After my failed attempt "top traders of ET".. people talk a lot of shit here, and I seriously dout if anyone makes 100k in a YEAR. All smoke in mirrors if you ask me.
i was told by someone that if he doesn't make at least 50k/day it's not worth it, in response to the question "How much money can you make trading?" He was also on the trader monthly top 100 traders, but why wouldn't 100k/day average be possible if you're worth a couple hundred million already?
One thing I notice about the kind of people who make 25M a year is that they are highly reluctant, even seemingly ashamed, to reveal what they make in such exact numbers. They'll usually say "I make a decent amount" or something like that when someone asks.
There is a pretty famous thread on this site called the P§L thread... Each contributor posts copy of their daily P§L blotters( and no, they don't fake it ). There are at least half a dozen guys right now that for sure make more than 100 K per year. The guy called nordik must be making 100K months... Why doubt when you got so much proofs it's possible...
<i>"i was told by someone that if he doesn't make at least 50k/day it's not worth it, in response to the question "How much money can you make trading?" He was also on the trader monthly top 100 traders, but why wouldn't 100k/day average be possible if you're worth a couple hundred million already?"</i> Day-trading is hard work in application of mind and emotional management, whereas position trading is less work on both counts. Once traders reach a certain point of capitalization, they evolve from short-term trading to longer term positional trading. You won't see very many eight and nine-figure traders scalping stocks for pennies. It has more to do with time exchanged versus reward received. Guys worth $100mil don't need to make $5k or even $50k a day to impact their lives. $50k per day is $1mm per month... but that's just +12% annual return on $100mm. Why bother with all the work involved day-trading when you can make +5% passive investing? What's another +$7mm in the end for all the massive effort involved when you have $105mm otherwise? <b>cashmoney</b> has zero chance of flushing out big traders to actually post in a thread... especially so in this website here of all places. That is never even almost going to happen. What's the motivation = reward for them to do so? Assuming such people trading $50mm to $200mm or $1+bil would even tune in here to wade past the endless threads of rubbish in the first place. A distinct pattern of posters in the P&L threads repeats itself over and over again. Human behavior is the most predictable, repeated patterns on earth, which is exactly why chart patterns work so well in trading. But I digress. Posting to the P&L thread is done to prove something either inwardly and/or to others for a time. Once that is accomplished, the act loses its appeal. So they quit and step back into the shadows. What <b>cashmoney</b> should strive to avoid are the myriad posters who call market moves in advance or hindsight and/or brag about all the pennies / points made but never post a blotter anywhere. The smoke & mirror guys are those who are so eager to spend ample time in here claiming how "sick" they are doing right up to the last little act of posting a blotter snapshot. Why is that? ** Not many daytraders average $100k daily steadily, because that is a tipping point to change styles. There is a fulcrum where lifestyle mandates a more passive approach to enjoy the money one worked so hard to make in the first place. Guys who can leverage those type of returns have enough money not to need working that hard any more. There is absolutely no logisitical difference in making $10k per day trading ES or ZB as there would be making $100k per day. The difference alone is merely a trader's desire. Those who are able to make that per day, no longer need to work that hard any more.
Nice well thought out post as always Austinp. Thanks for the most reasonable answer in a nutshell. If a person looks through the p+l thread or has simply observed some posters posting account snapshot its easy to see that some are making 6 figures a day. T
I suppose a 100K daily would be OK...for a PIKER. I usually make my first 100K during the first hour of trading, then settle in for some serious money. Typically I'm up a million or so by lunch and usually bored out of my mind. To relieve the boredom of successful trading I'll head on out to the local boat casinos and hit the crap table. I always bet boxcars, table max of course, and win every single time. It really does get tedious. I don't even want to discuss my real estate ventures. Lets just say when Trump is looking to buy a property my phone starts ringing. Yawn!