Anyone here actually profitable?

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I refuse to pay for another book, course, or mentor. Tired of it all.
What books, courses or mentors did you pay for?
Why are you not making money? It's usually psychology and discipline.
And yes I'm a profitable trader. (Swing trading stocks)
 
I lost my mind many times, and had countless AHA moments that in hindsight were short lived.
Learn to trade is very hard, but once you understand the market, it becomes easy. At least for me. Be prepared for a learning curve that can take a few years.
There is a reason why most people never make money. And that reason is surely not that they are stupid.
 
Watching other people trade gave me some ideas how to trade against them that's how I learned how to trade equity, especially the morning gap-up stocks.

I am profitable in my trades but after taxes it is about the same as if I went out and got a full-time job in my line of work.
 
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Being a broker for over 20 years provided me with the luxury of seeing who are the VERY few that actually make money. The success rate is VERY low....however here are some pointers that may help or shed another light with the help of two ogf my colleagues, both worked on the floor and off the floor, John Thorpe and Byron Zook:

Diversify the markets you are trading. Diversify the strategies you are trading, swing, overnight (yes there are many different contracts and contract sizes that most accounts can handle overnight positions in). There is no one strategy that works all the time. Be well capitalized. never utilize all of your capital for margin. Do plan to trade everyday and do not plan on intraday trading everyday and just because you plan to trade everyday doesn't mean you need to! just review the markets and make mental notes about the market action and keep a journal about your observations, daily.. trading the same market everyday with the same tools, just won't work. The Markets are like large bodies of water, always changing shape. You just can't use the same vessel to navigate changing waters.

Seek out the edge on all trades. At the end of the day, you’ll have to find what type of strategy works for your demeanor/personality/risk tolerance, etc., but it should always seek out the edge on trades.


As the old adage goes, make your 2nd trade 1st, meaning know where you’re getting out before you get in.




More on the topic here.
 
Anyone who’s run a business sees the complete differences. Trading is much much harder.

A small franchise almost never fails because someone sold you the recipe. So I guess it depends on the kind of business you are talking about. I'm thinking mostly tech startups.
 
I refuse to pay for another book, course, or mentor. Tired of it all.

Can someone give me a no bullshit assessment on whether this is actually achievable or not? I have iron-clad discipline but zero strategy. Psychology has never been an issue. Not trying to strike it mega-rich at this point but just to consistently put money in my account and take a few trades a day.

I'm beginning to lose my mind. Thought trading would be a good way to try and pay off medical debt but boy was I wrong. Maybe if I could swing 5 lots on ES and take 8 points a day it might happen, but as of right now all I do is lose money.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Not sure if your question is limited to the equities markets, but I ladder bonds and hold to maturity.
  • With the inverted yield curve short-term bonds have been great. I'm averaging about 6% (including compounding) and haven't lost a penny in years.
  • I'm quick to reinvest coupons and payouts to address reinvestment risk.
  • It takes some work... you must learn bond math, and keep on top of it. Maybe try a bond ETF or Mutual fund if you just want your percent but don't have time.
  • The bond markets are for the pros; hundreds of billions in bonds cross every day. Small fry like me have cross the spread and go a little deeper in... you have to sweeten the deal or they won't take your offer. It's just not worth their time.
  • I could probably do almost as well with a bond fund myself, but I really enjoy trading bonds; researching the markets, and laddering. I want this out of life :)
  • It also takes a lot of patience. You won't get any big hits. It's the "tortoise" in the race against the hare. :)
  • It works well if you also have a full-time job. Set up your ladders, go to work, and check back in a few months.. and be quick to employ those extra dollars from your paycheck.
  • Many bonds are also exempt from taxes, which is also nice. Munis are exempt from state, local, AND Federal.
  • Corporates get "called" from time to time (which is annoying), but it's part of the game.
  • Personally I like marketable b
 
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