time to look a little more short term and not accept it in the future.
I think the bigger reality here, is I think I am really bored with it. Just today that again became important for me to note, as no matter how bored I am with it, I think I would neck myself if I had to start a regular job, so it is time for me to grow up and accept the boredom, and change my lifestyle to minimise my trading time by setting myself up now, and not just living care free. From now on, my money is important and it has a purpose. Today is my time to prove my worth to myself. I am way behind my goal and need 180k by 31/12 to reach it. I am backing Team Temujin to give that as big a nudge as the kick in the ass I just gave myself this morning.




Sorry if I partly hijacked this thread, but didn't deserve its own and fits in with the theme. Helps a lot to write it down as it confirms a lot of things in the mind.

850 a day? if you can say, you bet on horses or other sport? do you close your positions?

[Temujin]

That isn't long term, was just what I was averaging per day for the year at its highest point about a month ago.

I bet on pretty much anything going if I feel I am getting value. That goes for trading out also. I generally have a lot of positions left open as I don't like to trade at a price that I don't consider value.

Sports is more longer term as in play is restricted to bets via phone here, but certainly try not to limit anything. The event I didn't bet on, is the one I couldn't win. Have taken one thing out of my arsenal though, as its firepower was bigger than mine.

When I started I was strictly limited in what I did and when I did it, but as time goes on I certainly employ thoughts on different strategies, events, possibilities. Been doing this near a decade, so certainly not advising people to bet on anything they can, it is just how I approach things. And of course, to bet on it, means I percieve that I have value when I place a bet, which means obviously that I feel I have enough of an opinion on that event/outcome/fly race to determine a viable profitable bet.

Adapt, evolve, survive.

[flok]

update, 6 weeks after the disaster

the week started in the worst way: i made a big mistake on monday (i answered the phone forgetting an unmatched lay, that while i was at the telephone was taken, and naturally the horse won. it was at 7,2!)

but, if i was indian i'd say that the universe balanced my karma, because during the week i had a couple of lucky "bonuses" along with my normal trading. one day i won a lay at 1.01 and today a horse i layed pre-race had a bad start and a huge drift.

anyway i cant say i'm fully satisfied, because if i didnt have this luck my weekly profit would have been much smaller (maybe half or so), since i made some other mistakes along the way.
i also noticed that, after a loss, the following tradings are often more losses, since i have less patience and, instead of waiting for the good occasion, i anxiously enter the market too early.

total of the week: 18%
total after 5 weeks: +78%

i decided that, even when i'll have the full bank again, i'll not raise the stakes for a while. i'll keep the standard ones, i'm scared i'll repeat again the mistake of march

[Temujin]

Glad things are working out. Just on a week ago I posted that I vowed not to touch a drop of alcohol til I built my bank up to a certain level again. Glad to say, I did partake in quite a few bevvys last night, to both celebrate my biggest day so far at 13.5k profit, but mainly because that took me past my dry level to the point where alcohol is no longer banned from my itinerary.
Still haven't got it all back, but back to 430 a day, so getting back on track to my yearly goal. Certainly haven't wiped the events of the last month or so out of my head, and am certainly keeping the view on my trading as serious and my number 1 priority.

[flok]

very well, it seems that we're both climbing out of the hole.
proportionally in %, obviously, because your bank/stake/profit are by far higher than mines.
did you achieve that 13,5k trading normally, or you had a lucky race, like mine yesterday?

i'd never manage to stop drinking... for my self-punishment after the disaster of march i had thought to postpone my moto-holiday in greece until i'd have retrieved all the losses.
but now the objective is getting nearer and i already start feeling the wind on my face! july is coming fast, got to call my female friends in greece

if you'll come to italy in the future we must absolutely drink 1 (or probably more) beer and laugh about this unlucky period that gave us so many worries and frustrations.

[Temujin]

Certainly wasn't lucky, traded it the right way, but was one that went rapidly to the point where I was comfortable to let it ride a little longer. Was a lay bet at low odds that ran to 18k profit and was going to let it ride but got a little shaky so I traded out to 15.5k profit on either outcome. Was down 2k from a previous market.
But basically, was so big because of the low odds I layed at (around 1.15)....

And of course I will be sure to put it out there for anybody to have a drink when I am over that way. Have no current plans, but is certainly something that will happen, sooner rather than later....

[flok]

update, 7 weeks after the disaster (actually it's not 1 week, but 9 days)

also this week started with a loss, monday's not a good day for me.
but then everything was ok most of the days. sure, i made some mistakes, but not big losses that i wasnt able to retrieve.
and i still cant resist the desire of placing a straight bet for fun. but i do it with ridiculous stakes now, so i think it's not going to give me problems, since i'll lose only the commission in the long run (as long as i dont start chasing losses as i did on march).
anyway was a very positive week, and i've almost retrieved all the losses i had on march.

i'll try to get that 3% that i miss after a pause of 2 weeks from now. i'm very busy with work and i cant always work&trade at the same time, i risk to do both things in the wrong way. i think i'll start trading again on 3-4 june.
anyway i'm pretty satisfied, i've almost doubled my bank again, faster than i expected.
now i must only keep the "boom" and not do the "bust" again.

total of the week: +19%
total after 7 weeks: +97%

[LuckyYou]

Btw Flok how are you after the Earthquake? I've heard a lot of bad thing there? Are you near the epicenter? I've felt an earthquake M 5.8 the night before while I was in bed and it was shaky!

[flok]

everything ok here, thanks. the earthquake was 500-600km far from the place where i live. but i have some friends in the area and they're still sleeping in cars and tents... hope the tremors end soon!

[flok]

ladies and gentlemen, i'm glad to announce that finally i've reached my objective!
i needed 8 weeks, but i've retrieved all the huge loss i took on march, and i have my bank as it was 2 months ago.

i made a graph of my p/l from 1st january to today, i hope it can also be useful for newbies, it explains clearly what kind of stress / ups and down / disappointments /satisfactions trading can give.

EDIT: naturally, i thank again all the ones who gave me comments, encouragements, useful critics, suggestions, your support has been very important (and very welcome!)

[andre_ribeiro24]

That's true. I've heard about a currency trader who made 150K in three years and then blew it all in a matter of days.

Isso é a parte mais facil......

[flok]

i completely agree!
surely i'll make other mistakes in the future, but not so big, i hope!

[Knight Rider]

ladies and gentlemen, i'm glad to announce that finally i've reached my objective!
i needed 8 weeks, but i've retrieved all the huge loss i took on march, and i have my bank as it was 2 months ago.

wd Flok