2010 Blog Trade Results +37,780 pips

For 2010, I earned 37,780 pips from trades I discussed in this blog. These were trades I blogged about as I was preparing to place them or shortly after I did place them. How different from so-called "gurus" who talk about their successful trades only in retrospect. These were also all trades based on generally accepted technical analysis methods. There were no secret, mystical methods—in fact, there are no secret, mystical methods. Most of the pips were from trades taken between January and October as I began winding down my trading in November and only took a few trades in December.

Until July, I was posting my results monthly but I stopped doing so for several reasons. First, I could never resolve how to calculate pips for the blog when I scaled out of positions in pieces. I was lumping all pips together as though they were separate trades but that didn’t sit well with me. In some trades, I establish more than one position but this is extra work when blogging about trades. I asked for advice from readers but never received a method I thought was better.

Another reason I stopped was because I believed it was putting the emphasis in the wrong place. If one has solid reasons for getting into a trade, that trade is a good trade regardless of whether it makes money or not. Most people do trade to make money, of course. The reality, though, is that a trading approach is one key to that. The other key is discipline. One isn't a bad trader if they use a solid approach and apply discipline (including getting out of a losing trade on terms that were defined in advance).

Regardless, many of the trades I blogged about were good trades, both technically and from the perspective of earning pips.

June Trading Results

June turned out well with profits of 4,673 pips. I don't have time to list the results for each individual trade but one can look back in the blog to find the detail. By pair, the results were:

AUDUSD +2,169 pips (the clear winner for me)
EURCHF +230 pips
EURGBP +245 pips
EURUSD +1,222 pips
GBPJPY +218 pips
GBPUSD +99 pips
USDCAD + 456 pips
USDCHF +34 pips (every pip counts, right?)

2010 has been filled with great trading opportunities that have suited my style. I took advantage of them with hard work using classical technical analysis. I didn't use some weird mysterious approach; I didn't use the stars. This is not to say that there might not be some validity in astro-economics. It's only that I haven't yet discovered it if there is. But the point is, you don't need it if you're willing to study the charts and trade with iron-clad discipline.

I always have mixed feelings about posting results since it puts the emphasis on success in the one dimension of profits. But one can be a good trader and have a losing month. Indeed, I'd expect one for myself at some point since I've been profitable every month since last fall when I started this blog. Maybe July will be it with the summer doldrums. However, if I have good reasons for my trades, if I can justify them with weight of evidence, if I use good risk management, then I am a good trader and the results are irrelevant.

Since October 2009 when I began reporting my results, the pips have been:

2010
June +4,673 pips
May +5,352 pips
Apr +2,366 pips
Mar +6,141 pips
Feb +5,915 pips
Jan +3,116 pips

2009
Dec +2,092 pips
Nov +2,054 pips
Oct +1,994 pips

May Trading Results—up 5,352 pips

It was another good month for trading with profits of 5,352 pips. I don't have time to list the results for each individual trade but one can look back in the blog to find the detail. By pair, the results were:

AUDUSD +698 pips
EURCHF +682 pips
EURUSD +2,727 pips
GBPJPY +112 pips
GBPUSD +308 pips
USDCAD + 825 pips

2010 has offered a lot of opportunities and I've used straightforward technical analysis to take advantage of them. I hope that readers of this blog will see that it only requires this—you don't have to pay for some obscure, mystical technique to make profits in the market. Use your technical analysis skills and exercise ironclad discipline. If I had a losing month would I consider myself as a failure? No, not at all, as long as I was faithful to my rules and used discipline to let profits run and to cut losses.

Since October 2009 when I began reporting my results, the pips have been:

2010
May +5,352 pips
Apr +2,366 pips
Mar +6,141 pips
Feb +5,915 pips
Jan +3,116 pips

2009
Dec +2,092 pips
Nov +2,054 pips
Oct +1,994 pips

March/April Trade Results—up 8,507 pips

A reader reminded me that I hadn’t posted trade results for March or April so here they are. It turned out that March has been my best month since I’ve been posting results with +6,141 pips. April was weak by comparison but still good at +2,366 pips. The results by month since October have been:

Apr 2010—up 2,366 pips
Mar 2010—up 6,141 pips
Feb 2010—up 5,915 pips
Jan 2010—up 3,116 pips
Dec 2009—up 2,092 pips
Nov 2009—up 2,054pips
Oct 2009—up 1,994 pips

The market has provided many opportunities in recent months. In February and March, the market fit my particular trading style. April did not—I found myself constantly frustrated with the ups and downs and apparent lack of movement. I was still profitable but it was discipline more than anything else and I missed a lot of opportunities. But obviously the market was gearing up for what has been a productive May to date. My trades are not the result of any deep secret technique passed down from Chaldean times. They are the result of hard work, using common technical analysis, and discipline. In many of my trades I take partial profits. I’m still not sure of the best way to report these so I just report them as I take them. If I take partial profits at 50 pips and close the trade at 100 pips, I count it as a total of 150 pips.

