Bwo, when are you going to learn? Everybody starts from somewhere. As long as you are playing with money you can afford to lose, go for it. I don't believe in the SIM trading approach. I think it delays a person's progress because it conceals reality. You learn your way, and I'll learn my way. The money I am trading is only a small part of what I have saved. There is a signficant value to taking a big loss. You quickly learn some humility and adjust your style. Frankly, comments from you about the supposed "gazillions" you're going to make, scare the hell out of me, because you're playing with other people's money, and you haven't learned the most important thing: HUMILITY!!
I started out the year strong but was spanked by the August Black Swan. Ended the year with a modest gain of +11% (vs +44% for 2010). Equity curve and stats at: http://www.algodude.com/system-lab-december-2011-performance/
+12.7% for 2011, with a max drawdown of 8.5% and StDev of 13%. Very disappointing to me as return and DD are my worst since 2008/early 2009 and I think I am a much better trader now. I did make some significant changes this year and some learning associated with that but I think it will payoff going forward. Low 6 figure portfolio, mostly swing and quantitative end of day trading. Just as % return may mean little to people without account size, I think % return means little without some measure of risk.
72% for 2011 trading mostly cable, though at one point I was about 30% down from my initial investment and almost quit. Given it's my first years trading I'm very happy with this! (Started mid-May). However it's quite a tiny account. I still feel I'm learning so it'll stay as a tiny account for now. Good fortune to everyone in 2012 ..and don't feel too bad if you've not done as well as the average poster in this thread; many who lost out won't post. I know I'd have kept quiet if I'd finished on a loss.
Bhardy, the mentality you have has never helped anyone make money. Simulating, researching, backtesting, and paper trading will help you make money eventually. The system you posted in the other thread about 17 of 19 wins treats price action too literally. Don't chase the moves in your 5 or 10 minute bars or whatever they were. Education only costs tuition. You can see the profits you've lost as opportunity cost, but since you haven't lost the money this is preferable to losing money, in any case. I would say paying for datafeeds just so you can sim your strategies for awhile is worth the money, moreso than committing to underresearched strategies. BTW, BWO was on CNBC's Squawk on The Tweet Segment today.
SIM trading doesn't train you psychologically. "17 of 19 wins", is one of several strategies. This is called scalping, and it is easilly automated. It works very well in certain market conditions. However, you have to be extremely strict with your stop losses. I have found this very effective recently for "grinding" out profits. It is extremely tedious, though, and I am working on a system to automate it. 5 minute bars are very appropriate for this. Actually, I would be using 1 minute bars were it not for the fact that the 50 cent fee kills any profit you can generate in a 1 to 3 minute period. Your style is more long term, bwo. You are a swing trader. You obviously don't believe in day trading, and that is your perogative. I don't agree with you, but you're entitled to your opinion. However, judging another person and constantly telling them they need professional help, is silly and childish.