May Recap

MAY TOTALS:
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Gain: $4981, net of commissions
Trades: 90 for 134; 67% winners
Ave gain per day traded: $356
Ave gain per hour traded: $150
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Days traded in May: 14 out of 20; 70%
Days traded with a gain: 13 out of 14; 93%
Days traded with a loss: 1 out of 14; 7%
Hours traded in May: 33.25 out of 130; 26%
Largest daily loss: -$5930 on May 18th (only day with a loss)
Smallest daily loss: *see above
Largest daily gain: $2995 on May 28th
Smallest daily gain: $190 on May 14th (the day with the least time spent trading: 1/2 hour)
Most active day: 17 for 30 on May 19th ( the only day I traded the full 6.5 hour session)
Least active day: 2 for 2 on May 26th
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Notable:
My time in front of the market seemed to shrink this month as day-job got busier. Because of this, I'm now tracking hours spent in the market as well as days to give me a feel for my efficiency as well as what the time commitment of my practice trading really is. My number of trades is down also, partly because of less time in themarkets but also because of more patience and discipline in my entries. This is a very positive change in behavior and the one thing this month of which I am happiest. There are still some "flunky" moves, of course.
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My average daily gain is down again this month, in part because I have been spending less time trading in the days which I can get into the market. I was in the market only 2.5 hours or fewer in 11 of the 14 days I traded. By the stats, with a 67% win rate and only one losing day all month, less time in the markets means less overall gains from missed opportunity. Day-job is at fault...
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With only one losing day all month, my gains should have been much bigger. Same old story as prior months... one or two really nasty losing days can offset a relatively high success rate of wins to losses. I'm hoping that becoming militant about setting stops will produce better results in June and beyond. I'm not ready to be a real trader until I can set stops and mitigate losses effectively.
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I have calculated the monthly stats in dollars rather than cents per share, although much of the month was not originally measured in dollars. This is the progression toward trading real cash.
Also part way into this month, I switched to measuring wins and losses by the cumulative position and not by the individual trades which make up each position. As such, the monthly stats are not precise.
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Overall: I am improving as time goes forward and I am happy about many parts of my practice trading. I am MUCH more comfortable getting in and out of trades and often find myself not looking at my gains and losses at all, just price and volume. I find I rarely get emotional about the various trades I put on. Mostly, I am just analytical about my activities in the market.
In mid-May, I decided to commit to trend trading and to wean myself from the practice of adding to losers to average a better overall price. This requires a concerted effort to use stops. My frustration with this change is exhibited on May 18th, my only losing day. It was a bad session as I tried this new approach for the first time and got chopped to bits after repeated hits on my stops. The next day May 17th was a tough one managing stops also although I scraped together a $770 gain. I fear it will take some time to master this new method...partly because I am so strongly compelled to revert back to my old trading style of averaging down by adding to losing positions. (like today for example)
Holding winners through a trend also seems to be tough for me. I attribute it to not having a "feel" for slowing momentum. As such, I take smaller gains when I have them. I believe the remedy is to focus closely on what happens as momo slows... and to study charts after-hours; my own and those at Fear & Greed Day Trader.
I do hope all of you had a productive month and I wish you good trading in June!