Is day trading worth it?

[rallymode]

Yes, and there are people making a living playing tennis. With those people, you can find a youtube video showing them doing what they love to do most. As for successful home "traders", where are their youtube videos at ? Most of these "traders" are so panic sickened and so demoralised by the market that they don't even dare to call out a paper trade or take a non-commital view on the market they are supposed to be trading in. They know from their losing experience they will be wrong.

Imagine you are talking to a successful tennis player and said: can I see your killer serve ? Do you think he will shy away, by saying, ohhh, I can't cos I will give away my "edge". The successful tennis player knows, his edge is from years of hard work, and no matter how many times he shows you, you are not going to get it with less amount of effort than he put in. How many times have you come across an internet "successful trader" who tells you he can't say anything about anything because he's risking giving you free lunch ?

Your analogy is pretty weak. A killer tennis serve is not as easy to replicate and even if it were you may adapt your style and counter. Not so with a trading strategy that is capacity constrained. Most of the successful guys i know are spreading and trading duration in stuff that is capacity constrained, they are not daytrading the ES, CL or GC. It is incredibly easy for illiquid stuff to get diluted and if you disagree then that just shows me that with all of your "experience" you have never been privy to a strategy that got diluted by liquidity. Nothing wrong with that, many have never seen that - I have.

With regards to trades being called out. Have you even looked in the archives? Other forums? There is a ton of stuff out there from years ago. You want something current? There is that too but it's not being called out in public. You don't really expect the self made guy to continue posting trades on ET just so his internet persona gets respect, do you? In my experience successful self made guys group up with other like minded individuals and form their own tight communities to share ideas and shoot the shit when boredom hits. When i say like minded i mean guys who actually make money from this, likely big money and not your average ET poser or a vendor. There is zero incentive for these guys to start a journal on ET or make youtube vids. Internet fame is not currency they deal in. Every now and then they will pop up and share some wisdom but mostly you never hear from them.

 

[MarketAddict]

When you have to attack the person and not his ideas, that's when you have lost the argument. Do you like to play the "successful" internet trader ? Care to show us some moves ?

I wasn't attacking you... I was just telling you to quit because you aren't willing to learn..you only complain..

 

[ExperiencedJoe]

Your analogy is pretty weak. A killer tennis serve is not as easy to replicate and even if it were you may adapt your style and counter. Not so with a trading strategy that is capacity constrained. Most of the successful guys i know are spreading and trading duration in stuff that is capacity constrained, they are not daytrading the ES, CL or GC. It is incredibly easy for illiquid stuff to get diluted and if you disagree then that just shows me that with all of your "experience" you have never been privy to a strategy that got diluted by liquidity. Nothing wrong with that, many have never seen that - I have.

Given that you have seen it, perhaps you can explain it to us.

In a lot of strategies that have a minor chance of success always involved the instigator of the strategies front-running the rest. Therefore it is to the instigator's advantage, after he has entered a position, to tell others about it, or at least have a predefined strategy where others will automatically follow without being prompted. Usually the reason given for him doing it is on the grounds religion or philanthropy.

So what kind of trading would suffer from others following you after you have entered already ?

With regards to trades being called out. Have you even looked in the archives? Other forums? There is a ton of stuff out there from years ago. You want something current? There is that too but it's not being called out in public. You don't really expect the self made guy to continue posting trades on ET just so his internet persona gets respect, do you? In my experience successful self made guys group up with other like minded individuals and form their own tight communities to share ideas and shoot the shit when boredom hits. When i say like minded i mean guys who actually make money from this, likely big money and not your average ET poser or a vendor. There is zero incentive for these guys to start a journal on ET or make youtube vids. Internet fame is not currency they deal in. Every now and then they will pop up and share some wisdom but mostly you never hear from them.

With tons of stuff from the past, why did it not continue ? Have those people lost their shirts so that they could no longer continue ?

Fame works in everything else in life, including tennis and playing computer games. But it doesn't work for trading ? I can take your word for it, without being convinced by it. Does that mean warren buffet and soros are losers because they clearly have fame and don't particularly shy away from it ?

I can accept people not coming to ET because they would be too busy making money. What of those who are here telling people their 6 figures, 7 figures profits ? They are not too busy making money ?

 

[ExperiencedJoe]

I wasn't attacking you... I was just telling you to quit because you aren't willing to learn..you only complain..

I can't learn from losers, I don't have the time. If someone is not a loser, sure, I will be happy to learn from him ? Is there anyone you know I should learn from ?

Since you are here to learn, what have you learned so far ?

 

[trader99]

Short answer NOPE.

Check this other thread I posted about a 17 yr high school kid who made $72M trading stocks and futures!

http://www.elitetrader.com/et/index...on-trading-stocks-on-his-lunch-breaks.288398/

I'm pretty sure he was NOT daytrading or scalping. He sounds like a trend follower since PTJ is his hero.

Listen up kids. Catch a good trend and ride it with leverage. Obviously, it works when market is wild and probably not so great with no trends. Perhaps he has multiple strategies..

 

[AdrianHagh81]

When you have to attack the person and not his ideas, that's when you have lost the argument. Do you like to play the "successful" internet trader ? Care to show us some moves ?

a lot of alpha that succesfull retail trader employs are capacity constrained, hence all the secrecy.

 

[NoBias]

I've retired from trading thanks to Surf's astonishing call last month posted right here on ET in advance:

11/19/14 Surf: "Price DRIVERS pegged at 9--- we are fully committed, 100% long, this is a once in a blue moon opportunity, we have never seen anything like it--- bet the farm!"

11/19/14 NoD: "OK! All in! Full margin!!!"

11/21/2014 NoD: "w00t!!!"

I am mistified. Is this a serious post or parody?

From 5 min intra-day scalper/day trader - to going full leverage on a Breakout call based on an opaque system acknowledged by designer to be flawed?

I have no desire to enter in the price driver / fundamental / TA debate. I am just a little amazed at the above post.

Sarcasm I can understand, but this is the second time I read the above from NoDoji without a follow up clarification if indeed it was sarcasm.

 

[Scaleout.Scalper]

I am mistified. Is this a serious post or parody?

From 5 min intra-day scalper/day trader - to going full leverage on a Breakout call based on an opaque system acknowledged by designer to be flawed?

I have no desire to enter in the price driver / fundamental / TA debate. I am just a little amazed at the above post.

Sarcasm I can understand, but this is the second time I read the above from NoDoji without a follow up clarification if indeed it was sarcasm.

Like the french proverb

"Fais comme je dis, non comme j'agis."

 

[NoDoji]

Catch a good trend and ride it with leverage. Obviously, it works when market is wild and probably not so great with no trends.

This tactic works well in all time frames whether swing or day trade. The part that stumps most people is how to "catch a trend". There are ways to read price action that make the chance of catching a trend without getting chopped to death in the action leading into the trend. The way to discover how to do this is to study every trend in your preferred trading time frame, giving most of your attention to patterns/behaviors that differentiate the breakout move from the failures. Once you get the filters identified, you can test them and adopt the ones that work for you with your instrument(s) of choice.

 

[Redneck]

I am mistified. Is this a serious post or parody?

From 5 min intra-day scalper/day trader - to going full leverage on a Breakout call based on an opaque system acknowledged by designer to be flawed?

I have no desire to enter in the price driver / fundamental / TA debate. I am just a little amazed at the above post.

Sarcasm I can understand, but this is the second time I read the above from NoDoji without a follow up clarification if indeed it was sarcasm.

Why I like traders so much - they're trusting.., and trust their eyes

it sarcasm..., rest assured

RN