I have been trading live for 7 months now. I primarily trade the YM and have started to become more consistant. When I started I lost money 4-5 days a week for the first three months. I have started trading 2-3 lotts now and I am able to make money 4-5 days per week without having any major blow ups on that 5th day. I still have not taken home a paycheck even though my account is now positive. My question is how long did it take you before you took home a paycheck and can you explain the process for to get to that point, and how long did it take you to make a living out trading. Thanks
3 years. It was right in front of me the entire time .... Find risk reward scenarios that are in your favor. Only trade these. Otherwise, sit on your hands, go running, read, do something else. Keep a Journal. Learn where you are making money and where you are not. Then, do only the former and abstain from the latter. 95% of the advice you get on this website is worth about as much as you pay for it. Same with what you get on the net. Your time in front of the screen is much better spent researching price action, backtesting, paper trading, trading - not chatting, writing blogs or researching web sites. A good portion of what you read or can buy on the internet is from people who have failed at their attempts at trading for a living and now excel as profets of TA or as teachers. There is a saying where I come from, "Those who cannot do, Teach". You usually reflect the skills of your mentor. You do the math. Be your own teacher. Most of the kids on ET are just here to chat. Those who are worth listening to generally don't post, they spend their time researching, backtesting, paper trading, trading . When they do post, it is worth the read. That is where the blogs will be useful to you. Look for tenure, longevity (time on ET) and rarity in the posts. Your journey will be frustrating and time consuming. You will question your commitment to this quite often. However, when the time arrives and it finally clicks, your trades will be almost effortless. It should be refreshing for you to know that many people (more than you think) actually do make a living through this. Very few discuss it and even fewer write about it on blogs. A word on profits - If you are not making money consistently, you shouldn't be trading real funds. Once again, once it clicks, your trading will be almost effortless. Demo it up and trade it true. Be true to your money management rules and your strategy. Only once you are consistently making money in your sandbox, then and only go to live rounds. Easier to say than to do. Your desire to learn quickly takes away from your learning correctly. Take it slow, there's plenty of time. Lastly, you have not failed until you quit. Persistence is key. Know that it WILL click at some point.... it is a matter of time and effort put into the chore at hand. Hope this helps.
Amen to Columbo. That's a good of a response as it gets. Put that on your desk, and read it 100 times. The real answer to your question is that, if you're worried about how you're fairing in comparision to everyone else, you're in big trouble. Trading is personal. Your success and timeline have absolutely nothing to do with anyone else's.
Well, it's hard to follow up to magnificent replies like the one you just got. I usually stick to bullish days, you know, those where you sneeze and things go up ? One of the hardest things to do in daytrading is switching the trade software off and call it a day. Some traders do better during bullish days, some during bearish ones and some, unlike me, can do great on any given day. Choose your forte and go from there. It doesnt take a genius to succeed just discipline, good management and a lot of patience. Good luck my friend.