In 2008 as a pilot account, from october to december I mirrored accounts from my prop account starting with 5,000 dollars, 50K in buying power by the end of the year the account was at 29,850. after 15k I was using 400,000 buying power intraday. Holding no overnights. Yes, i could do this again. This was all about trading skill and higher market volatility, but many traders lost their whole business during this time. Yes...it can be done...it was done. IF one man can do it so can another... anyway...its kinda fun in a sadisticly powerful way ripping into your ignorance. I fathom the pain you put yourself through to live in the negative, sad, poor and lonely place you must be in when you think of trading. I say this from a successful and powerful standpoint. That is precisely why I think you are full of bad ideas, limited beliefs about what the markets can and do offer you, and its pleasing in a very good way to know that I have evolved. Have you considred that you probably don't really want to trade? Trading maybe isn't for you, since you seem so attached to your beliefs on how it doesn't work. Maybe you should get a civil service job or become a teacher, get tenure. Got news for you, the feeling of uncertainty will NEVER EVER go away. Why not make it work for you in trading? Oh yea, I forgot, trading isn't for you. You don't have the mind to accept its benefits.
The only reason to trade is to make money. A lot of passion is not going to cut it, but having a plan will. It is not the only condition, but it is a necessary condition. Just like one must have an edge. If you don't have an edge you are a gambler. Sure a lot of people enjoy trading, I have been enjoying it for 5 years, but don't you think that no one really cares watching a chart of AAPL going up and down for hours ? With the money made one is be alble to BUY the time to do whatever he wants...(more trading too). Your good point is that trying to get rich next week is recepy for disaster, but ironically it is the very objective of a day trader.
Dear mr. OP: after writing that I want to apologize to you. I meant no ill in that drivel, except that you are not in the same league as myself and many of the other successful traders. You could be, but that would take change on your part. The market doesn't care about you and will give you what you want. If you want it to prove to you you can't make money daytrading, guess what you will get? So, I wouldn't stake a dime on you as a trader. The you that is you now doesn't want to trade, and i won't surmise any reasons. All of your responses point to a lack of a decent sampling of the trading business (you know of no profitable day traders, you can't even name the pros who are profitable and famous (linda bradford, mike martin, and the like) who day trade consistently. So basically your knowledge level is low, your beliefs are set for failure, and its right and proper that you should be ridiculed out of existence, slapped around like a whining bitch, until you either change your beliefs or quit. I meant that in the nicest way Cheers.
English is not my first language, but it is yours and if to make a point you need to insult you are making no point. Not for me not for anyone reading you.
No one should ever give up his dreams, but sooner or later we have to deal with IS versus SHOULD. Also if our trading life interferes with our personal life is not good. In other words, we need to stay positive and find a healthy ballance, especially PSYCOLOGICALLY when it comes to trading. It is imperative if one wants to continue trading for many years to come. For day traders learning and applying the right psycology is harder than for longer term traders. System sellers and market gurus are part of the pipedream. If a system makes money why sell it ? As soon as it is for sale you already know it is not worth the money they ask for. Good system are propietary, and not for sale. But then again 99% of the people with a system do not have the discipline to follow it. There are NO financial gurus. No one knows anything, even if they say they do they still don't. All they want is you to pay the $19.99 or more for the hot tip. They teach or sell hope, but they are losers when it comes to trading. Good traders take advantage of trades that have high probability. Their objective ? To capitalize on timing, direction and duration. Their reality is price. If one is able to combine this and more in one day and be consistent ... amazing !
I don't know why you kept saying that. You seemed to have painted a picture where all day traders are greedy bastards. And most day traders... eventhough successful at one point, are going to blow up one day. First of all: get rich next week. Isn't that why people buy lottery tickets or go to the casinos? Or subscribe to some kind of get-rich-quick scheme? It can be multi-level marketing, penny stocks, or keep buying OTM (cheap) options. Why is it that losing big in your mind seems to be confined to day traders? (I sure didn't hear you bashing other kinds of schemes.) Day trading is a style. It is a choice. You can blow up your account when you trade using leverage (stocks on margin, futures, etc.). You can owe more than what you have. You can blow up in swing trading just the same. Don't believe it? Look at the chart of BIDU and ask those people who shorted it when it gapped up huge or longed it when it gapped down huge. I have seen SYBS (Sybase) getting a haircut of 50% overnight after an earning shortfall. If one trades it on margin, he's dead! When you trade there are always risks. Some risks are large, some small. People blew up because they were ignorant of the risks or that they don't care and they take their chances. I chose day trading because I do not want to take overnight gap risk - ever since I lost $5000 on one trade overnight holding only 500 shares short on BRCM and it gapped up $10 on me. Plus I also like to get the 4:1 buying power on intraday trading. Day trading has no inherant danger. It is typically only more effective for traders with more capital. Risks are determined by the traders themselves. You just depicted all day traders are unrealistic dreamers. These blind generalizations again.
daytrading is a dream, blah blah - loosers with a big L daytrading - how about cdo's, real estate, and many many others. speculation is great. if you know how to speculate no matter what the asset class is .
Exactly. Apart from the occasional insider stuff, or the occasional fund manager who retires rich after losing money for its clients, those who make money deserve it and those who lose deserve it. Even if people don't like to hear it, Goldman has no real advantage over me in the futures market. If I place an order at a price before them, I will have priority...No networking bullshit, no need to make friend with City Hall, nobody watching at which college you were ... Just fair, anonimous, regulated trading of economic instruments. I love to see someone with no formal education( I'm not in this group as I did college ) getting a second chance and succeeding in trading, just because ... he worked for it and has the same chance as everyone.