What is happening to the trading blog world? It would appear that 2013 (following the usual glut of new and resurrected blogs in January) has really dried up when it comes to consistent material, with most of the established bloggers from recent years very quiet and all the new ones gone or barely managing a post a month. I include Centre Court Trading in that of course. Much of the trading blogosphere is inter-dependant, with blogs using other blogs for sources of material. So it's not that surprising that when two or three regulars stop posting, the rest tend to follow suit. I've had to cut loose at least 10 new blogs from my roll because they haven't posted for over 2 months. But I have been severely lacking myself, not only in inspiration but in desire.
My trading hasn't kicked on the way I hoped that it would in the first quarter of 2013. It's partly down to what happened at the end of last season, with my involvement with the trading syndicate. It really turned my head and got me dreaming of new horizons and possibilities. Unfortunately, it also has affected my trading; my focus was knocked and frustration with my whole trading situation kicked in. This in turn, has meant that I have not wanted to blog much and even considered retiring. Then came April................
New focus. New intensity. New desire. New results. As you can see from my P&L screenshot (below), I have stepped things up a notch. The advent of the clay season usually spells an increase in opportunities for my style of trading and this year has been no different, culminating in my best ever monthly profit. I knew that if I could get out of this negative head-space I'd gotten into and start believing in my ability again, I could get back on track. I basically decided to take on slightly more risk, higher liabilities. I have felt for a while that I should be trading with larger amounts for my experience and ability but have always tried to stick with the same low-risk bank percentages that have served me well over the past year. But as things are not moving forward for me (being unable to compound) I've decided to just go for it and trust in myself more. The start of the European clay court season was an ideal window of opportunity, being the time of year most likely to get me off to a good start which is so vital when upping stakes - especially if the bank isn't being increased! It's a risky play, granted, but has really paid off. I got off to a flyer, which was imperative as it settled me into things and now it feels as though I've been trading at this level for months.
It's not a complete gamble though, I have adjusted my strategy and rather than go for the really big wins, I have decided to exit earlier and build more consistently, so lowering the probability of hitting a bad streak of variance. To be honest, I think I prefer this way - it's certainly easier on the ticker! It also aids my concentration much more, as rather than being involved in matches for long periods, I'm finding I can wrap things up much quicker, refresh and move onto the next game. This is one of the reasons I love trading tennis so much. I can't think of any other sport which allows you the luxury of doing this (other than horse racing). As there are always several games on back to back through the day (and many which overlap), it is easier to just trade for a few minutes and then leave the rest of the match, take a break or move onto a different one, which adds a bit more variety to the session. I've been saying for a while now that my biggest barriers to success are impatience and lack of focus. Hopefully, the tweaks I've made will take care of both issues.
So The Sultan is back and I have a couple of interesting (well, to me anyway!) new additions/changes to the blog in the pipeline. Watch this space!
Li Na:
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My trading hasn't kicked on the way I hoped that it would in the first quarter of 2013. It's partly down to what happened at the end of last season, with my involvement with the trading syndicate. It really turned my head and got me dreaming of new horizons and possibilities. Unfortunately, it also has affected my trading; my focus was knocked and frustration with my whole trading situation kicked in. This in turn, has meant that I have not wanted to blog much and even considered retiring. Then came April................
New focus. New intensity. New desire. New results. As you can see from my P&L screenshot (below), I have stepped things up a notch. The advent of the clay season usually spells an increase in opportunities for my style of trading and this year has been no different, culminating in my best ever monthly profit. I knew that if I could get out of this negative head-space I'd gotten into and start believing in my ability again, I could get back on track. I basically decided to take on slightly more risk, higher liabilities. I have felt for a while that I should be trading with larger amounts for my experience and ability but have always tried to stick with the same low-risk bank percentages that have served me well over the past year. But as things are not moving forward for me (being unable to compound) I've decided to just go for it and trust in myself more. The start of the European clay court season was an ideal window of opportunity, being the time of year most likely to get me off to a good start which is so vital when upping stakes - especially if the bank isn't being increased! It's a risky play, granted, but has really paid off. I got off to a flyer, which was imperative as it settled me into things and now it feels as though I've been trading at this level for months.
It's not a complete gamble though, I have adjusted my strategy and rather than go for the really big wins, I have decided to exit earlier and build more consistently, so lowering the probability of hitting a bad streak of variance. To be honest, I think I prefer this way - it's certainly easier on the ticker! It also aids my concentration much more, as rather than being involved in matches for long periods, I'm finding I can wrap things up much quicker, refresh and move onto the next game. This is one of the reasons I love trading tennis so much. I can't think of any other sport which allows you the luxury of doing this (other than horse racing). As there are always several games on back to back through the day (and many which overlap), it is easier to just trade for a few minutes and then leave the rest of the match, take a break or move onto a different one, which adds a bit more variety to the session. I've been saying for a while now that my biggest barriers to success are impatience and lack of focus. Hopefully, the tweaks I've made will take care of both issues.
So The Sultan is back and I have a couple of interesting (well, to me anyway!) new additions/changes to the blog in the pipeline. Watch this space!
Li Na:
