Who has started out with nothing, learned how to trade on their own, and now makes $?

[austinp]

<i>"This is the best advice you will receive: Study price action. Period. You may not listen to me now, chances are you won't but if you do actually keep at it (statistically not likely) you will take this advice eventually. Save some time. Learn, study, and LIVE price action."</i>

Give that three to five years of every day, full-time study with nights and weekends thrown in. After 36 to 60 full months, you might have it figured out on your own. No guarantees.

That is the most honest advice you'll receive. You may prefer not to listen now, but we'll both know the truth by that end. So will everyone else who refuses to believe it now.

Reality is what denial is not: the truth.

 

[dandxg]

I would say less that 1% under your given conditions. Sorry . It's hard enough when you have money, time to study, and can apply yourself. How bad do you want it? Under your situation I would suggest finding a good prop firm that will let you spend time with a good mentor. Even with that you may not feel comfortable with their strategy and still fail. I agree with Austin. Let's be real since so many live in the champagne and caviar dreams. Positive thinking is great, but hopium isn't

 

[sobemark]

Quote from BulkCity:

I'm 24 and starting out trading US equities. Right now I'm reading everything I can and watching the markets during the day. Been doing this for about 6 months straight.

If you started out with little help, learned the markets on your own (no mentor or job to teach you), and are now making $$$ trading, please share your story.

List stuff like, age, how you learned how to trade, how long it took, what made it finally "click" where you started making a decent profit, and any future plans you have for your trading.


Could use some inspiration!

Thanks all!!

started trading in 1998 with 10k ..lost 6k within 4 months !

got a break holding GERN overnight on a rumor about a dateline story ..and made 8k ! ..

learned a very unconvenional way to trade by myself .and i've made a living fom it every year , ever since .. you can search for my journal "my trading" which i don't post to anymore ..

good luck !

--m

 

[austinp]

<i>"got a break holding GERN overnight on a rumor about a dateline story ..and made 8k!"</i>

just curious: if that lottery ticket hadn't won, in your opinion, what was your probable path from the $4k remaining and onward to now?

 

[rwk]

Quote from clacy:
jonbig04,
What is your definition of price action?

I have been hearing about price action (PA) for more than 8 years now, and so far nobody has given an definition that makes sense. Is it a figment of their imagination? BTW, I make my living as a day trader.

[rwk]

 

[dsq]

Read the livermore book...
Learn support/resistance.
Find a stock with a trading range... buy at the bottom of range,sell at the hi end of range...easier said than done...
The most successful traders exercise patience,sit through whipsaws and dont get scared out of their positions before it gets near their target price...this is extremely hard to do and is all psychological.Control of your fear and emotions.

 

[jonbig04]

Quote from rwk:

Is it a figment of their imagination?

Yes, it is. Sorry. Everybody disregard that and pay no attention to PA.


ps. please trade NQ.

 

[NJ1000]

AGain what is ur defination of price action?

 

[clacy]

Quote from Hdsn:

Hi there, I am 22 and I started out about 4 months ago, so as you might imagine I don’t quite much profitable stories to tell. I first opened a demo account as I was learning about the tools and the analysis you can apply to forecast the market, I was all the time fearing the loss so I had lots of problems deciding when leaving a trade and when I went to real trade it got worst. So finally I am back on developing a trading strategy to get more confident when trading different trades.

This is fantastic and all, and there are several post simiilar to this one, so I'm not trying to single you out, but the OP is clearly asking for SUCCESSFUL traders who are MAKING MONEY to share their stories.

This thread has very little value if it turns into an introduction thread where all traders, successful and unsuccessful alike are allowed to post their stories.

 

[cstfx]

Quote from spinn:

My question is...........how do you support yourself financially through the learning curve?

It is easy to say dont start trading without $50,000, but I do not have that.

Trading to pay the bills is a virtual impossibility in the beginning.

You wait tables. You drive a cab/car. You tend bar. Not meaning to be flippant. But all three cater to late, 2nd shift hours which frees up the morning/early afternoon to "learn" the markets under live conditions.