when I first started trading ES, the first year I made less than I could have made at min wage, the only thing that saved me was the 60/40 split (even though with the exemption I probably wouldn't have owed any income taxes one way or the other). I had a (back in those days) $50 electric bill and 1 point profit, and I would take it. "Well there! Just in two minutes I have paid the electric bill!"
commissions and the spread are what makes a 50/50 trader (or for that matter a 3 to one trader) a loser, no matter what money management system he has going for him. 90% is money management, 10% is guessing right. A good trader has a solid money management plan, and a 10% knack for guessing right. And even if you guess wrong, as I do many if not most of the time, your money management saves your ass from complete disaster. It aint that complicated. Cut your losses short and let your profits run. Your small losses will probably be way more than you ever anticipated, and your profits will be more than you ever dreamed of.
In part it depends on your time frame ... letting your profits run sounds great but for a day trader you're constrained somewhat, assuming you adhere to your plan. I try to make $x/day from day trading and also put on multi-day or multi-week trades so supplement the day trading profits. Obviously commissions can eat away more of your day trading profits but if you take some $$$ off the table every day you're in shape to trade the next day's open whether it's up or down.
yes, and the longer you survive, the longer your timeframe becomes guessing right everyday is a young man's game fun while it lasts, but not sustainable for most I've taken some large quick profits To this day, I don't really know whatever happened to them I can still remember the large slow profits
Yep, I'm getting older ... trading is no longer a pinball type game. I remember when we traded in fractions and spreads at time could be 1/16, 1/8 or even a 1/4. I once bought 1000 shares via SOES and flipped it when there was a 5/8 spread and made 1/2 point in like 16 seconds. Then again back in the 90's commissions were a lot higher .. I paid $25 each way and ECN fees to INCA, ISLD, etc. I enjoy it more today since commissions are much lower, I've been through enough wars to not panic and I trade when I want to (and don't feel obligated to trade all day).
no kidding, when they invented ES, anybody in America with a computer could trade as cheap as a merc member. Considering rent and gas and parking. You no longer needed to live in Chicago to trade. And there are a lot of places in the world cheaper than Chicago. So you can pay a little more for the spread and commission and still come out ahead, plus living in a better city than Chicago.
The increased volatility can be a challenge ... more for swing/position traders who might get whip sawed out of a trade than daytraders who can be more nimble by taking really small profits.
Lo5; %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Good points; another disadvantage to selling the top /buy the bottom=only liars do that all the time. Some markets trend better[more orderly] than others; longer time frames can have less commissions/slippage. Market Makers Edge [Joshua Lukeman helpful book] has many 6 month candle charts in it........................................................................................................Wisdom; NOT a prediction