Here are the details of the trades for first March and then April. Each was blogged about as I was ready to take it or shortly thereafter. You could see them on the charts I posted because they show up as triangles or inverted triangles depending on whether I’m long or short. I list the details in the order in which they occurred during the month. For example, in AUDUSD, you see detail of the first trade in March at +37 pips. That means it was the first trade in that month (that did other than go out at breakeven). So you can go back into the blog and find them in order from the beginning of the month.

Here’s the detail for March which resulted in a total of +6,141 pips:

AUDUSD: +537 pips total; +37, +100, +58, +70, +140, +132
EURGBP: +633 pips total; +323, +50, +255, +5
EURJPY: +173 pips total; +85, +80
EURUSD: +1,412 pips total; +5, +5, +101, +56, +60, +52, -65, +80, +50, +9, +85, +180, +80, +250, +365, +99
GBPCHF: +61 pips total; +61
GBPJPY: +2,835 pips total; +300, +40, +157, +201, +300, +220, +186, +30, +161, +70, +54, +10, +92, +47, +28, +76, +104, +90, +309, +170, +72, +52, +50, +16
GBPUSD: +466 pips total; +70, +170, +88, +129, +48, -39
USDCAD: +24 pips total; +60, +10, -66, +20

Here’s the detail for April which resulted in a total of +2,366 pips.

AUDUSD: +247 pips total; +71, +70, +136, +10, -40
EURGBP: +54 pips total; -28, +32, +50
EURJPY: +342 pips total; +75, +183, +20, +64
EURUSD: +714 pips total; -36, +307, +193, +70, +76, +104
GBPUSD: +699 pips total; -39, +70, +10, +2, +53, +135, +300, +168
USDCHF: +310 pips total; +46, +80, +118, +66

February Trade Results—up 5,915 pips

Since I began posting the results of the trades I blog about and show when I take them, the results have been:

Feb 2010—up 5,915 pips
Jan 2010—up 3,116 pips
Dec 2009—up 2,092 pips
Nov 2009—up 2,054pips
Oct 2009—up 1,994 pips

There have been many opportunities in recent months and the market has been geared to my particular trading style. February offered the chance to make huge gains at the beginning of the month. Almost 50% of my gains were made in the first week alone! Had the large market moves of the first week not occurred it's likely my gains for the month would have been similar to January's 3,116 pips.

As I always write, the real secrets to good trading are hard work and discipline. My success isn't the result of some secret Gann technique or from using some mystical cycle or astro-economic phenomenon. It's not that there may not be value to cycles, astro-economics, or Gann. It's that too often the so-called practitioners speak in code and then offer to sell you something, sometimes for lots of money, to learn their secrets. Look, I'd pay lots of money if there was any proof. But because they shroud everything in mystery, no objective evaluation can be done. To be successful in trading you only need good technical analysis skills (which can be learned), a strong work ethic, and good discipline. If you look at the detail of my results below you'll see small losses and big gains. It really is about letting profits run and cutting short losses. That is the only "secret." That's how I earned those big gains during the first week of February.

In some of the trades, I take partial profits. I'm still not sure how to best report these so I just report them as I take them. If I take partial profits at 50 pips and close out the trade at 100 pips, I count it as a total of 150 pips.

Here are the details of the February trades. Each was blogged about as I was ready to take it or shortly after I got into it. You could see them on the charts I posted because they show up as triangles or inverted triangles depending on whether I'm long or short. I list the detail in the order in which they occurred during the month. That is, when I'm compiling my results I start at the first day of the month and just add each day. For example, in AUDUSD, you see detail of where the first trade was +9 pips. That means that's the first AUDUSD trade I reported during the month. So you can go back in the blog and examine each one in more detail.

Here is the currency pair, total net gain or loss in pips, and the detailed trades:

AUDUSD +241pips total;
+9, +87, +5, +28, +57, +55
EURGBP +269 pips total;
+123, +146
EURUSD + 1,539 pips total;
+205, +373, +300, +100, -47, +280, +23, +10, +7, +91, +150, +25, -43, +13, +12, +40
GBPCHF + 49 pips total;
+46, +3
GBPJPY + 964 pips total;
+335, +463, +69, +97
GBPUSD + 2,119 pips total;
+112, +232, +137, +460, +544, +287, +247, +100
USDCAD +637 pips total;
+446, - 68, -31, +270, -23, -50, -32, +125
USDJPY + 97 pips total; +67, +10, +20

February was a hopping month. Let's hope March offers as many opportunities.

