About

PontusTrading is an experiment I am running over the summer months starting on May 1st until August 31st, for a total of 87 full trading days. The intent is to see if I can generate a steady stream of income from trading alone as well as learn and refine my trading methods. This blog will serve as a journal of the trades I make and my thoughts. I'm going to come back at the end and re read everything I wrote so I can see how I've changed and where I need improvement. Second to that, it will also provide transparency and ensure accountability on my behalf to whoever stumbles across. Achieving this is done by posting evidence of trades and discussing trade ideas.

The name Pontus means "The Sea" in Greek but also refers to the northern part of Turkey that connects to the Black Sea (see the picture below). It aligns well with my beliefs in that the mind of a successful trader must be like the sea - calm and collected at times but ready to become a raging tempest when required. It also suits metaphorically the activity of the stock market; in that waves of opportunity always flow into shore. When the waves stop coming ashore, and the water is retreating into the sea, you know a tsunami is brewing.

Myself, I am a university student in my very early twenties and that's about all I have to say personally. My trading relies on purely technical analysis and I believe that long term investing in an index is a dead end for our generation. Buying and holding an S&P 500 index from late 1990s to now would have netted a minimal return after accounting for inflation and the fact that the S&P is still below its highs. Take a look at the Nikkei from the 1980s and its present state to see why long term investing ensures the majority lose while a minority few make all the money.

Nikkei

I have a set of beliefs in trading that act as my guidelines. The first is that failure and losing money are to be embraced just as much as winning trades. That isn't to suggest one should take wild gambits in the hopes to make a lot of money really fast. Most times, chasing after the goal haphazardly only ensures you won't ever reach it. Rather, what I mean by this is to accept losing, learn from it, and move on.

Second, belief - no trade is better than a losing trade. This sounds rather basic but you'd be amazed how hard it is to adhere to it. What it means is that sometimes the winning move is to not play at all (backwards induction game theory).  Not controlling urges to enter a trade just for the sake of doing something leads to failure more often than not. I'd rather make no money at all and not spend than to lose money and not be able to spend anything anyways. More so, missing a trade is a part of strategy. If one misses their entry point then forget about it - don't chase a stock just because you feel it owes you something.

Opportunities exist every single day, so there is no logic in obessing about a missed trade instead of focusing on the next opportunity.