for a new guy starting out...about how long do you think it would take for me to consitently hit a profit above 500 for the day? what about a 1000? i see guys in here do a 1000 in the first 20min...guess i'm not there yet. just curious trying to set pace for some goals and was looking for some input.
500/day is $125k/yr. The odds are never. But if you have enough savings to go a year without any income and you trade small enough to keep most of your capital, and you have enough capital to begin with, and you have a demonstrable edge, and.....
jmh there's alot of bs smoke ont hese boards. i bet there's not 5 guys on this whole elite trader who've made 125k every year since 2000. the facts are the facts and read anything from robert green who does 1000 trader returns a year to motely fool and many other's who've looked at traders and you'll see its very rare to avt what you're looking for . think about it you make 500 a day for 5 days and lose 1k then you're avg is 1500 divided by 6 which is only $250
Very close to attaining that goal now. Tough to do without great commish (which I don't have) unless trading large size, which imo kills small accounts ($25k - $50k.) A sweet spot to attain this goal is with is 1000 shares per stock that you trade intraday. I trade anywhere from 20 roundturns a day to 40 roundturns a day, or between 10K shares to 40K shares a day (I trade more than equities, but to start out stick with equities.) Basically, if you can get .0030 per share and have a $50K+ account with 100% payouts, I would say that depending on your talent you can make $500 a day after commish in three years of experience. But that would give you an ulcer. Better is to have at least $75k or $100k. It is not so much to trade more size, but so that you don't feel so much heat on each trade on 1000 shares as percentage of account when you lose. You would be surprise how easy it is actually. It is all about managing risk once you get it. Surviving until you get it is so critical I cannot overstate that. Size kills - trade 100 shares no matter what your account size is until you get it. I recommend doing something else (get a job) during the summer. I am no longer going to be concentrating on trading during the smack in the middle (mid Jun to mid Sep, will take the first two weeks of Jun vacation and last two in Sep as vacation, essentially down from begin of Jun to end of Sep) summers and will be doing something else. Not only does this provide me with other intellectual challenges, it keeps my interest in trading fresh. The hard part is readjusting when you get back. nitro
You must look at the nature of your edge. For most traders, any consistent figure per day (mode rather than mean) is a luxury they really shouldn't bother pursuing. Maybe the nature of your edge means more of a stair-step profile of equity, rather than a smooth curve. If so, get used to it, and stop trying to shape that profile artificially. If day-to-day consistency in monetary reward is your ultimate goal, it's called a salary, and there are much better places to find that than in the markets.
why do people always concentrate on the dollar amounts. it misleads. if you earn $500 by risking $1m, then the return really sucks. Might as well put the money into a bond. if you earn $500 by risking $5000, that is a great return. focusing on the dollar amount neglects the amount risked
based on my past experience at a prop firm figure in about 6 months before you start making $500/day in profit consistantly. once that level is hit maybe another 3-6 months before you start making $1000/day. this of course assumes you become profitable at all, which honestly is very unlikely (10% or less).