The Weekend Trader - Early Year Reflections

A few thoughts on another chilly Sunday morning in the Northeast.

Early 2009 Reflections - It's now been roughly a full month since my 2008 "energy tank" went empty and I drastically scaled back trading and locked in the '08 trailing stop. Then if you'll recall, as I contemplated actually taking some time off to start '09, I instead chose to continue trading and simply begin the year with a $1 Dollar goal with much less self-imposed stress and reduced trading frequency, including minimal overnight and Europe trading.

Yet a very strange thing has happened since I essentially began my version of a "vacation", in that 16 of the last 18 sessions (89%) have been positive, including the last 12 in a row. Now of course the P&L has been very modest during this stretch -- at least compared to last fall -- and streaks mean little as I'd prefer a large bottom line with a poor win/loss % over a lesser bottom line with a large win/loss %. And I've undoubtedly sacrificed some earnings potential by scaling back.

Or have I???

The question is fully rhetorical and I don't want to even attempt to answer it. Yet as I alluded to in last week's sneak peek interview (official release Tuesday 1/20), I'm beginning to feel the competitive juices stir again, a hint of which may be evident in last week's trading volume cranking up a notch. It's also evident that I've needed almost a full month of "vacation" to recoup some of the zapped energy from last year.

It's likely that when I do begin pushing again, I'll experience increased P&L volatility as a trade-off for a stronger overall bottom line. Yet for now, I'm going to continue to take January "easy", although that tide could change soon.

U.S. Airways River Landing - I've thought long and hard about making an analogy between trading and "Sully" Sullenberger's heroic actions last week in landing his crippled plane in the Hudson. And while I've said over the years that I feel there are many similarities between airline pilots and traders, I thought I'd pass on this one as his spilt second life-saving actions far exceeded any trading decision one can make in terms of significance.

Performance Scorecard Archive - Please note I've added an archive link section in the left margin for 2008 weekly performance scorecards. And while the scorecard concept remains a complete experiment which I'm not sure will continue throughout the year, I thought the historical record might be helpful for now.

Trader Lifeline Network - You'll also note I've added a unlinked menu item to the left entitled "Trader Lifeline", which reflects a concept currently bouncing around in my head that involves providing a venue for interested traders to vent personal frustration, document successes, and otherwise interact with each other to form an even stronger supportive bond with others who follow the blog. And based on a recent conversation with Larry Connors, there are several high-end, full-time professionals now following our journey as a result of his mentioning the site at an MTA presentation and his exclusive Chairman's Club.

And while this blog remains my personal motivational journal and way of keeping my own head in the game, I'd like to make it even more helpful to onlookers in terms of providing a forum to connect with others. Any and all ideas and input are welcome, and stay tuned for more details.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.