in this current market, what are your daily goals. (in terms of dollar amount) i am an undergrad, but follow trading and look forward to it once i graduate. i know things have changed, but by how much. what do you think is a reasonable income currently? what do you think an experienced trader can bring in? and how have times changed in response to this?
daily expectations
- Thread starter Boomer
- Start date
I do not think this way as it sets me up for disappointment or holds me back.
Daily goal setting is important.....but as a trader I have learned to take what the market gives.
Yes, the lower ranges causes lower profits for some. There are several ways to cope with this. Indeed volatility is necessary for intraday trading profitability. But adjustments can be made to compensate for the character of the market.... for example more frequent trades, longer holds, more leverage, stop and target calibrations....etc.
Perhaps your question is biased with a slant that perhaps you have a suspiscion that day traders are diminishing in number and profitability.
Michael B.
Daily goal setting is important.....but as a trader I have learned to take what the market gives.
Yes, the lower ranges causes lower profits for some. There are several ways to cope with this. Indeed volatility is necessary for intraday trading profitability. But adjustments can be made to compensate for the character of the market.... for example more frequent trades, longer holds, more leverage, stop and target calibrations....etc.
Perhaps your question is biased with a slant that perhaps you have a suspiscion that day traders are diminishing in number and profitability.
Michael B.
My daily goal is to follow my plan and keep disciplined. I stopped focusing on becoming profitable years ago. My focus is follow my rules, keep the risk reward ratio in my favor, enter the trade, manage it, and exit at the stop or target.
I recently applied that way of thinking to my golf game...I'm still high nineties, but look out Tiger!
I recently applied that way of thinking to my golf game...I'm still high nineties, but look out Tiger!
Well said....could not agree more.
As far as Tiger he is distracted with his girlfriend....you might have a chance!
Michael B.
As far as Tiger he is distracted with his girlfriend....you might have a chance!
Michael B.
I trade the ES for 2.5 pts per contract per day. This is my daily goal or target, however you want to call it. My plan today was to trade 5 ES on each trade and finish the day in the 2.5 pt range or above (5 ES @ $250/pt x 2.5 pts for a daily profit target of $625). I also plan for commission costs for 5 R/T trades to achieve this target when planning my monthly profit projections (daily trade profit of $625 - the commissions for 5 R/T trades). Everyday I execute my trade strategies to profit 2.5 pts per contract in 5 round trip trades. Now do I stop when I get to 2.5 pts for the day, heck no! I keep on trading as I see setups during the remaining trade day. I might change my trading style after I pass up my target during the day, but I never just stop at my goal and call it a day. That for me, in my mind, would be trading scared, which is very counterproductive to my trading goals. The main reason I have a daily profit target is to have a very definitive way to measure my results. In my mind, I believe that if you do not measure your actions then you have no real basis to make adjustments. Let's say you are in military marksmanship training and you follow all the professionally trained rules to the letter while firing your weapon. After you have fired your first 30 rounds down range at the target, how would you measure your success? I would want to review my hits on the target to measure my effectiveness. Even if all aspects of my live fire felt properly executed during the firing of the weapon, I would still most definitely want to review the hits to the target. For instance, even though everything felt perfect while firing, you might see a tight group of hits on the target high and right. At this point you would make the necessary adjustments to your weapons sights, and then re-fire for re-evaluation of effectiveness. I have daily profit targets for myself primarily to have something to shoot for every day.
In the end, every trader must find what is THEIR personal requirement for trading success. Everybody has some things which they MUST do to achieve consistent profits. There is no such thing as just winging it for the victory. Each trader must chisel his own strategies from his own rock. Hard work and incredible dedication are the masters which lead successful traders to their requirements for profitability.
In the end, every trader must find what is THEIR personal requirement for trading success. Everybody has some things which they MUST do to achieve consistent profits. There is no such thing as just winging it for the victory. Each trader must chisel his own strategies from his own rock. Hard work and incredible dedication are the masters which lead successful traders to their requirements for profitability.
Great post AMT4SWA! You explained my thinking exactly..
