How to know when your ready

Imagine the worst trading day possible where nothing works out as you planned and each set up fails. If you can in theory survive that day with strict risk management and no big drawdowns, as well as mentally be able to shake it off and move on to the next day then you can do well if you make consistent profits.

the key to success is not how much you make on one of your best days but how little you lose on one of your worst days.
 
now be prepared to loose every cent of your trading capital as you endure the pressure that comes form live trading you are on stage 1 still I am afraid. You are doing everything right but the real test comes as you begin to tackle the mental issues one by one.

Best of luck with it
 
What separates good from bad traders from me includes this fact:

Good traders realize that preserving their trading capital comes AHEAD of making a profit. Once your capital disappears or is severely degraded, there IS no more making profits

In other words, mind things like "Risk of Ruin," trading costs, trading errors, broker errors, catastrophic market shifts caused by international events, etc.

Don't overtrade or overleverage. Try to get out of the markets and dont hold overnite.
 
Quote from optioncoach:

Imagine the worst trading day possible where nothing works out as you planned and each set up fails. If you can in theory survive that day with strict risk management and no big drawdowns, as well as mentally be able to shake it off and move on to the next day then you can do well if you make consistent profits.

the key to success is not how much you make on one of your best days but how little you lose on one of your worst days.
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Ditto... and one more thing.

When you've done enough market study and psycho introspection so that you understand and (1) feel confident that you are SUPPOSED to win, and WIN BIG, and (2) it's highly unlikely the market will "get you" unless you're the "most unlucky person on the planet"...THEN you are ready!

If you jump into the markets before, HOPING to make money or in a hurry for the imagined riches, you're likely to fail... as do nearly all ill-prepared trader wannabes.
 
Good luck rookie.. I started when I was around your age (mid 20s). Many times I had wished I never heard of the futures market. I've done it all for 20 yrs and even did some floor trading. All I can say is I wish I knew then, what I know now.

Welcome to the real game (forget that Sim stuff). Just remember that this trading thing is really tough and experience is huge when it comes to making or breaking it.
 
thanks everyone for all the advice, crazy market i am about to step into but nothing really changes with the method i use.

Having some slight setbacks getting the account open. Alaron is taking forever to give me approval. On my application i put my occupation as student and they want an employer and when on the phone they were really trying to root for information. Go figure im ready to go and there is a hold up.
 
Quote from optioncoach:

Imagine the worst trading day possible where nothing works out as you planned and each set up fails. If you can in theory survive that day with strict risk management and no big drawdowns, as well as mentally be able to shake it off and move on to the next day then you can do well if you make consistent profits.

the key to success is not how much you make on one of your best days but how little you lose on one of your worst days.
More...


wow - this is like a message from the trading god......one of the best posts ever.
 
Your in for a surprise when u go live.
I suggest you write your rules down keep them close to you.
And if you find your self veering from them take the rest of the day off.
Theres always tommarow unless you die today.
 
Quote from bigbrent701:

Spoke with a friend and I have decided to go with Velocity. They were very quick getting my account approved.
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We have broker rating section, Alaron got only 1 vote of 7 and you picked them but the worst case was guy asked for broker recom. I supplied the link and he came back with some brokers not even on the list.
 
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