January Trade Results—Up 3,116 pips

Since I began posting the results of the trades I actually blog about and show when I take them, the results have been:

Jan 2010—up 3116 pips
Dec 2009—up 2,092 pips
Nov 2009—up 2,054 pips
Oct 2009—up 1,994 pips

The past several months have been very good trading months because of many opportunities and market action that suits my trading style. I like sideways markets and I like faltering trends. What helps me the most, though, is my hard work and discipline. I don’t get into a pair unless it is at an entry level I deem reasonable. I know it’s a reasonable level because I spend many hours analyzing my charts. While I take partial profits on trades, I also have the discipline to let profits run. Finally, I keep my stops tight. Those are the keys—much more important than any given approach or technique. Even with this, some months are going to be duds. You’ll see them when they happen because I post about most trades as soon as I take them or in advance of them if I see a particularly promising set up. I don’t report after the fact when the results are known, an all-too-common characteristic of the so-called “gurus” and “experts.” Sometimes a trade moves too quickly to get it out—the GBPJPY is notorious for this. For the most part though, you see them as I make them.

As usual, I didn’t have an excessive number of trades and the gains are more spread out than they usually are across several pairs.However, big earners were USDCAD with 1,000 pips, most of that taken in partial profits. Next was GBPJPY with 657 pips.

In some of the trades, I took partial profits. I’m still unsure about the best way to report those so I just lump them together, e.g. if I closed out half at 50 and the rest at 100, I count 150. If anyone has a better idea for how to report these, please post a comment. I also had some trades I blogged about that stopped at breakeven. I don’t count these in the trades I list.

Here’s the detail of the January trades. Each of them was blogged about when it took place and you could see them on the charts I posted.

Currency pair, total net gain or loss in pips, and the detailed trades

AUDUSD +70 total; (1 trade at +70)
EURCHF +100 total; (1 trade at +100)
EURGBP (+50 total; (1 trade at +50)
EURJPY +284 total; (+70, +244, -30)
EURUSD +380 total; (+5, +25, +300, +50)
GBPCHF +418 total; (+223, +113, +77, +5)
GBPJPY +657 total; (+60, +25, +3. +95, +204, +70, +120, +80)
GBPUSD +157 total; (+92, +60, +5)
USDJPY (0 total; (+70, -70)
USDCAD +1000 total; (+5, +220, +400, +375)

October Blog Results +1,994 pips

I’ve decided to start posting my trade results from trades I’ve mentioned on this blog. I don’t blog all my trades (I’d never have time to trade if I did so) but I do touch on many here as I tend to follow different pairs for a period of time. I had a little trouble combing back through my posts but believe I have it correct below. For the month of October the results are a net gain of +1,994 pips. In some of the trades, as I’ve noted below, I took partial profits. I wasn’t sure how to report those so I added them together, e.g. if I closed out half at 50 and the rest at 100, I count 150. I’m not sure this is the best way to represent this. If anyone has a better idea, please post a comment.

Regardless, it was a good month. I had a big advantage this month in that the market presented many clear opportunities. Finally, it’s clear the number was so high primarily from trading GBPUSD and USDCAD. I put a lot of analysis into these two based on what I saw on my charts. That’s what paid off. I have had losing months in the past as well and if I blog about trades that result in a net loss you’ll see them here. That’s why I post the charts that show my actual trades. Anybody can say they made pips in the market but they never show you the trades as they go.
Here’s the detail by currency pair, net gain or loss, and detail:

AUD/USD +25
1 trade -15 pips;
2 trades, one +10 and one +30

EUR/USD +42
2 trades at -25 pips each;
1 trade 2 pips;
1 trade +40 pips;
1 trade +50 pips;

EUR/JPY +40
1 trade +40 pips;

GBP/JPY +257
1 trade 57 pips;
1 trade 200 pips;

GBP/USD +611
1 trade partially closed at +154; remainder closed at +265; I counted them separately.
2 trades at +120 and +72

USD/CAD +944
1 trade +50;
1 trade partially closed at +200 pips with rest taken at +100 pips (I added these together)
1 trade 219 pips.
1 trade partially closed at +375. Remainder of trade closed in Nov. so will count then

USD/CHF +75
1 trade +75 pips