By day trading, is it really impossible to get a 3% return every day without fail?

[barcadia]

Easy enough once you have a proper edge

 

[Xela]

With all due respect, upon what evidence do you base that he was earning far more as a trader than his eye surgeon and professor income?

Admittedly, not on any I can really quote here: it's anecdotal evidence (i.e. a relative who's also an eye surgeon who's known him slightly for decades, and been well aware of the whole story). Sorry not to be able to back up my assertion better - perfectly reasonable to ask, of course, but I just happen to know that the Al Brooks story is one of the true and real ones, and that he's supported his whole family, including three daughters going through college, from his trading income.

 

[marketsurfer]

Admittedly, not on any I can really quote here: it's anecdotal evidence (i.e. a relative who's also an eye surgeon who's known him slightly for decades, and been well aware of the whole story). Sorry not to be able to back up my assertion better - perfectly reasonable to ask, of course, but I just happen to know that the Al Brooks story is one of the true and real ones, and that he's supported his whole family, including three daughters going through college, from his trading income.

Ok, I won't ask any more-- as i get your drift ....... peace, surf

 

[d08]

It's not clear that "the money will be there" even for those who do achieve "success" at day trading. Take Al Brooks for example, he claims to be a master day trader, but I am not sure that the "income of your dreams from trading" he writes of is made through trading rather than trading education or small trading profits combined with multiple sustainable sources of income such as trading education.

I guess since it's Christmas, it's best to respond with a song, the chorus lyrics apply here.

 

[motif]

I was a losing trader for about 5 years and wiped out 1 time a 50K account (in less than 24 hours) . Needed another 5 years (more or less) to become consistant profitable.
But after +20 years of daytrading I have an idea about what I can achieve and what not.
I never said trading is easy, but if you are really good you can make a lot of money. I do realize that for over 90% of candidate traders it wil never work. But not everybody becomes a rich sportsmen, singer, lawyer or doctor too. The same problem occurs in anything you want to achieve.

First step it trying to find out if you have the qualifications to become a good trader. But be realistic and evaluate constanly if it still make sense to try, or if it is better to give up. Better admit failure than continue forever and realize just before you die that you lost your entire life chasing an impossible dream. It is no shame to admit you failed. Put aside your ego.

"I was a losing trader for about 5 years and wiped out 1 time a 50K account (in less than 24 hours) . Needed another 5 years (more or less) to become consistant profitable. First step it trying to find out if you have the qualifications to become a good trader." It took you ten years to become a "qualified trader"...After 10 tears of failed trading what were your qualifications? Your massive "IQ"?

 

[speedo]

"I was a losing trader for about 5 years and wiped out 1 time a 50K account (in less than 24 hours) . Needed another 5 years (more or less) to become consistant profitable. First step it trying to find out if you have the qualifications to become a good trader." It took you ten years to become a "qualified trader"...After 10 tears of failed trading what were your qualifications? Your massive "IQ"?

His trajectory is not uncommon. The fact is most never prevail regardless of intellect.

 

[i am nobody]

His trajectory is not uncommon. The fact is most never prevail regardless of intellect.

Useless to explain it to him, Motif is too stupid to understand that.

No matter what I tell he will always have negative comments. If I am successful it is impossible, if I am not successful I am a loser. 5 to 10 years learning is not necessary for him, he thinks he can be a toptrader in a few days. He is even so stupid to think that it is all about IQ.
Qualification is not about IQ and not equal to successful. Qualification means have the potential to become successful. But never a garantee.

On his profile he writes:Are there any Futures or Commodity traders trading successfully intraday?...If so, what are your strategies?
Typical for losers. Has no clue what to do, gets frustrated and jealous and asks others to help him.

Some other postings from Motif crying for help and asking all around what he should do and how he can trade profitable:

1. May I ask why you dont like the Elliot Wave in Motivewave? There are two versions, manual and auto-which one do you have? Have you tried using the scanner? Do you have full version-reason Im asking is Im thinking about purchasing...thx
2. "I'm just looking for something better but I'm not sure if I can find it."...You'll find the Holy Grail someday
3. Hi RabidTrader; what do you trade and what are your strategies? Thx

 

[Frederick Foresight]

So assuming you had $100 and got a 3% return everyday on your portfolio (excluding the transaction/brokerage fees), if you did that 100 times in a row for each possible business day (so guessing maybe about close to half a year) you would have $1921.86 at the end of it ...which is more than 19 times the original amount. I know its crazy (and not feasible in real life) but that just boggles my mind.

Don't think small. Imagine the payout if you started with $200.

 

[lawrence-lugar]

Don't think small. Imagine the payout if you started with $200.

...$200....think Big...imagine if he started with $300 :eek:
Compounding -- the 8'th Wonder of the World

 

[Q3D]

He doesn't: he'd never use a word like "master" to describe himself. Far from it.





This is an easy aspersion to cast against anyone who's written a few books.

The reality is that he gave up a very successful career as an eye surgeon and ophthalmology professor because he was earning far more from his trading than his medical salary. A decade or so later, he missed writing and teaching and wrote some trading books, as well. Understandably (when you read them) they're far from "bestsellers".

I share your general skepticism about "trading vendors", but to suggest that Al Brooks has made a living for all these years as a service provider rather than as a trader is simply mistaken.

Just because Brooks doesn't explicitly state that he is a master trader doesn't mean that he does not imply that he has a mastery of reading price action and acting on that mastery. I could quote from the books where he suggests trading success (extracting $ from the market) is dependent upon one's level of mastery of reading price action, not a word about position sizing of contracts per capital, risk of ruin, or trading psychology or a suggestion that these issues even have a remote correlation with trading success. Brooks is highly skilled in reading price action and an understanding of price action is what he suggests leads to profits.

I don't accept the assumption Brooks trades as profitably in the HFT futures markets as he did prior to the mid-late 2000s when stock and futures markets entered a paradigm shift with automation, leaving a high-paying career to trade 2000-era markets is totally different from leaving a high-paying career to day trade in HFT markets.

Speedo mentioned in another thread that he and Brooks shared trading info together in the early 2000s and his method of trading was much simpler and momentum-based (scalping), which leaves open the possibility that the markets became less trade-able for day traders after the early 2000s and perhaps taking less risk and maybe pursuing sustainable sources of income become a logical choice if not necessity. If what Speedo says is true I am surprised the books didn't mention that his reading of PA had changed so much following the early 2000s.