Two years of preparation with 6-plus hours a day of studying seems like a lot compared to (with what I've seen on this board) when most people start. That's what I'm planning on putting into it. And if after all that time I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing, I'll either move on or study for another year. If I'm still not ready after that, I'll give it another year. I have the rest of my life to prepare for this. The markets aren't going anywhere. Seems pretty reasonable to me. A lot of people on this board (not implying the people who replied to this thread) don't seem that smart. That's all I'm saying. I don't really like the fun-to-say analogies everybody gives about "yeah, I'm 6-1 and played basketball for seven days and I feel like playing in the NBA". It's a very faulty analogy as, unlike the NBA, anybody can invest in the market. And unlike a novice playing against pros, you can get lucky playing the market. Make a few dumb bets that pay off and all of a sudden you're a millionaire. During that time you realize they were dumb trades so you plan to play it much more conservatively from here on out. But by that time, you're up a million bucks. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Give me one instance where someone with 2 months of basketball skill has played in the NBA.
Cash - I don't know how well your trading is but it seems as if you've really humbled down lately. Good for you man, hope you are improving...
I'll read all the most important and relevant books. I'll spend a good 1-2 hours/day reading threads on this and other sites. Ask questions. Try to come up with a system. Backtest that system extensively. I'll paper trade. Learn how to approach different markets. I have a friend who's traded for 15 years who I plan to watch and study over time. And I'll study the 7200 other things that I don't even know about yet that I will find out by doing the aforementioned things I just listed. Seems like a reasonable plan. Again, it seems like if you approach it with a level of respect and don't take too much risk, being a profitable (not immensely profitable - but profitable) trader is not that difficult.
<i>"I'll read all the most important and relevant books. I'll spend a good 1-2 hours/day reading threads on this and other sites. Ask questions. Try to come up with a system. Backtest that system extensively. I'll paper trade. Learn how to approach different markets. I have a friend who's traded for 15 years who I plan to watch and study over time. And I'll study the 7200 other things that I don't even know about yet that I will find out by doing the aforementioned things I just listed. Seems like a reasonable plan."</i> Sounds perfectly fine. If you honestly & truly have reasonable expectations as noted earlier, expect this approach to find success in two - four years' time. By 2011 or 2012, you should be pretty close to where you desire right now. That's about what a complete brand-new trader should expect from the self-taught road of education.
1) How do you know how much time others put into this ? 2) 2 yrs, 6 hours + studying ? Easy to say, hard to do. 3) How do u know you want to put this much time into trading and do it for a career if you've never done it before and don't know anything about the markets yet ?
All of that studying is great and should give you a leg up, especially if you can spend some time with a successful trader. Unfortunately, all the study, backtesting, and paper trading won't fully prepare you for the emotional impact of having real dollars on the line. Part of your education is earned by putting real $$ at risk. It doesn't, and shouldn't, be a lot of money at first, but there is no way around it.
1) I don't know for sure. But reading around and listening to how many hours others have put into this (days/years are kind of misleading because who knows how many hours a day that was), this is a fairly reasonable guess as to the miniumum requirement before light trading If I'm wrong, there's plenty of time (2 years) for me to figure it out and adjust. 2) I know my strengths. And one of them is that when I take something seriously, I dedicate myself 100%. But yes, you're right, it will still be hard. 3) I think the answer is already in the question. If my heart isn't in it, somewhere along the way I'll stop. Then I'll know I didn't want it bad enough. And because I wasn't dumb enough to risk my money during this period, I will have only wasted time. At the very least, I'll have a better sense of how to invest my money, which will serve me well in the long run.
Yes, you can study for two years and know 'everything' about the market inside and out. But, the real learning starts when seemingly every trade you touch turns to shit; or you got some initial gains, but now your equity is slipping to your initial stake (or below), or every time you decide to try a new strategy magically the first 7 trades are losers... I could go on...but these things will happen and it will mess with your head. If you want affirmation that if you put in the time studying and 'being smart' about things that you will eventually succeed, noone here can provide that for you, because there is very real chance that it won't happen. Having said that, the only way you'll make it is if you forget that failing is even an option, no matter what.