Sounds reasonable, on an active day. But often, a more profitable day is one where one just holds a position, without many incr, decr, or partial profits, etc., during the day. But traders' prayers are not regularly answered.
That's on average 1 trade every 2-3 minutes nonstop from opening till close??? I daytrade the ES, but never had 10 trades in 1 day.
Generally I agree, but I can also see the case where someone keeps less money in trading account, & either needs, or uses the ultimate discipline of a margin call. These days I have two trading accts, each with about 100k. That actually exerts considerable discipline, both in size of futures positions, and in acceptable risk/loss. Years ago, I always had a million in my account. One could get sloppy, thinking a $25-50k loss for the day, is OK --and in certain context it may be -- but with a 100k account, I don't think in those terms. On other hand, mkts the past few years have not been best for my style --or many other successful traders -- but likely that is changing, IMO.
Sometimes I purposely just scalp a tick, hopefully several times. Aside from possibly making a profit, it not only gives me a feel (sometimes one buys just one contract, & knows that was a huge error!) but sometimes it is more fundamental: one of biggest problems for traders is afraid to pull the trigger. By forcing myself to make a trade, or several trades, I overcome that, & then more likely to be prepared for a move, I can get onboard with.
I recognize that from past. Had the same problem. Not anymore because I have huge confidence now in my trading. But took me a lot of time to overcome.
Not a question of confidence, IMO. Inertia, esp after a "large" loss, tends to make one a little gun shy. And so do particularly quiet hours/days. It is like exercising, sometimes one needs to push oneself to start. That is why I often make small, in a sense insignificant trades, but actually it is very significant, permitting me the warm-up exercise. But different approaches, at different times, etc.
The best way to become a profitable trader is to make mistakes, learn from the mistakes and try not to repeat them. It is the least painful if you make the mistakes with a relatively small number of shares or contracts. Your first concern should be controlling losses not imagining the profits. Be sure to back test, either manually or automatically, over the most adverse market history you can find.
I appreciate the advice, but it really is for novice traders. I have had just a handful of losing years over the past 30 (FYI, 2008 , with > $1 million profit, was my most profitable year,)