a lot of difference b/w just making enough to support ur lifestyle and making consistent money. For the latter leverage can be used and makes a established professional.
First, what I meant by "consistently" is being able to make money month after month. This pretty much excludes those with haphazard trading results. Second, leverage is an arbitrary term. If you had the edge that allowed you to consistently, if not persistently, book profits every month, would you not increase your bet as your trading portfolio grows larger? It's just a matter of time before leverage rears its ugly head. As such, if you are able to make money even if that means you are only able to support your lifestyle, you belong to this privileged class of traders.
the poll is useless as most people here have 3-5 yrs of trading experience and think they are real pros. to get out of newbie status, you should have at least 10 years experience, and experienced 2 major bull and bear cycles
you didnt get it. I have seen a lot of guys at my firm with 4+ yrs of exp. who have their down months but at the end of each year they've made considerable money. They are survivors who can make big anytime. edge is a more misused word on this forum than leverage edges change over time but if someone has consistent nos. for 3+ yrs its good to assume his trading is sufficiently robust (professional).
As you might already know, most of the traders go broke within their first year--more like six months in most cases. From that point of view, I believe it warrants to know how many are able to stand on their own two feet as it were. By all means, experience counts. Quite a lot actually. But that alone isn't enough. Just as one does not necessarily grow any wiser over the years (for evidence you should look no further than those on this forum ), you shouldn't assume you will become a better trader over time either.
Sure, I understand that all traders will at least have one or two down months. I have no problem with that. But I have problem with those with, say, 10 negative months who end the year on a positive note. Is that really a skill or a mere dumb luck? Knowing how to properly use leverage is an edge in itself. The reason why most traders blow up is because they misuse leverage (eg. margin). PS. Perhaps i could run another poll in the future with more nuanced questions geared specifically for successful traders.
while still working for a salary i traded equities with a month+ holding period in the bull markets basically long only. I made enough to stop working but my money were in crap shares at that point, so i resigned but love trading so i started focusing on system trading index futures while leaving most money 'invested' in the small companies (yes i know bad idea) Crash came + not losing money but not making bit amounts on futures (the more i learn the worse i do). All n all i would say shorter term focus has hurt me and being overconfident after a good patch. But even if i had all the money in the world i would trade every single day.