I agree with the previous posts as well, that, when planning each individual trade during the day, your main concern should be to execute your plan exactly and in a disciplined way. For me, this means 1) pre-trade analysis, 2) entry timing, 3) pyramid/position management, 4) exit. You shouldn't be thinking about the P/L for the individual trade, because then you might be influenced by emotions of greed or fear. Whereas, if you are executing a plan, you can be disciplined and detached (in a professional way).
However, at the end of the day, "when all's said and done", our performance is indeed measured in $$$ terms and not whether we have been disciplined in following our plan or not. And that's why we have to have targets.
Mine is about 300$ per contract per day, or 60-pts in the Dow e-mini.
Regards,
Loukas
I agree with the previous posts as well, that, when planning each individual trade during the day, your main concern should be to execute your plan exactly and in a disciplined way. For me, this means 1) pre-trade analysis, 2) entry timing, 3) pyramid/position management, 4) exit. You shouldn't be thinking about the P/L for the individual trade, because then you might be influenced by emotions of greed or fear. Whereas, if you are executing a plan, you can be disciplined and detached (in a professional way).
However, at the end of the day, "when all's said and done", our performance is indeed measured in $$$ terms and not whether we have been disciplined in following our plan or not. And that's why we have to have targets.
Mine is about 300$ per contract per day, or 60-pts in the Dow e-mini.
Regards,
Loukas
Let's see, if I set a goal for myself it tends to hold me back, but if I don't set a goal I make even less. So I decided to go with a goal. Since I am kind of a perfectionist, I prefer weekly goals, because the chance is much greater that I will make it than with a daily goal.
That being said, my goal has always been to survive, not get rich quick, therefore my weekly goal is $666 after commissions. I often exceed it, but seldom by much. That is something I might want to work on. This week it was obvious: By Wednesday morning I was up $750 for the week, and since then I have hardly traded at all. Finished the week up $865. Would have made about $300 more if I had felt just a little more motivated on Friday.
FYI, I am what you would probably call a 100 share piker. My largest trade in a while was 900 shares of MCD this week. At night I like to trade ES and NQ, 1-lots of course.
That being said, my goal has always been to survive, not get rich quick, therefore my weekly goal is $666 after commissions. I often exceed it, but seldom by much. That is something I might want to work on. This week it was obvious: By Wednesday morning I was up $750 for the week, and since then I have hardly traded at all. Finished the week up $865. Would have made about $300 more if I had felt just a little more motivated on Friday.
FYI, I am what you would probably call a 100 share piker. My largest trade in a while was 900 shares of MCD this week. At night I like to trade ES and NQ, 1-lots of course.
Let's say you are in military marksmanship training and you follow all the professionally trained rules to the letter while firing your weapon. After you have fired your first 30 rounds down range at the target, how would you measure your success? I would want to review my hits on the target to measure my effectiveness. Even if all aspects of my live fire felt properly executed during the firing of the weapon, I would still most definitely want to review the hits to the target. For instance, even though everything felt perfect while firing, you might see a tight group of hits on the target high and right. At this point you would make the necessary adjustments to your weapons sights, and then re-fire for re-evaluation of effectiveness. I have daily profit targets for myself primarily to have something to shoot for every day.
Your daily goal is not as directly related as your example might lead us to believe.
Lets take it this way:
When firing your weapon, you WANT and set a goal for a bullseye. You calibrate and adjust your toos (in this case your gun)for this goal. You review your target to see your accuracy.
What you want and your personal goals are detached from the market and the bullseye. Perhaps it is better to understand the market character as early as possible for the day. In target practice you might judge the strenghth and which direction the wind is blowing before firing.
But again, my examples above are "DIRECTLY" realated to what the market will give.
Michael B.
Your daily goal is not as directly related as your example might lead us to believe.
Lets take it this way:
When firing your weapon, you WANT and set a goal for a bullseye. You calibrate and adjust your toos (in this case your gun)for this goal. You review your target to see your accuracy.
What you want and your personal goals are detached from the market and the bullseye. Perhaps it is better to understand the market character as early as possible for the day. In target practice you might judge the strenghth and which direction the wind is blowing before firing.
But again, my examples above are "DIRECTLY" realated to what the market will give.
Michael B.