A Day in the Life of a Consistently Profitable Trader

tradingjerry · Mar 2, 2008

its very thrilling for a days work..but at the end of the trading time, it s all worth it

pairsarbtooo · Mar 3, 2008

Quote from USAtrader:

A typical day, and how it contrasts with how a typical day went back in the beginning. I won't discuss strategies or tips relative to that topic as that is not the topic of this thread, and would just plain rather not.

I am a news event driven trader in terms of selection, tape reading for trading. Generally speaking I like to see as much of all the headlines out there as possible to select among, to find the best selections for the day. Back in the beginning my days started I barely saw the light of day, on both ends. Now I typically start my research around 7am, 5-6:30 in earnings season. The biggest difference in my schedule between then and now is that now I am slightly more comfortable and also am able to sift through what is and is not important to me, news and chart wise, much more quickly and have come up with some automated ways to cut down research time (this applies only to non subjective decision based issues). Whereas I ended my days usually between 5 and 7 back then, I now close up around 4:15 out of earnings season, later depending on nows flow in season.

I feel much more energized for the day when I am able to squeeze in gym/run in the morning.

I will typically go through the earnings and economic calenders, and see as many headlines as possible that pass by, and that have passed from 4pm the prior day. Back in the beginning I went through every single headline that passed between 4pm and the following 9:30 (not missing any), whereas now I am a bit more lax, but overall am able to sniff out most of the goodies from experience. I'll quickly go through the charts of anything I traded the prior day. If any still look interesting, they will get put on a side screen. News flow slow? More chart plays... News flow heavy...few/zero chart plays.

I'll typically have my stocks chosen and up on screen by 8:30/9. In earnings season, while news flow is much heavier, I may have my screens filled earlier, or even the prior night since I already have listed who will be out for next day's trading.

By 9, daily, transfer a few dollars into a charitable bank account (give *then* get).

Music library on sort for entire day - all different genre's. The louder the music, the more focused I get (within reason).

Staying until the close? I used to stop without thought when a certain goal was reached. I don't really trade with much of a goal anymore other than to close losing positions, and trade the others smartly. Going with specific goals is important earlier on when learning how to trade successfully, after that whatever works for your situation. Different strokes...

I screen all calls during the day. Some days are so busy that you don't realize the phone rang, others nothing's doing, it doesn't much matter.

I find I'm much more focused when headphones are used through the day, as opposed to speakers.

I don't have strong feelings one way or the other, and often do not turn the tv on (and of course it's not fun when Gasparino & MBI propaganda team pull into town at the end of a thin Friday, and you're short a million stocks).

Whereas before I was very very tight when it came to daily consistency since I was trading with a just achievable goal, I am somewhat (intentionally) more volatile as I take bigger risks now going for a bit of gold, instead of consistent base hits (which for most and most of the time, is to me the best way to go though - consistent base hits).

Strategies then and now: Generally speaking, same strategies, applied a little differently as market structure has changed, but same basic stuff. Have expanded into other areas of trading, but still primarily, the same biz.

Position sizing then and now: Scale in/out, both then and now. Initial position size hasn't really changed much over the years, however positions grow much larger in size and in number.

If any/all of this was incoherent, sorry, just kind of typed away.

Any questions?!
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Nice post. Thank you for taking the time to be detailed and complete.

Pension_Admin · Mar 3, 2008

Quote from pairsarbtooo:

Nice post. Thank you for taking the time to be detailed and complete.
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I second that. Thank you USATrader!

SethArb · Mar 4, 2008

I am more in control ( still working on being totally in control )
my edge still works ( sometimes I have my doubts )
and I choose the time ( certain times of the day just do not work for my
P+L to stay green )
and size that gets me ( I try not to be a hero )
positive each week ( so far so good 10 plus weeks )
and I try to outfox the BOTS ( and wait for the newbies to screw up instead of me )

TraderZones · Mar 5, 2008

Quote from Pension_Admin:

You know, the reason why I am asking this is because I think I discovered the holy grail (
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Don't they all?

alex.samant · Mar 5, 2008

we all have our different daily schedules and you won't see a pattern there if you check traders that are profitable, unless they work at the same firm. however, that's only during work hours.

the difference between the "now" and the "then", for me, is that i regard money in a completely different way. i no longer look at money as something that i definitely gotta have in order to buy this or that, or go places. i consider money to be a scale that points to how proficient you are, your performance ranking, and honestly, i am thinking more and more about giving away more than 50% of incomes to charity because i realize i was lucky by circumstances that other people don't have and therefore i need to give back and create those circumstances....

pneuma · Mar 5, 2008

Quote from Pension_Admin:

This questions goes to all the consistently profitable traders. What is a typical day like for you? How was it differ from when you first starting out as a trader? Any change in mentality?

Thanks!

Pension_Admin
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A successful trader is smart enough to develop a system and dumb enough to follow it.

An unsuccessful trader is either: too dumb to develop a system OR smart enough to develop a system and dumb enough to second guess it.

That is the quantum leap that 90% fail to make. 'Zanshin' is the mind set required (google for definition)

Typical day for me:
Wait for the market to close; download data; run algorithms; update spreadsheets; place orders (stop/limit); log off; total time 30min.

Pension_Admin · Mar 5, 2008

Quote from alex.samant:

the difference between the "now" and the "then", for me, is that i regard money in a completely different way. i no longer look at money as something that i definitely gotta have in order to buy this or that, or go places. i consider money to be a scale that points to how proficient you are, your performance ranking, and honestly, i am thinking more and more about giving away more than 50% of incomes to charity because i realize i was lucky by circumstances that other people don't have and therefore i need to give back and create those circumstances....
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I think most of the traders who finally made it are the ones who don't regard money as a mean to a better lifestyle, but do regard it as a performance measurement. Those who are just into a better lifestyle will soon find something easier for them to achieve. Trading is the hardest means to become wealthy.

Pension_Admin · Mar 5, 2008

Quote from pneuma:

A successful trader is smart enough to develop a system and dumb enough to follow it.
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Well, some successful traders have gone through enough tortures and have bear enough scars to know what work and what not. They see their system as the one and only way to success.