Quote from Scalper007:
Hi Musclemoney,
Capital 10k, leverage 20:1.
Edit: well yea, if it was at least 400, then ok. But on most days I'm getting grinded down to 300 after fees...But still, u r right, because the paper route job comes out to less than $20 a day..And I don't need the workout...lol...u guys on ET are very funny. I always get a good laugh here after a tough trading day.
Edit: See u all later. Heading to bed...
Ok, I read through the rest of the comments in the thread, and there are some valid points.
I called a CFA friend of mine (oh yes, analytical, upon analytical!) Sometimes he lets me know when I make a dumb trade by hitting me with "You really fucked up! ok, get out Investments by Bodie, Kane, Markus, and go to pages..." When he's got time in the evening, he will walk me through the the mess I made in my own account (I'm a Broker and RIA), and it's a real learning experience. He was a Portfolio Manager for about ten years before launching his own Hedge Fund five years ago. (Yes, I know, everyone today has a hedge fund. LOL! My son in the 5th Grade is starting his own next week.

)
He said it may very well be possible to make $500/day trading 20:1 with 10m. However, there's a problem. He said, "when he gets his ass handed to him in a bad trade with that much leverage, and only 10m in Capital, that may do some pscyhological, and discipline damage he may not be able to get past. If he does get past it, the best way to look at it is an expensive learning experience you can't be taught in class."
The other problem is you're needing the income to live on, and there's only 10m, so no cash reserves+1 bad trade= there's no time to walk away for a while, and paper trade your system until you're profitable/confident again as you're needing the income now.
Here's a few questions:
* How long have you been trading?
* Are you trading 80% Technical, 20% Fundamental? etc.,
* What are you trading?
* If multiple equities, or contracts, where/how are you getting your picks?
* How many shares per day?
* How much are you paying to execute each trade?
* How are you managing risk?
* Have you kept a record of the % of trades that gave gone against you vs. the winners? What is that number?
* How is your P&L sheet looking YTD?
* Try to explain a little about your system.