On paper, February was not very kind to me. You can see on the StockTickr Calendar View that I traded very little (7 trades versus 17 in January). And, my returns were a pretty meager 1.52 R in the end. Net positive after commissions, but not by much!
So, I am not sorry at all to see February go. Lots of choppy, overbought behavior was keeping breakouts in check. But, I can’t blame the markets, really… it’s mostly a matter of me sleeping at the wrong times. Several days I recall stalking stocks, only to give in and go to sleep before they finally broke. Oh well… most of the time I’d rather be rested than a little richer. But, when doing a month in review post, it starts to look bad after a few weeks.
Luckily, January was very good.
Here’s the table:
| Total P/L: | 1.52 R |
|---|---|
| Trades Taken: | 7 |
| Winners: | 4 (57.4%) |
| Losses: | 3 |
| Expectancy: | 0.22 R |
| Biggest Winner: | 1.41 R |
| Biggest Loser: | -1 R |
If I don’t sound concerned, it’s because I am noting that I have been spotting more good trades than ever, lately… I’ve just been pathetic at managing to catch them in February. Let’s see what we can do about that in March! (uh.. but not tomorrow… I’ve got other plans!)
I guess the only other standout thing about February was the big reminder of a daytrader’s advantage… no exposure to that big drop a couple days ago. That felt nice (though not as nice as massive short exposure would have felt!).
March 2nd, 2007 at 3:00 am
You beat Wall Street and made money! Congrats!
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:57 am
Zecco trading: Stay away from them. Filled out application online, mailed paper work, funded the account more than 2 weeks ago still not able to trade. Status shows pending approval. I was able to apply and trade same day from other online traders. I guess they are not kidding when they say they are able to make money using your account balances. Obviously bcoz they do not let u use ur money for so long. When called they said waiting for processors approval, whatever that means. Tried to withdraw funds 4 days later ach still showing pending processors approval. Bottom line Zecco bad news.
March 24th, 2007 at 8:25 am
@Paul: I haven’t had that experience with Zecco at all (which is not to say that you aren’t!) Call 909-657-6655, and hit 2, 3, 1 to get to a real person (usually). I would call every day until you get it resolved. I’ve had a pretty good Zecco experience, minus the glitches from a new (and free) service.
Two questions: did you fill out a W-9 form, showing your tax status, and are you applying from in the US?