So I'm at this interesting part of my trading career where I've got enough of a grasp on price action be successful, now its all about building up that account and recovering years worth of losers. I focus on the NQ and RTY and trade the morning session. I'm profitable now, but now my question really is how profitable do I want to be ? What is realistic ? HOw much should I look to take out of the market before I call it quits for a day ? A week ? Per contract of course. My question is a little vague, and I'm looking at other peoples opinions. During this 4 day trading week I made 26 NQ points ($520 / contract). That was my best every week and the best I traded regardless of pnl. Should the professional emini traders be making a LOT more than this on average considering the volatility ? I'm not interested in what you CAN make, I'm more curious about averages. Obviously this is very strategy dependent and volatility dependent. I really have had the brakes on my strategy as of late and know that I can make more. After so many years of loses, I've been focusing on more conservative entries to build it the account and not do dumb stuff. I know 2 years ago, with the low volatility I would have been thrilled with $500 / contract / week. Now, I'm curious what "good" is. 1 ES point per day used to be the holy grail. What is it now ?
You take what the market throws at you, and it has been throwing a lot this year, especially since October. There is no "realistic" nor "normal" that is a standard-bearer for all traders. It is up to each to discover their own abilities/limits.
Do not worry about any average or what others are doing considering most are losing. The volatility won't last and hopefully you'll recognize when the volatility is declining...reverting back to its mean. In fact, you should never worry about what others are doing unless you're in some kind'uv competition (trading tournament). Also, I do not think you know what is a "professional trader". They are on salary...working for a financial institution...they have medical/dental/vacation benefits along with pension plans/insurance plans. Yet, if you're truly wondering about the stats of your own trading...do some real stats about your own trading results for the entire 2018. Simply, there's a ton more involved than just looking at dollar/points in a 4 day duration...use one of those 3rd party professional trade journal software and compute the stats for the year 2018...you'll easily have 20 - 50 other more useful stat categories to look at. Keep the stats to yourself to self-help your own trading...no need to share/compare it with other retail traders. wrbtrader
You need to know the average volatility for a given time frame, then how much time is left/ has passed and how much of that you have grasped or lost.
Median annual household income in 2017 was $61,327. Just under $120,000 places in the top 10% Just under $300,000 places in the top 5% Just over $715,000 places in the top 1% Why don't you just focus on hitting the $500/contract/week number, regardless of market conditions, regardless of other's opinion. Do it consistently and this thread, your question and all the responses including this one, vaporize. HNY!
After so many years of loses, I've been focusing on more conservative entries to build it the account and not do dumb stuff. Nice one.
I don’t think you should view the appropriate PnL to be successful as a function of market activity, because to be successful as a day trader presumably means that you can quit your day job (more power to you!). So it’s not about “should I make x when it’s this volatile?” it’s “I made x, what’s the opportunity cost of sitting at home in my underwear scalping?” So you need to evaluate the expenses you personally cover, the expenses your employer covers on your behalf, and then adjust for the unpredictability of a trader’s PnL.
What if he/she is not a scalper nor sitting at home in his/her underwear ??? This person could be trading in dress pants, tailor white shirt or very casual (jeans & sweater - its the holidays). Further, he/she could be a trader that holds overnight positions or maybe could be just a day trader while not a scalper. wrbtrader