Is the retail daytrader an endangered species?

I am now coming back to trading, having now developed a successful poker business... I've been out of trading for a couple of years...

I would personally recommend the end of day swing trading of stocks, since
1) it won't take more than 2 hours of your time (sometimes no more than 5 minutes if the market conditions suck)
2) you can use the rest of the day to run other stuff (e.g. poker)

Poker is actually a more consistent (which doesn't necessarily equate with more profitable) deliverer of income for me than trading ever was but the reason I am coming back to trading is to be there for the occasional 5-10 trades per month in the best 3-4 months of the year (which we don't know ex ante) which can enable me to double my poker income... but I no longer need to rely on trading, which can be a very volatile, very patchy income stream...

FWIW, I've tried most things over the years:
1) intraday ES
2) position trading of stocks
3) intraday stock trading
5) end of day swing trading of stocks

In terms of returns to time commitment 5) wins hands down every time...
 
darshan, I would encourage you to study the futures market and trade them. Es, Er, Ym, Nq. I ve been trading the ES now for a lil over 2 yrs and have been making an excellent living at it.

Forex?......stay away from spot forex as that industry is widely UNREGULATED and open to alot of scams.

learn price action, support/resistance, fibs

trade on a simulator for a month or two, or until you feel comfortable with the futures market contract you are trading.

The futures broker I use is Openecry. very good broker with a very good reputation.. also look at Interactive Brokers, Velocity, Mirus, Mb trading,

Good luck to you.
 
Quote from joemiami:

Forex?......stay away from spot forex as that industry is widely UNREGULATED and open to alot of scams.
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Agreed. But if you do go Forex, make sure you get an ECN broker and not an MM.
The futures broker I use is Openecry. very good broker with a very good reputation..
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Agreed, again.

Actually I just got an email from (to an email address that I had a demo account with) saying that if I opened a live account I would get $0.25 per side (plus fees) until 1/09 or something. Too bad I already have an account with them.
 
I think you should change your strategies, what ever you are doing is not going very well (obviously) comparing to others but stocks are still the same and are still going very well. For a retail trader I can see many possibilities trading equities, from day trading to trend trading to swings, they all worked as long as you can take advantage of what is presented and find ways to capture those moves, what you need probably is to take a look at some TA more closely perhaps.
 
Perhaps you should review Don Bright's Open Order journal. It's a scalping day trading strategy in the stock market that appears to have an 80%+ success rate. Don is very reputable. I would take credence in his claims, given his long & extensive track record.

Does anyone disagree???

Walt
 
Quote from candletrader:


FWIW, I've tried most things over the years:
1) intraday ES
2) position trading of stocks
3) intraday stock trading
5) end of day swing trading of stocks

In terms of returns to time commitment 5) wins hands down every time...
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Of the five, which was the least profitable for you?

Welcome back, candle.
 
Quote from reg:

Of the five, which was the least profitable for you?

Welcome back, candle.
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Thanks reg.

Position trading was obviously most profitable during the bubble.

After the bubble, it was a pile of crap...

Overall though, I never had much fun with intraday futures trading... this was the least profitable for me, because I am not (by nature) a fader!
 
Quote from dsq:

Personally,i hate daytrading equities.Very little reward for so much sweat.Its a suckers game.I am going back to swing trading.I wont have to be 100% correct in predicting the direction of the next 2minutes for the next puny 15 cent move.Talk about burnout,death by a thousand cuts etc....For equities, swing trading is the way to go.Daytrader in equities make their brokers rich.
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I agree with dsq for whatever it worths
 
Quote from Darshan:

I'm starting to consider leaving the markets. I'm wondering is my dream of being a highly successful daytrader merely a pipedream? I feel as a retail daytrader its an up hill battle. Last few months I've found myself fighting tooth and nail just for some scraps in the marketplace.

Another possibility is to try my had at forex trading? Has any stock trader made this transition? Your thoughts?
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I highly recommend the new book by Michael Harris Profitability and Systematic Trading . It helped me clarify a few things in my mind.

In the first section of the book he explains really well the differences of popular trading styles and timeframes and what you can expect.

In the second section he derives formulas about profitability and risk and money management and shows with examples why intraday trading is fundamentally so hard.

You will learn position sizing and risk management. If you plan to trade futures you must understand risk management before you start otherwise you can blow up your account in a few trades.

Good luck to you.
 
Collectively, a-hole, we ALL play a role TOGETHER in providing liquidity. I never said anything about "collapse" you decided to throw that in for effect.

That's precisely what I was thinking reading that non-sense post.
 
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