Am I Wasting My Time?

I don't think one needs to be a good trader.
I'm not a good trader as such but I have a good (imo) strategy which compensates for lack of having a brilliant quick sharp mind and memory which I lack.
Integrity without ego.... Knowing ones self and ones limitations and strengths is the first obstacle to conquer in becoming a good trader!
 
Ever since the MF Global and PFG Best debacles I tell my clients to NOT keep more than $50K in their trading accounts. If the FCM requires more margin or if you want to trade more size or more positions you can wire funds in 15 minutes.

I used to keep T-Bills in my account but FCMs aren’t so keen on the practice these days.
Good thinking. I have multiple accounts and keep the balances low for that very reason.
 
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Personally I found the opposite to be true. I was never able to profit trading index options.

A very liquid instrument like SPY has lots of players, tends to be very efficient and very difficult for an amateur retail to establish an edge. MM do not have to use wide spread to protect themselves from "knowledge traders"

A thinly traded instrument on the other hand has few price discovery and tends to be inefficient. The inefficiency is reflected in wide bid/ask. It is easier for an amateur retail to exploit.

It could be I don't have any edge?
Back in the day I would monitor multiple stocks and when the specialist would open of the spread (To attract buyers and sellers) in the NYSE stocks and AMEX stocks I used to jump in and scalp 1/8...1/4...or 1/2 in between the bid and ask. That pretty much ended when they went to decimals.
 
Trading is like any other profession requiring a specific mindset and skills. There are also no shortcuts. Like any other profession it will take years of study and hands on experience. It is a cumulative process that requires a commitment over time in which you progress in stages from novice to expert. If you can't cut it part time building up your trading capital you sure aren't going to make it full time. I didn't venture into full time trading until I had accumulated $300,000 in profits from part time. Much to my surprise, after initially building up capital daytrading stock index futures and then progressing to trading tech and small cap growth funds, I found my most consistent and largest profits came from trading bond funds - junk, emerging markets, and recently securitized. All traders eventually find their trading niche.
How did you trade stock index futures?
 
It depends on how much you are trying to make a month. Can you make at least $10,000 net profit a month with $100,000 cash --in my opinion yes --especially in daytrading S&P 500 futures and closing out all positions before the end of each session.

But for alot of people $10,000 per month is not making a living and they want to make $500K per year. Although there are some people that are that good at trading that if they only have $100K to trade with (and never add to bases capital--always stays at $100K) that they can make that kind of money--$40k a month (or more) on only $100K capital is not realistic

Can you make $10,000 per month trading stocks with $100k and say having $400k buying power intraday under PDT rule and closing out all positions before the end of each session?
Again I would say that is certainly possible even trading large cap like AAPL and averaging $500 per trading session net profit - 20 sessions a month.

You have to:
1) Spend at least 5,000 hours to 10,000 hours practicing and developing a consistent trading edge that works regardless of daily market conditions
2) Create a trade plan & risk mgt plan before each session
3) Write down a daily trading report journal of what you did right & wrong
4) Continuously learn from mistakes and take consistent action to correct mistakes
5) Be willing to be completely objective and honest with yourself whether you are correcting past mistakes or just very suceptible falling into old bad habits. You also have to be willing to be honest with yourself as to whether you have what it takes to be consistent and successful in the trading for a living business (or whether you are just lucky every now and then and really have no edge, no risk mgt and no real daily plan that is consistently profitable regardless of market conditions)

Can you make alot more money selling educational courses, trading software, trading chat room trading subscriptions, trading daily picks services and newsletters--

I would say that technically yes --its probably easier to make more money that way but you still have to have some sort of credibility (unless you want to be one of these fake trading gurus on stocktwits or twitter ( SEE: https://twitter.com/guruleaks1?lang=en ) that just trade 2 different fake TD ameritrade thinkorswim accounts every day (1 fake money trading acct for big money long plays and 1 fake money trading acct for big money short plays) and then just post the massive "fake" winning trade(s) each day (whichever one it turns out to be--the long play or the short play of the volatile stock of the day) along with pictures of you with beautiful women , piles of cash , rental private jets and rental lambos- and your ok with being a fake trading fraudster


I wanted to post this question here. Might be a stupid question, but just trying to look at this from a realistic perspective.

