Beginning as a Day Trader

Quote from bmatthe2:

I am currently raising capital to begin trading on my own and decided to come here to ask a few questions and to gain some insight into what real traders think. My goal for the first year of trading full time is $40,000-$45,000. Is this goal realistic? Thanks for the input.
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not realistic at all. if anything don't make 1 trade for 4-5 months and just paper trade like you were actually trading real money. you will save a whole lot of money.
 
Quote from bstay:

Firstly u need to have a method that works with high probability of winning each trade, get your win/loss percentage up to 60% or more. Anything less than 60% u are wasting yr time .... as "breakeven trader". .
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I agree with your post, as it covers R:R, money mgmt, expectancy etc. Except with the above part. Pleny of systems out there with 25-40% winning percentages that are doing quite well.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I will be using thinkorswim for my platform. I work nights and that job covers all my bills with a little extra spending money. Some very valid points about goals. I should also note that I am not married, don't very much debt and am willing to stay in my shoebox apartment until I have developed my methods and am doing well at trading. I have been developing psychological methods and an "emotional switch" over the past six months or so. I have also read numerous books about trading, but have come to the realization that the only way to really learn about trading is to go out there and do it. Thanks again for the input.
 
Good post. Sounds like you have a lot of the right pieces. Now its a matter of watching many many days of market action.

Quote from bmatthe2:

Thanks for all the replies. I will be using thinkorswim for my platform. I work nights and that job covers all my bills with a little extra spending money. Some very valid points about goals. I should also note that I am not married, don't very much debt and am willing to stay in my shoebox apartment until I have developed my methods and am doing well at trading. I have been developing psychological methods and an "emotional switch" over the past six months or so. I have also read numerous books about trading, but have come to the realization that the only way to really learn about trading is to go out there and do it. Thanks again for the input.
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Quote from 4DTrader:

Before I say you can do it, I need to know what broker you use and what instrument you trade. You already said "full time," that's a good thing.

Don't use IB! oh, shit, IB paid posters will attack me, they are everywhere on ET :(
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I would pay IB for the chance to say you are an imbecile.

There, I got it done for free.
 
Read a lot - but about the mistakes of others and try learning what not to do. There is no certain formula for winning, but you can try to avoid the honest mistakes of others. Trade like you are only going for survival like others have told you. Money management is the key to survival.

The more you can learn and the longer you can stay in the game - the better you will get. It's that basic and obvious, really.
 
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