Sorry, not a day trader. Only swing trade and stop at 5 trades at work. When I sell one position to close, then, I add one new trade. If I close 2 trades, I add 2 new trades to replace it. That is enough action for most traders.
I can't make it in day trading but I'm pretty sure there are surely others who can, especially many elitetraders here. The proper question to ask is ... is it worth your time to do day-trading for the returns? A person can have a full-time day job and still participate in the markets while at the same time, enjoy higher returns than if he day traded. Day trading is suitable for people who have a passion for the markets and do not mind being glued to the screen. It takes a certain temperament to do that. For people who do it for the excitement or only want the money but lack the passion for markets, there are better ways to earn money.
You are so stupid. I'm not talking about % of capital at risk you fool. Edge: For a unit bet, the edge can be calculated from the probability of winning (p) and payout odds (b) as shown below. It can be thought of as simply the probability of winning (p) multiplied by the sum won (b-1), plus the probability of losing (1-p) multiplied by the sum lost (-1). Payout vs risk. (1R. 2R. 3R trades) will almost certainly effect probability of win. Like I said I never talked about percent capital at risk. I used risk in terms of points or ticks. Trade management is different and Kelly Crit. has been a great rule of thumb for most dumbasses like yourself. Im fully aware of what you're talking about. I apologize maybe I dumbed it down so much earlier that even your stupid ass can't figure it out. And yes. since the 90s with a custodial account when this shit was in fractions. So the AARP shit doesn't apply either. Youre wrong about that too. I feel bad for your parents.
Its near impossible to make it in daytrading. First you need an edge (hard) then you need trade management (harder). Takes a certain type of person. Lastly no one really wants to put in the time. Theyre in this because they dont want to work. But guess what. This job takes brains and work.
Here are the main reasons why I continue to make money virtually every day for the last 30 years (22 years from home). 1) Market policy (Government): ie Markets flooded with activity. A guy like Bernie Sanders (if he could do everything he wants) would change this 2) Market structure: Exchange rules (dictated by HFT's) typically hurt "day traders" but it seems the more anti competitive the Exchanges get the better it is for those who really understand the rules. There are some rules that actually give you advantages over the big boys 3) Threads like this. When your competition says it "can't be done". It doesn't matter why people say it but is important to know that Wall Street is a saturated place with some of the smartest minds, much smarter than me but it seems many simply won't do the work that people like me do... 4) Market access: in my case: having a great broker (IBKR) and great data vendor (Nanex). I'd love to pat myself on the back but it is important to know that I have NO control over these four things. Take one of them away and it would be harder (perhaps it would even end my profitability). However, it is 22 years and counting and nothing has really changed... As Buffett says - its all about the moat. And what is ironic is my competitors (#2 and #3) not only create the moat but they help maintain it It can be done, but not without the work. best of luck
Good point. Some people want to move into trading/investing full-time because they hate their day job. I won't judge them on that. They should find out the real reason why they hate their day jobs. If the real reason is they're lazy, then they're not going to make it with trading anyway because it takes a lot of hard work to succeed. If the real reason is they love trading more than their job, then they have a better chance to succeed but failure is still highly possible given the low success rate.
Arb trading. some minimum risk positions (ie. Conversions). some risk arb. Virtually zero delta every night. Overnight Margin usually around 2% of capital mainly equity and equity options but I will do some futures as well
Did not read the whole thread. I'm very skeptical of this story. Or some important details are missing. The implication seems to be that the friend is a smart guy (profitable position trader for 6 years implies significant competence), but day trading somehow turned him into a retard. OP also claims no one can make money day trading which suggests he himself might be a bitter failed daytrader with an axe to grind. He also started a thread a year ago titled "No day trader on this planet can make yearly profits" If the story was true, I would expect to hear about a specific event that caused the blow up. Like some wacky thing with short options. Just trading stocks it is very difficult to ride a big account all the way down to $0. You'd practically have to be doing it on purpose.