22. The Great Reset: Trading for a Family

I’m starting the year over.

I’ll be honest: I haven’t tracked a single trade since the 10th of January. Looking at my activity statements, I know I’m still slightly ahead for the year, but those final weeks of January were rough. I had losing weeks at the back end that wiped out most of the profit I generated in those first two "hot" weeks.

I could spend hours backtracking and trying to piece the data together, but I honestly can’t be bothered. I don’t have the time or the effort to look backward, and I want to better use my energy looking at the road ahead. I want a clean break.

Fewer Decisions, Better Decisions

From this point on, I’m changing the way I track. I’m going into massive detail because I realized that while I think I'm good, I’ve got so damn far to go and so much to improve on. To get better, I have to track EVERYTHING.

I'm moving toward making fewer decisions, but ensuring they are much higher-quality ones. This is why I’m now tracking:

• The Context: Where was I? At my desk, in bed, or out at the shops?

• The Prep: Did I actually do a preview, or was I winging it?

• The Execution: The exact entry, the exit, and the "what if" scenarios.

The data from the last two weeks has already shown me that my psyche has fundamentally shifted.

Bravery

Since finding out I’m going to be a father, my "stones" have disappeared. Before, punting losses were just "my money" a personal score on a screen. Now, the weight of a loss hits differently. It’s no longer just mine; it’s Bub’s money. It’s my partner’s money. It belongs to my family before it belongs to me.

This has turned me into a "scared" trader. I’m identifying $3.00 value, but I’m panicking and laying out at $2.70. I’m taking 20% of the profit off the bone when I should be taking 70%.

I’m running out in front of a train to pick up pennies, when I should be grabbing suitcases of cash.

In this game, the "Strip-out" is unavoidable. Hattricks happen when you’re on the batting team. An over goes for 24 when you’re on the bowling side. If I don't have the bravery to hold for the medium-to-big wins, the unavoidable big losses will eat me alive. My emotions are currently compromised, so I’m putting up Guardrails.

Guardrails

For this chapter, I’m setting auto-lay prices when I enter a market. I need to maximize the profit in the instances where I am right, and right now, my "Dad-brain" is clicking the 'Exit' button too early out of fear.

Interestingly, I’ve realized that my "set-and-forget" betting is actually working better than my live trading. Because the bet is placed hours or days before the event, the emotion doesn't interfere with the position.

Once I adjust to this new responsibility and learn to handle the losses better, the guardrails will come down. But for now, I need them.

The Numbers: The New "Day 0"

After the first two weeks of this hyper-detailed tracking, here is the baseline for the Daddy Fund 2.0:

We are up. It’s green. But I feel like we should be up more. I’m struggling, but I’m showing up. These are the growing pains I need if I’m going to adjust to being a family man.

Next week, I’ll do a deeper dive into the figures. For today, I just needed to work through the adjustments and vent a little.

Cheers,

Pez