I thought I have seen every Trading and finance show/documentary on YouTube, (because I literally have) But I randomly stumbled upon this today: Day Traders Episode 1: The Pros Day Traders Episode 2: The Rookies. Day Traders Episode 3: The Firm. Day Traders Episode 4: The Tools. Day Traders Episode 5: The Action. It's kind of dumb, and average, but still fun/interesting to watch...I wonder how many of these guys at Day Trading Firms are truly fruitfully profitable. -- I doubt any of them are ET's, extraterrestrial traders. Day Trading Firms...reminds me of the movie Boiler Room, 2000. It attracts the relatively degenerate/average crowd of males...the applicant rejects of real Wall Street jobs. I like Episode 4, titled: The Tools. The only people consistently making money here is the house, the firm who leases those desks/office space for the ever-revolving door of tools.
After a certain level, you kind of just don't care enough about this kind of things. There are more to life then to watch the 95%. There is not that much new to learn. Just be glad you're not a part of them. Some people say that life is about continuous learning. That the only the dumb stop learning. But maybe those who use that comment are just slow learners. And these videos seem familiar. Like I might have stumbled on them a couple of years ago. My favorite documentary on day traders were the Wall Street Warriors.
Wall Street Warrior is a fun series to watch as long as you watch it with a grain of salt. One of them turns out to be fake; he was running a Ponzi scheme and is in jail now and another one is actually a hired actress, not a real trader. Still, enjoyed the entertainment that the show provided.
Well there is nothing wrong with having passion for what you do and there is no nothing wrong with trying to aim for something higher. Trading is a rewarding career once you make it. This is what we are all doing everyday. And I have heard success stories of people who made it with prop. trading firms. Not all prop. trading firms are created equal.
I had a chat last year with a similar guy to the start of "The Tools". He made around 500-800k a year on an in-house platform, started in his early 20s. I probably gave more details that I should have about how I trade simple futures but he was a friend of a friend. The guy was just smiling, "yep, we can't do that for xyz regulatory/compliance/client agreement reasons" to nearly everything. On why he did this work when a lot more could be made independently, he said he likes the life and could not see himself in a quiet office alone anymore plus so much was done for him. It is a way to go but it seems a bit if a velvet mousetrap to me. Clearly a big difference in people who land into trading in their 40s after a different career and career finance guys.
In my opinion that series is one of the dumbest shows I have ever seen, certainly so if one is looking for any "education" or so.
My ultimate favorite is "Bulls and Bears" (1998), oldie but a goodie. No other movie better captures the essence of trading. Distant second is "Floored"
That show is for entertainment not for education. And I find pretty much all of the shows about trading is really for entertainment; nobody is going to really teach you how to trade or made their millions in a reality show. Another show about trading that I enjoyed watching was "Million Dollar Traders" produced in the UK.
That show is entertaining though that guy former GS or whatever is a joke. All he's doing now is trying to "teach". Nothing can teach you trading, but there are some movies out there that capture what the trading is about and give you some important clues and takeaways. Bulls and Bears is one of them for sure.
My favorites are "The Big Short" and "Margin Call". My 2nd favorite is "Trading Places"; this film used to be my favorite until I saw the aforementioned two.