Analysis of September 2008

Hello,

today I will do my analysis of September 2008:

Trading Tennis

number of matches I traded: 37
number of wins: 18
number of losses: 19
scratched trades: 0

number of wins > 3€: 10 
number of losses > 3€: 7

total win: +74.68
total loss: -69.96
total pl: +4.72 

average win: +4.15
average loss: -3.68
average pl: +0.13 

win rate: 49%
max win: +11.15
max loss: -13.81

Again not a result I am very happy with. Not because of the small win, but more because I made so many mistakes:

I did not do any research before a match. I used different stake sizes and I made stupid decisions and forced trades.

So, how to change this:

Actually, I have created a cheat sheet for trading tennis with all my rules and dos and don'ts, so I can have a look at this sheet when trading tennis.

During this month I did not use the same liability in every match and this makes it difficult to measure my trading.

Trading soccer

number of matches I traded: 15
number of wins: 9
number of losses: 6
scratched trades: 0

number of wins > 3€: 6 
number of losses > 3€: 0

total win: +27.16
total loss: -10.99
total pl: +16.17 

average win: +3.02
average loss: -1.83
average pl: +1.08 

win rate: 60%
max win: +5.39
max loss: -3.00

A good result, but not perfect. I do not mean the profit, but rather the way I traded soccer. I had some wrong trades and made some avoidable mistakes.

I know there are only two or three key events during a soccer match, so if you are not prepared and you force a trade, you can lose your money very soon.

That is the problem I have sometimes when trading tennis: I know there can be many swings and flip flops, so I am too often hoping for the next swing in my favour.

Trading Formula 1

This month I learned it the hard way what can happen, if you do not take a stop loss.

The loss during the Italian Grand Prix was too massive to recover it with other trades. I was not focused on the bigger picture, I was focused on the actual battle I had.

total loss trading Formula 1: -€46.47

Trading NFL

I traded 4 matches and scratched two of them. With only 4 matches it is not 100% reliable how I can trade this sport, so I have to wait and see next month what is it about.

total profit trading NFL: +€9.91

Trading Ice Hockey

I had only one trade and made a profit. It is also not reliable. Will see, if I can trade other matches and we have to see how it will develop.

total profit trading Ice Hockey: +€4.09

Overall there is a loss in September 2008: -€11.57.

Only one trade destroyed a possible good trading result for this month. I am happy that I was able to reduce the loss, but all in all I need to learn accepting losses.

I recognized I have a problem with a loss, if I made stupid mistakes. Even if I enter a match when there is no trading spot and I recognize it, when the trade goes against me, then I can not accept the loss. I try to correct the mistake within the same situation (mostly with over staking), but this is not possible. Actually I am still a beginner in sports trading and I am still making mistakes. I have to accept that and should not force something. How can I learn from these mistakes (taking a position when there is no trading opportunity) when I make other mistakes (over staking), which cover the underlying mistake?

To accept making mistakes I must not have fear when trading. I have fear when I use too high stakes. So my stake sizes I defined in my analysis of August 2008 are way too high.

Actually, I have not found the best money management rules for me. But it is quite ironic that I write something about money management into my dos and don'ts, but I do not follow them by myself:

"Manage your risk by trading with the right size stakes.
This is very important and depends on 2 things - the price of the selection and the size of your trading bank."

My actual stake sizes does not depend on those two things, so it is time to change that. I have worked out the following table (bankroll 119.50€):

My actual bankroll is €119.50 so I do not risk more than 20% on every trade.

Stake size is only one part of risk management. Another part is taking stop losses. I think there are different kinds of stop losses:

• Stop loss during a trade
• Maximum loss limit per event
• Maximum loss limit per day

The stop loss during a trade is something you have to define before you put on a trade. This can be a price of a selection or a score during a match.

Actually, I have not a maximum limit per event or day defined, so I will do that now. This should help me to see the bigger picture and not to over stake during a match or a day.

Maximum loss limit per event: 10€ (~8% of bankroll)
Maximum loss limit per day: 25€ (~20% of bankroll)

I am not sure, if these figures are perfect, but now I have rules which should prevent me from losing more than I can accept and when I think about these figures then I can say these are amounts I can accept as a loss.

I am sure this is not my last change of stake sizes and loss limits, but now I have rules and limits, which should help me to see the bigger picture. Any comments, tips or ideas are much appreciated.

Overall stats:

September 08: -€11.57
August 08: -€7.74
July 08: +€29.10
June 08: +€25.90
May 08: +€1.36
April 08: +€25.27
March 08: +€3.08

I had also some trades during the last few days. I will update them later in the evening or tomorrow.
All the best with trading!

Cheers, Loocie