Am I wasting my time chasing the "trade for a living" dream?

I've done countless hours or research and it seems that the only people making real money in this industry are selling their systems or selling their mentoring and coaching services.

Additionally, I took a step back and thought about the potential outcomes and none of them really seem to add up either. The best-case scenario to me would look like I make several thousand for all the time and energy put into it, and that might not even be realistic.

- Trading with only $100k of capital is not even close enough to potentially trade for a living
- No path to raise real money from outside investors in the US with all the SEC red tape.
- No track record
- Lastly and most importantly, I feel that there is barely any edge out there for the retail trader. With all the competition in the market, I find it very hard to believe anybody out there truly makes an income from just trading for a living.

I started my trading education path back in 2011 up until about 2016 then life came around, but recently I've been coming back to the drawing board but this time around knowing what I know now, I am wondering if this is even a realistic path to go down or if I should just stop now and focus my time on something that could pay off more instead of going down the rabbit hole.

Again, this might be stupid, and I am sure I will get a lot of "noob thinks he is going to make millions overnight" or "haven't even traded yet and is already going to quit" type replies but I'm just trying to look at this from a realistic and logical path this time around.

Thanks!
 
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Don’t count on the mickey spilling the beans....LOL
Hehe, am reminded of Dest who said not too long ago he's clammed shut divulging his trades as he's decided no longer to give away hints on his methods.
I'll only say this much, trading is mind boggling simple!
However there is a huge amount of preperation required of anyone to this self discovery of how to achieve.
Seriously, if you gave me one dedicated person, in one week I could train them to trade hugely profitably.
 
It depends on how much you are trying to make a month. Can you make at least $10,000 net profit a month with $100,000 cash --in my opinion yes --especially in daytrading S&P 500 futures and closing out all positions before the end of each session.

But for alot of people $10,000 per month is not making a living and they want to make $500K per year. Although there are some people that are that good at trading that if they only have $100K to trade with (and never add to bases capital--always stays at $100K) that they can make that kind of money--$40k a month (or more) on only $100K capital is not realistic

Can you make $10,000 per month trading stocks with $100k and say having $400k buying power intraday under PDT rule and closing out all positions before the end of each session?
Again I would say that is certainly possible even trading large cap like AAPL and averaging $500 per trading session net profit - 20 sessions a month.

You have to:
1) Spend at least 5,000 hours to 10,000 hours practicing and developing a consistent trading edge that works regardless of daily market conditions
2) Create a trade plan & risk mgt plan before each session
3) Write down a daily trading report journal of what you did right & wrong
4) Continuously learn from mistakes and take consistent action to correct mistakes
5) Be willing to be completely objective and honest with yourself whether you are correcting past mistakes or just very suceptible falling into old bad habits. You also have to be willing to be honest with yourself as to whether you have what it takes to be consistent and successful in the trading for a living business (or whether you are just lucky every now and then and really have no edge, no risk mgt and no real daily plan that is consistently profitable regardless of market conditions)

Can you make alot more money selling educational courses, trading software, trading chat room trading subscriptions, trading daily picks services and newsletters--

I would say that technically yes --its probably easier to make more money that way but you still have to have some sort of credibility (unless you want to be one of these fake trading gurus on stocktwits or twitter ( SEE: https://twitter.com/guruleaks1?lang=en ) that just trade 2 different fake TD ameritrade thinkorswim accounts every day (1 fake money trading acct for big money long plays and 1 fake money trading acct for big money short plays) and then just post the massive "fake" winning trade(s) each day (whichever one it turns out to be--the long play or the short play of the volatile stock of the day) along with pictures of you with beautiful women , piles of cash , rental private jets and rental lambos- and your ok with being a fake trading fraudster

What people miss is by trading correctly, avoiding the dumb mistakes, assuming one was a competent trader, one can double his capital say, you start at $50,000 risking $1,000 per trade, with profits you reach $100,000 or double your monies. Now, your position size goes to $2,000 per trade. Nothing stopping you from doing it over and over and growing your capital base exponentially over time. I don't day trade so, my thinking is longer term as in swing trading and trend following. The same principle can be applied to day trading as far as capital goes.
 
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