The other thread that was mentioned is now closed but it was a discussion about making 8 points a day on ES, then developed into a brawl. One of the most laughable posts was that a person should trade 50 contracts making 1 ES point a day and thus make $50,000 a month. Consensus was that averaging 8 points a day was impossible. To answer your question directly, I have been on ET since 2009 and I can't verify that anyone on ET is making money other than longer term investors and swing position trading. Day Trading is one of the most difficult things on this planet to do successfully. One person on another thread awhile back said a daytrader should be profitable almost every single day. I think I agree with the poster. If you can do it then you can do it, and 8 points a day should be a conservative estimate of profitability. There is a reason people do not post results and it is not for legal reasons or fear that their secret sauce with be reversed engineered. It is because the consistent results just are not there.
An average of 8 points a day per contract (for ES), I don't think it should be considered as a 'conservative estimate of profitability'. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's sure improbable. It's always easy on paper or in an Excel spreadsheet. But when you face the real world, the first punch in your face take you back to reality. Either you're a hell of a trader, or you don't know what you are talking about. Since I don't know you, I'd avoid having an opinion on that.
Ok here is my trading for the first 45 minutes today. Was up over 12 points but right at 10 ES points now.
36 trades in 45 minutes??? And only 10 points profit (before fees and commission)??? I did the last 2 weeks 41 trades (roundturn) in total. So 82 trades.
I don't want to imply that I am this "hell of a trader" that you speak of because I am not. I just illustrate that making 8 points is not that difficult. The key of course is to do it consistently.
Exactly, doing 10 pts in 45 minutes is nice, but averaging 8 pts/day, day after day, 250 trading days a year, is another ball game. And besides that, why are you trading only 1 contract if you are that good (which I don't think otherwise)?
I am actually taking the Earn2Trade Gauntlet so these are real trades on the Gauntlet simulation but not real money trades.
For me it was very difficult, even make 2 points a day was difficult for many years. Till the day I understood how to trade. Once you have the knowledge to make consistent profits, 8 points a day (in the actual volatility) is not that difficult. Even count till 2 is difficult,if you don't know how to do it. Knowledge is the key to success. If you ask people: why can't you make money? Their answer is: I don't know how to do that. Knowledge.
You prove my point as someone who is actually experiencing the 8 points a day. I think it is more than knowledge that makes a successful consistent trader. I have the knowledge but I lack the mental discipline to be consistent. If fact I have been assembling content for a thread that I want to start someday. I will title the thread "Why is it so easy for us Day-Traders to Lose?" Any one of the things on my list can derail a trading day. As I identify the things that a trader falls prey to, well they can then be corrected. Simple things like not chasing a trade that is already past your entry point that came when you were carrying groceries in for the wife and then took a wizz break. Man, if every trading day could be like today.