If anyone who says it's easy to earn $500/day trading consistently with 50k capital is out to take your money. It's funny, when they're ask to prove it, they quote results from historical paper trade data. Or they compiled results and assembled trades looking backwards to make $500/day. But no way they would bet on it going forward with real money.
How Realistic? $50k account, $500 / day
- Thread starter AFChao
- Start date
Ok, there are not that many Paul Rotters around, and times have changed too. But just to show that it can (could have been) done:
By some accounts, he was trading as many as 180,000 contracts per day in 2005. That made him the largest trader of German debt futures on the Eurex. This “flipping” style was so successful that the exchange may have changed the tick size of their contracts in an attempt to level the playing field.
In 1998, he helped form a Dublin-based prop trading firm that started with $1.3 million. At the end of three months of trading, they were up to $6.5 million.
So in 60 days, for every dollar they had, he made 4 additional dollar. Translate that into a 50.000 USD account, he traded it up to 250.000 USD.
Which means, that with a 50.000 USD account, he made 3.333 USD per day on average over a period of 60 trading days.
However, with a 50.000 USD account he would not have made the same results, because a major part of his trading style was spoofing action in the orderbook, for which you have to trade with huuuuuge size
By some accounts, he was trading as many as 180,000 contracts per day in 2005. That made him the largest trader of German debt futures on the Eurex. This “flipping” style was so successful that the exchange may have changed the tick size of their contracts in an attempt to level the playing field.
In 1998, he helped form a Dublin-based prop trading firm that started with $1.3 million. At the end of three months of trading, they were up to $6.5 million.
So in 60 days, for every dollar they had, he made 4 additional dollar. Translate that into a 50.000 USD account, he traded it up to 250.000 USD.
Which means, that with a 50.000 USD account, he made 3.333 USD per day on average over a period of 60 trading days.
However, with a 50.000 USD account he would not have made the same results, because a major part of his trading style was spoofing action in the orderbook, for which you have to trade with huuuuuge size
The way to find out if it's possible is to study price development long enough (this takes most of us a lengthy time) to be able to devise and test a strategy. If it shows positive expectancy, expect additional and intense work on personal behavior or have the ability to code and automate the strategy. The way not to find out if it's possible is to ask a bunch of anonymous online posters.
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I'm pretty sure he was asking for an opinion, rather than a factual answer - and if he was asking for a factual answer then god help him.
It might also be worth considering that a few members here are perhaps a little more 'experienced' than to just be called a bunch of anonymous online posters; asking the question never hurt anyone.
I agree the question won't hurt but that is not necessarily the case with the answers.
Can it be done, of course, Larry Williams took 10k and I believe at one time he had approx. 3 million but that slide back to just over one million dollars. But over the course of a year, "perfect" trading does not occur over 12 months. I have never seen anything to perform well enough to generate 1% a day in day trading or any kind of trading over years. Real hard to do in stocks cause of outlay of all the funds. Some can do it for couple years in commodities cause you tying up less funds, but am sure there might be a few gifted souls out there doing it, but they either doing contests or you never hear of them.
I think too many people concern themselves on making money when you should concentrate on how not to lose it first. Longer term trading is only way I know where you can change the 50/50 every year, but unless you spend many many years, short term extremely difficult to make 1% daily. Day trading has the greatest risk and yet newbies go to it as they think being out of the market by close and won't have overnight risk, they won't nor will they gain from the long term trends either, reduced amount of fees. dividends and less taxes.
Everyone can make something trading, but the losing more is less studied. Study how to lose less, and you have better chance.
I think too many people concern themselves on making money when you should concentrate on how not to lose it first. Longer term trading is only way I know where you can change the 50/50 every year, but unless you spend many many years, short term extremely difficult to make 1% daily. Day trading has the greatest risk and yet newbies go to it as they think being out of the market by close and won't have overnight risk, they won't nor will they gain from the long term trends either, reduced amount of fees. dividends and less taxes.
Everyone can make something trading, but the losing more is less studied. Study how to lose less, and you have better chance.
1% daily can be done. Whole acct-wise.
But I prefer to think of it, more or less, from a weekly or monthly daily average instead,
Because there obviously will be losing days/trades...but as long as you have bigger gains or more gains...then it's fine,
The key to all of this...is What you trade, and How,
1%/day won't be possible dabbling in plain vanilla stocks -- there is no movement or range or volatility.
You have to do it in Leveraged products, options,
And don't rely on no silly system or indicators...you have to be a great discretionary/intuition/experienced trader,
To be frank...1% is actually a modest or conservative number or return, for me,
Risky business along with a certain amount of genius...can yield great results,
Most people just treat trading like a long term conservative retirement acct that essentially gets nowhere.
Make Trading Great Again,
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Yes it can be done if you want to use leverage and average $500 a day over the whole year.
1% a day on a $50,000 account is certainly doable - $500. Of course this grows over time but you adjust contracts.
5 contracts of ES, 2 points minimum net. It is not the goal that matters but do you have a system in place to trade for consistent profits.
5 contracts of ES, 2 points minimum net. It is not the goal that matters but do you have a system in place to trade for consistent profits.