I'd say if the OP manages to finish the year with more than 2K, thats success. That kind of size will backfire on him...
A) depends on frequency B) I would say I don't even get interested until someone has a good 100, independent trades. They need to overcome the luck factor having seen many systems on many sites look really good and then the inevitable flop (almost all the time), I would say the person who said 1% of people make a living trading, is correct. The other 99% have deluded themselves into thinking they are successful or will be, given enough time. C) Success in the past does not mean it will continue. Many of the people here who claim to be successful fall into the camp of liars, misguided or have little clue of what "successful" means. 2 years of success will likely be followed by failure, more times than not.
It seems like most of the negative comments missed the OP's point, "whatever works". He did not mention his style, his risk/reward method, etc. Many assume that he trades fixed # of contracts, etc. He may be trading variable size based on different setups and risk/reward situations, which is something most traders do not know how to do that properly. Thus, the risk he is assuming could be way less than what most think here e.g. he may trade 1 lot risking 3 pts on one trade while in another trade he may take 3 lots and risking 1 pts each. I surely hope that the OP makes it. Good luck!
Pulling for you here too. Out of curiosity.....how did you do your first year of trading and was this simulated or actual ? Thanks to all those that posted here. There are people like myself that learn from the many comments be it for or against an OP. Warning.....I may send a PM to some of you to ask for suggestions, comments or advice.
He said enough when he said $8K to $80K in '08. Take a look at Robbins World Cup Trading, and see how many WINNERS have not returned 1000%. That pretty much carries over to everywhere...
His first few days of performance shows that he is a high frequency trader, at least a few trades a day. Maybe even more. I think taking his $8K to $80K is not a problem. The main issue would be his position sizing once the account grows bigger and then the P/L swings would be bigger and that takes time to deal with.