amateurs have no chance

[schweiz]

in stocks it is nearly impossible

i do it in forex......

The problem is that on ET everybody sees things from his own, very narrow, perspective.
Daytrading for stocks is indeed not a good idea, but in forex or futures it is a completely different story.

And people who say that daytrading is a myth, probably never traded forex or futures. Or they did but failed.

Failure is no proof that something is impossible; it is only proof that for you it is impossible.

As most people have the subjective opinion that they are smarter then 90% of the population, they conclude that nobody can what they cannot.

 

[sillyw10]

The problem is that on ET everybody sees things from his own, very narrow, perspective.
Daytrading for stocks is indeed not a good idea, but in forex or futures it is a completely different story.

And people who say that daytrading is a myth, probably never traded forex or futures. Or they did but failed.

Failure is no proof that something is impossible; it is only proof that for you it is impossible.

As most people have the subjective opinion that they are smarter then 90% of the population, they conclude that nobody can what they cannot.

how did you come to the conclusion that day trading stocks is not a good idea...if you tried it what approach did you use...maybe that was the problem...or did you even try it?

 

[schweiz]

how did you come to the conclusion that day trading stocks is not a good idea...if you tried it what approach did you use...maybe that was the problem...or did you even try it?

Trading stocks was not a good idea because there were/are better things to trade. I switched from stocks to futures and forex, got much more leverage, no PDT rule. The returns I can reach in daytrading are impossible to reach in stocks intraday.
I could explain/show it better but then I have to speak about performance and that's never a good idea at ET because of all the bashers/losers present here.

 

[schweiz]

how did you come to the conclusion that day trading stocks is not a good idea...if you tried it what approach did you use...maybe that was the problem...or did you even try it?

Did you try stocks, futures and forex?

if you tried it what approach did you use...maybe that was the problem...or did you even try it?

 

[syswizard]

Trading stocks was not a good idea because there were/are better things to trade. I switched from stocks to futures and forex, got much more leverage, no PDT rule.

This is exactly right. You need a $100k account to day trade stocks, but with futures $20k will do fine. That allows you to do with up to 3-4 ES contracts and 3 NQ contracts.....not that I condone that sort of leverage.

 

[mbondy]

This is exactly right. You need a $100k account to day trade stocks, but with futures $20k will do fine. That allows you to do with up to 3-4 ES contracts and 3 NQ contracts.....not that I condone that sort of leverage.

No.
With 10k and a normal broker, you're looking at 40-50k in buying power in equities which is sufficient for someone trying to bag a few hundred dollars per day.

There are literally THOUSANDS more opportunities in stocks, the tape is easier to read, the exchanges offer rebates on commissions, and the players are more predictable. There's no comparison - equities, hands down.

 

[sillyw10]

Did you try stocks, futures and forex?

if you tried it what approach did you use...maybe that was the problem...or did you even try it?

all 3 and some more..imho stocks are the least risky bet for daytrading..and swingtrading.. which is where the real money is to be made

daytrading is not for those with little experience..for instance..using technical indicators like fibs or stochs to daytrade is a recipe for disaster..maybe that is why you found it a bad idea?

 

[sillyw10]

This is exactly right. You need a $100k account to day trade stocks, but with futures $20k will do fine. That allows you to do with up to 3-4 ES contracts and 3 NQ contracts.....not that I condone that sort of leverage.

I think we will be waiting a long time to see any positive results from a $20k account trading multiple emini contracts..I would give it about 2 weeks to a month..depending on how lucky the poor fool is!

 

[sillyw10]

No.
With 10k and a normal broker, you're looking at 40-50k in buying power in equities which is sufficient for someone trying to bag a few hundred dollars per day.

There are literally THOUSANDS more opportunities in stocks, the tape is easier to read, the exchanges offer rebates on commissions, and the players are more predictable. There's no comparison - equities, hands down.

you need to up that to a $30k account with another $5k in reserve..then it is possible to daytrade some US stocks effectively..as with any market..timing is everything!

 

[schweiz]

I think we will be waiting a long time to see any positive results from a $20k account trading multiple emini contracts..I would give it about 2 weeks to a month..depending on how lucky the poor fool is!

Don't project your "skills" on other people. I daytrade for over 2 decades, first stocks, then forex and since 1995 only futures.
You clearly have no clue what is possible in a good combination of leverage and compounding.

With 10K you can trade 6 contracts with the standard intraday margin of $1,650.
6 contracts at 2900 and $50 a points represents $870,000. The only problem is to be able to manage that without having accidents. And that's the problem for 99% of daytraders.

I don't trade for a few hundreds dollars a day.

"where the real money is to be made" depends on your skills. I know people who have to put their money in a savings account to be able to make real money.