How much money and time have you spent so far in trading? 2016 edition

[Bob Brown]

Clearly a troll thread, but beware of anyone who says this:



If you feel you have figured it all out, then you haven't really figured anything out.

You are 3rd person pointing this out, again, sorry for misinterpretation. By this I mean being finally somewhat consistently profitable. I wish I could change it in original post but I can't find any button for that.

And I must agree with the last sentence, but from time to time it's just as important to remind yourself how far you've already came, don't you think?

I had a Robinhood account with daytrading abilities since around Brexit. I lost money on the gap down after and lost money holding a short position right afterwards. Since then, I've lost about 25% of my portfolio attempting get rick quick schemes with equities, futures, and forex. Suffice it to say I'm taking it much slower now and learning as much as I can and restricting myself to intraday SPY plays. Luckily I am in my 20s and this money was a boon from a commercial acting gig.

Well you surely have thrown yourself in the water there! But I think in the end it will help you. Just as "java" said, now it's time for discipline and small steps. Good luck!

 

[Bob Brown]

6 years. 2 first most intense, but just learning trading ABC and voodoo. Probably over 4k hours analyzing and coding. Hate to trade manually, and lost my biggest chunk trying to do it some years ago. Could be I'm better prepared now, but will never do it without proper backtests and psychological backup. Daily TF. Have automated it all, but only recovering from last ATL since June. Could be that I'm now floating, but won't make any records. Am glad if I can continue to break-even, as that is a milestone.

Years: 6
Cost: USD 20k (including moronic attempt at longing '99 top as a first toe-dip in the markets and forgetting to renew triggers)

Hi Simples, thank you for sharing! I too found out that backtests give me the much needed psychological crutch when live trading is going southwards. Algo trading can be rewarding, but for my taste it takes a lot of tweaking and updating. Also I am one of those guys who is happy to learn how to do a bracket order, programming would be astrophysics to me haha

Lost quite a bit between losses, blown out accounts, and education; in excess of 100k. however the time spent on research tops all the expenses.

been trading full time since 2012; and being profitable 3 years out of 4.

As another user mentioned earlier; I have learned a lot about myself and about life; probably more than about trading. I discover that I am undisciplined in many occasions.. and that never giving up is one of the secrets of my success.

Hey Alfa, that's very wise of you to take into account the time costs. I believe this is called the "Opportunity Cost" and not many people are aware of it! Hell, for some it would've been more profitable to take up welding courses instead of trading and they'd be loaded by now! Hehe

 

[Bob111]

Ah yes, I've put it too bluntly I guess. I trade Stocks now and you can always find one in bear move and one in bull move. We'll see what comes though.

Care to share your history?

sure. there is not much of a story

back in a day i found some inefficiencies on the market and ride them hard for over a decade or so. at some point i had 10+ accounts like this one on the picture. this "edge" is gone now. but i'm still searching for something similar. not just regular "traditional" trading

 

[Bob Brown]

sure. there is not much of a story

back in a day i found some inefficiencies on the market and ride them hard for over a decade or so. at some point i had 10+ accounts like this one on the picture. this "edge" is gone now. but i'm still searching for something similar. not just regular "traditional" trading

Very nice, what are you looking into now?

I meant your story more regarding my original question though I assume then more than 16 years in the market but how long before you first trade? Did you find those inefficiencies on your own or did you pay for education before that?

 

[Bob111]

i haven't paid anyone and i haven't read any books at all. none.7K+ posts on ET are mostly for killing time. amusement. you won't find any clue nor value in my posts . it has nothing to do with a trading at all. pure "technological" advantage (on retail! ) level over other participants. that's the only way you can get this kind of curve. comes with a drawback-no scalable at all . one more thing-I'm terrible trader (in "common") definition of trader

 

[Voron77]

i haven't paid anyone and i haven't read any books at all. none.

I think, Bob111, you are being a bit disingenuous. You must have read some trading books, back in the good ol' days, eh? I can even polish my crystal ball and guess which books you did read. I am that good, ya know.