FACT: You can be a profitable trader with just about any account size.

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FRuiTY PeBBLe

There are so many posts on ET with people saying you can't trade with less than $100k, $50k, or whatever.

A good trader could trade just about any account size and make it grow. The key is that you have to trade in a way suitable TO THE ACCOUNT SIZE. The smaller account, the less techniques you can use and the more patient you have to be.

The idea that a trader can't build his account because he has less than $5k or something is totally FALSE. Maybe they just couldn't trade the way YOU currently do. Anyone who doesn't agree with this, simply does not know what they are talking about. If you disagree, I'm not saying you're not a good trader. I'm just saying that on this particular issue, you're lost.

FRuiTY P.
 
Quote from FRuiTY PeBBLe:

There are so many posts on ET with people saying you can't trade with less than $100k, $50k, or whatever.

A good trader could trade just about any account size and make it grow. The key is that you have to trade in a way suitable TO THE ACCOUNT SIZE. The smaller account, the less techniques you can use and the more patient you have to be.

The idea that a trader can't build his account because he has less than $5k or something is totally FALSE. Maybe they just couldn't trade the way YOU currently do. Anyone who doesn't agree with this, simply does not know what they are talking about. If you disagree, I'm not saying you're not a good trader. I'm just saying that on this particular issue, you're lost.

FRuiTY P.
More...
I have never seen anyone say you can't trade with less than 50/100K - but try making a _living_ on less than 75-100K of your own capital, unless you live at the YMCA, are single, and got out for quarter beers on Wednesday night specials.

nitro
 
Quote from nitro:


I have never seen anyone say you can't trade with less than 50/100K - but try making a _living_ on less than 75-100K of your own capital, unless you live at the YMCA, are single, and got out for quarter beers on Wednesday night specials.

nitro
More...

Am I missing something here? Or are we comparing apples to oranges, retail vs. prop? I know a lot of traders that made well over 100K last year keeping only 10K in their account. So I think we need to be clear that it is all about Buying Power, not necessarily the dollar amount you keep in your account. If you are proven trader who takes little risk, most prop firms will give you quite a lot of BP.
 
Quote from FRuiTY PeBBLe:

The idea that a trader can't build his account because he has less than $5k or something is totally FALSE. Maybe they just couldn't trade the way YOU currently do. Anyone who doesn't agree with this, simply does not know what they are talking about. If you disagree, I'm not saying you're not a good trader. I'm just saying that on this particular issue, you're lost.

FRuiTY P.
More...
totally agree - I did starting (again) with only $2,000.00, so I know you can go to mid six figures in under a year.
 
Quote from sdtrader:



Am I missing something here? Or are we comparing apples to oranges, retail vs. prop? I know a lot of traders that made well over 100K last year keeping only 10K in their account. So I think we need to be clear that it is all about Buying Power, not necessarily the dollar amount you keep in your account. If you are proven trader who takes little risk, most prop firms will give you quite a lot of BP.
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sdtrader,

I should have been clear - it is not the amount of your account, but the amount you have _access_ to. At most firms, 20:1 is not uncommon, and for some strategies, I have seen 100:1.

I thought it was obvious that I meant traders trading their own account, but obviously I was mistaken.

nitro
 
Quote from nitro:


sdtrader,

I should have been clear - it is not the amount of your account, but the amount you have _access_ to. At most firms, 20:1 is not uncommon, and for some strategies, I have seen 100:1.

I thought it was obvious that I meant traders trading their own account, but obviously I was mistaken.

nitro
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Your right, I should have known. :D
By the way....I have seen a lot better BP than 100:1
 
Can you please elaborate on what type of securities and style that these $10K account size traders are in. Are they trading stocks, options, futures, etc ? Are they scalping intraday, swing trading, multi-month positional trading ? Please list couple of sample trades with entry reason and exit reason so we can understand your point better.

Thanks.
:confused:


Quote from sdtrader:

Am I missing something here? Or are we comparing apples to oranges, retail vs. prop? I know a lot of traders that made well over 100K last year keeping only 10K in their account. So I think we need to be clear that it is all about Buying Power, not necessarily the dollar amount you keep in your account. If you are proven trader who takes little risk, most prop firms will give you quite a lot of BP.
More...
 
So I will be real brief.
I trade 1-5k shares of listed liquid stocks. Mostly just IBM right now, but will take a few swings at news stocks (ie. BAX or KG last week) Entries are spoos for indicators with a little TA, trades last from a few seconds to a couple minutes, very rarely hold longer than that. Hope that helps.
 
Quote from nitro:

I have never seen anyone say you can't trade with less than 50/100K - but try making a _living_ on less than 75-100K of your own capital, unless you live at the YMCA, are single, and got out for quarter beers on Wednesday night specials.
More...
nitro,

I'm not at all saying you can live the good life trading a $4,000 account. The only point I'm making is that a good trader could develop a strategy appropriate for a small account size and make it grow. When people say you can't trade with an $x size account, it is simply not true.

FRuiTY P.
 
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