How long did it take you to become a **consistently** profitable trader?

garachen said:
You should be profitable from day 1.

Your first strategy should be exploiting a very large - hence rare - mispricing. Then you gradually work into smaller and frequent trades.
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I don't believe many who start in trading has the experience to know how to do this as it sides on dumb luck? How long willing to wait? I applaud you if you were able to do. I leaned on the side of 122 ways how not to trade correctly, hence Handle123. And at the time my favorite phase was "I am so close", and yet friends were betting on my next trip to the bank for a loan. Long road but you stay the path and whether you want to or not, you learn and do the right patterns.
 
JTrades said:
Unable to answer this for certain. At least 5 years of part time study and practice.

--

I can say though, that...

The journey was at first an ascent up an apparently modest hill, which I assumed I'd be more than capable of scaling.

I approached what I thought was the crest, only to realize there was a higher crest in the distance beyond.

And you can guess what happened as I approached that apparent [second] crest. Yep, I'd totally underestimated the enormity of the task and still do not know to this day exactly where the summit is or how far.

The path up is neither straight forward nor direct. There are dead-ends and unscalable sheer faces, so setbacks will likely occur. The weather can set in and it's best during these times to make camp for the night and rest until the next day. The sun does shine from time to time and looking back down the path does reveal how far one has climbed.

There are others making the same journey. Upon hearing only their voices, it's not clear how far they have advanced. The gales and craggy rock faces distort their sounds, but sometimes wisdom is gained and mistakes avoided by listening. And those on the lower faces can be of aid to those still residing in foothills.

Some good folk holla down from the top with helpful advice and hints as to the route and how to go about scaling the, now apparent vast mountain. Their perspectives are different to ours and there's only so much they can do to help. They'd perhaps throw down a rope if there was one long enough or if they even knew where we were.

We all have to take our own unique paths. Some take much longer paths than others. Some die on the face, some fall off, some are swept away by avalanches, some make it only to the foothills, some quit on the final crest before the summit. And then... there are the ones who make it all the way, who experience the panoramic views, who can see far and beyond, who understand the structure of the mountain for what it is, who can see the weather forming from above and the landscape all around. They don't know everything there is to know (and there are still unseen faces to explore), but they know enough and have acquired the sure-footed qualities necessary to remain atop the mountain.

Time to dig a snow hole. The ascent continues Monday. Is that the summit I see...
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JT

Beautifully written Sir

RN
 
Consistantly profitable is one thing (i'm their)...but making enough to really change your lifestyle is quite another (i'm on year 8 & working harder(smarter) then EVER-& still not their yet)

I think the Journey is different for everyone...
 
I can't answer your question because I don't understand what you mean by consistently profitable. Could you define it? I do suspect that I won't meet you r definition of consistent although I do consider myself to be a successful trader.
Iwilldoit said:
Hi everyone,so the age old question: How long does it take on average for an individual to become a consistently profitable trader?

I decided to create this thread as a study I am conducting in the ET community with the goal of gaining the following information:1.How many profitable traders there are on here2. more importantly how long it took them to become profitable 3. How many hours a week did they spend on trading/backtesting

In the interests of the entire community, we would appreciate honest answers and input (although I am sure there will be some dishonesty)

So here are the questions I would like profitable traders to answer:Have you been consistently profitable over the past year?

1.How many years/months did it take you to become a profitable trader?

2.During the first six months of your trading career, How many hours a week did you devote to your new business?

Thank You.
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It took me 10 years, working at least 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.

After that period I progressed with ups and downs (like most people I think).

And about 2-3 years ago it really exploded. Although performance did not grow exponentially, it felt like it did. I never believed before that this performance was possible to achieve.

I still study the markets to improve my trading. Not for the money, but I try to reach performances that are now supposed to be unachievable. Don't say I will succeed, but I will go for it. I am a very stubborn person, will go with my head through the wall if necessary.
 
Hi everyone,

thanks for the replies.

For the sake of the study, please could you adhere to the following format:


So here are the questions I would like profitable traders to answer:Have you been consistently profitable over the past year?

1.Have you been net profitable (P & L) over the past twelve months?

2.How many years/months did it take you to become a profitable trader?

3.During the first six months of your trading career, How many hours a week did you devote to your new business?


Thank You (I tried to post a poll, but I guess I am unable to since I already made the original post long ago)

It would be great if someone could show me how to #mention# various members in the same manner you are able to on the BMT forum.
 
globalarbtrader said:
I can't answer your question because I don't understand what you mean by consistently profitable. Could you define it? I do suspect that I won't meet you r definition of consistent although I do consider myself to be a successful trader.
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Have you been net profitable (P & L) over the past twelve months?
 
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