Trading fulltime retail with $50k

if your total amount of money is 80k, i'd say now is the right time to try it. you've got enough money (though i'd keep the extra 30k in an additional acct @the brokerage, that you can't touch, *unless you get to 25k*), you've got living quarters that are cheap (friend or parent), and the right age.

if you succeed, great! make sure you pay back your friend in ways more than money.

if you don't succeed, fine. you've tried it, it didn't work. the important part would be the followup AFTER that...you've now got on your record:

-> worked for (some bank) for 2 years with series 6 - great start.
-> left to fulfill 'exciting new career'.
-> found it wasn't for you, missed people interaction, and are ready to commit back to the workforce.

as long as you're ready to try it, go for it. remember it's not all glamour and glitz, and there's a lot of work involved.
 
Is there any specific reason that you do not want to trade prop?

You could put up $10k as deposit capital at one of the prop trading firms and use the remaining $40k for other purposes. Off the $10k you could definately get 20 to 1 for intraday leverage at minimum and maybe 4 to 1 for overnights. This would allow you to try daytrading without risking all your money.

Lots of successful daytraders also keep accounts at online brokerages to play swing trading ideas in equities or options. Or you could also just keep the $40k in savings.
 
I suppose I would go for a prop firm, unfortunately, I live in central Connecticut, where there's no prop firm in site and I have no intentions of moving just yet.


If you're going to scream Greenwich or Stamford, the commute on 95 alone would take me over 2 hrs b/c of traffic.
 
You can trade remotely from home with most prop firms. Even if the prop firm does not have a physical office in your state, they are probably licensed there.

Firms like Assent and Hold Brothers are licensed thru NASD (now FINRA) so you could get series 7 and 55 licenses and keep your current registrations. That way if you decided to do something else in a couple of years, you will have all your registrations active.

You can also trade remotely with prop firms such as Bright, Echotrade, Generic that require series 7 licenses thru their exchanges or trade thru firms that do not require any licenses, such as Benchmarq, JC Trading, CY Trading Group etc.

There are a lot of options available to remote traders these days.

I am not knocking retail day trading, but the guys who ususally do that have over $100k starting out, in my experience.
 
um give the money to charity and feel better for it, plus you get the tax advantage. then go to work for a trader for a few years as you learn boy im glad i gave that money away.

my quote "i thought i was a trader until i went to work for a trader" then i found out i really didn't know anything at all.

mark brown

ps trading is the only business i know where a guy will set up shop to learn his own trade. Trading is a trade like carpentry have you been a apprentice yet? no very few have!
 
your best bet is to work and trade and build up a small stash so you don't have to draw from your account while starting out so maybe when your working just work last hour and play gappers or work the morning for an hour, theres also another way if your interested that might be helpful but it depends in which country you live in....btw working and trading is how i started, just traded the first 30-45 min every morning for a few months until i was fired lol
 
Yo ,7793... how are you.....you sound experienced with props -are you currently with one and who would you recommend of the group you mentioned .thnx teck
 
(1) 50K with 4:1 leverage is enough to start. That's pretty much the minimum.

(2) If you want to play Zero Sum Games for a living... go for it 110%.
The sort of people that can stand a "bank job"... will never succeed at these games.

(3) You have no track record of success at trading, poker, etc.
And the trading "strategy" you talk about sounds worthless.
 
I started out with $30,000 of mostly borrowed $ I had to repay back in a year and it was hell. Losses were hard to take and there is draw down on even the best system. If you can afford to lose the $50,000 go for it. $100,000 allows you to put 10% in a position, take a $1,000 loss with only a 1% drawdown on your account.

That said, I have only 2 historically proven strategies:

1. Fading the gap.
2. Shorting top IBD stocks that start to slip from their # 1 ranking.

I don't like the risk of naked shorting so I either buy puts or buy an out of the money call to cover a big swing against my short.
You can actually wait until the close of the trading day or the next day to fade a gap up. If the stock is going to tank, there will still be a big drop. If you are buying a gap down, you might want to buy at the open with a pretty tight protective stop.

Look at historical charts for OSIP, AAPL, and a few months ago YAHOO for some examples. Good Luck
 
Quote from QuantPlus:

(1) 50K with 4:1 leverage is enough to start. That's pretty much the minimum.

(2) If you want to play Zero Sum Games for a living... go for it 110%.
The sort of people that can stand a "bank job"... will never succeed at these games.

(3) You have no track record of success at trading, poker, etc.
And the trading "strategy" you talk about sounds worthless.
More...


No successful track record with poker ? Poker is the reason why I got a crappy bank job. Instead of interning during the summers I was playing poker and sports betting for $. Once internet betting was restricted, I looked elsewhere and found trading. I am well aware about the 'emotions aspect'. When I lost, I lost hard b/c I couldn't control it. That will be my biggest struggle for sure. But at least I've had experience w/ it and know what I need to do.

In no way shape or form am I ready right at this moment. My strategy is bare bones at best, and I'm still staring at charts and price action.

It really is amazing how, if you stare at intraday charts / price action for long enough, you begin to see where the edges can be found in the market. I'm watching the 5 min candles, and I'm seeing possible outcomes pop-up in my head, where before it was just a blank. I believe I've made an amazing breakthrough, but I will admit this is still only the beginning.


Perhaps, I should not rush into this. I am usually too quick to make a decision anyway. Perhaps, I should just trade in 100 share lots for now until I can write my exact strategy on paper. When I can write down exactly where my possible entries will be, and how I will exit out, the chart patterns I will look for and the length of time I will be in these positions depending on teh chart.

A year from now may be to quick to jump in I suppose. I am fortunate to have a job that pays $40-$50k per year. I am also fortunate to have developed a decent long only pullback swing trading strategy that will yield me exceptional returns in a bull market. Perhaps with time I can make the transition.


I don't want to be a typical Joe Schmo shmuck. I want to be one of those $50-$80k 9-5 workers doing the same ol' shit. I want to be different, and I want to be successful, and this is going to be my ticket, and I am going to succeed at it, it is only a matter of time. Patience is a virtue
 
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