On to Phase 3!

Phase 1: 2.5K loss. End of phase 1 came when I decided I wasn't making money and I had had enough. I decided to do paper trading only until I was making money...or something.

Phase 2: With the market in the Toilet following Britain's unexpected pullout from the EU, I placed my first big trade using my entire trading account and then some long an inverse volatility ETN. I made 4.4K. I then went on to trade options on SPX, netting another 3K or so. Phase 2 lasted a month and a half.

Phase 3: I've been hitting the books, blogs, etc. and paper trading earnings trades (so glad I paper traded these!!! Not working ATM. That's what paper trading is for. Building confidence and tweaking strategies before doing it for real. Maybe even optimizing alongside what is working. Now reading Keene's 2013 book on options trading. Stoked, although I must remember to stick to my own principles. I myself have experienced what happens when you allow your methodologies to become hopelessly clouded by others' ideas and opinions...things stop working. In fact, this greatly contributed to my 2.5 K loss and subsequent pullout, when a 1.4K profit (if I remember) turned into a 1.1K loss...due to this very thing.

Still approved to trade SPX and volatility as opportunity arises. SPX has been in a slight bit of turmoil recently so I have stayed out. Hoping tomorrow will shine some light on direction and so I can get those 2 free days of weekend decay.

But phase 3 is where I go pro for real. Learning all sorts of trading knowledge and strategies...so that I can pick the most promising that appear to work for me.

Stoked!

P.S. I just got the notification from yahoo finance that "Wall Street flat ahead of Friday's Jobs Report"...Yeah...something like that. Good to wait till tomorrow to trade :) Need to start paying more attention to the events that will be going on. Should start watching the entertaining news from guerrilla stock trading .com