Newbie looking on becoming a full time trader

Quote from Nico:

how much Im can afford to loose.
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There should be no 'afford to lose' in your mindset. Be prepared to lose everything. Keep your day job and learn to swing trade when you aren't working to get a feel for what a wicked game this really is. Learn to backtest also - this will improve your confidence and enable you to spot those periods when your strategy is or is not working.

I too followed the Bright brothers siren song and blew out my account after 8 months of living on tuna fish and drinking water. Bright brothers are business people and you are their client, not their friend. Trading through them will only DECREASE your chances of success as you learn. The desk fees and commission rates are geared towards a trader who can break even at least. If you trade 200,000 shares permonth, which is not alot, you begin every month down $2500 to $3k. Tough hole to dig yourself out of, feed yourself, and learn how to trade, all before paying your health insurance premium. Think about it.

Over time, you have a better chance of recording a platinum selling album or becoming a hall of fame baseball player than you do becoming a successful trader. And i mean that literally. Capiche?
 
Quote from Div_Arb:


Over time, you have a better chance of recording a platinum selling album or becoming a hall of fame baseball player than you do becoming a successful trader. And i mean that literally. Capiche?
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I love it. You and people like you are the very reason why I am a professional trader.
 
Quote from guy990opl:

I love it. You and people like you are the very reason why I am a professional trader.
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I agree, I have no idea what I would do without "investors" with no discipline and a gambler mentality.
 
the last 3 posters aside, leaving a job at an I-bank in this economy is insane. Most traders will never be successful, regardless of how much effort or time or hope or love they throw at it.

Keep in mind, that most ETers who claim to be successful are paper traders.
 
Thanks Traderzone

This idea of becoming a prop trader came about after hanging with a bunch of traders at my firm, seeing their success and setup, trading my strategy successfully for a while and lots of other consideration. I wouldn't consider risking my well paying job without some very strong analysis and conviction. Sounds like many of the traders here are on the bad side of the biz and losing their pants, which is mostly the rule when it comes to trading, specially if they have the time to read boards. But that's ok. I'll follow my own light. Thanks and good luck to all.
 
Think twice before placing an order. You need to have an exit strategy. Hedging through options is quite useful.

When you made money, do not fool yourself into thinking that you can always beat the market. I just lost all my gains made from 2004 to 2007 in year 2008. :(
 
Quote from Nico:

Thanks Traderzone

Sounds like many of the traders here are on the bad side of the biz and losing their pants, which is mostly the rule when it comes to trading, specially if they have the time to read boards. But that's ok. I'll follow my own light. Thanks and good luck to all.
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Yes, this board is full of successful paper traders. Then every once in a while, someone comes along offering to have them trade their money or otherwise help them, and suddenly the desperate waters teem with sharks in a feeding frenzy. So much for "success." :D
 
You need to do what the other 90% traders are not doing to succeed.

1) You need to have enough capital. For example, if you quit your job and only have $ 5,000 to trade with, you are under capitalized.

2) Determine what type of trading you are going to do. For example, stocks, options, futures, or forex.

3) Develop a trading plan, for example, what setups are you going to trade, how much you are going to risk on a trade, where are going to take a loss or a profit.

As time goes on you will hopefully gain experience and can start to increase the amount you risk per trade.

Most people don't succeed because they don't have the capital. They don't put in the hours, and they don't have a plan. Give yourself around a year to succeed. if it does not work out, then start looking to find a normal job.
 
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