Steps for underqualified traders to find a prop firm

Call JC Trading Group. They have been around the longest and have a great reputation here on elitetrader.

 

Thank you. From the little research I've done, oanda looks like a very attractive option for newbies.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

One of the traders here was kind enough to message me and we spoke on the phone this morning. In a nutshell he said the real challenge of getting started is finding a trader who has an edge and then convincing them that it's worth sharing. That's not a guarantee even at the respected prop shops. He thinks I'm best off finding a mentor in my area as opposed to moving accross the country and jumping into a prop firm right away.

I plan to focus my efforts trading demo accounts and micro stakes for the next 6 months. In the mean time I'll keep looking for a mentor in Dallas. If that doesn't work then I'll look at the Austin prop firm scene. Thanks to everyone contributing to this thread. Now I gotta go pay it forward in the poker forums.

 

you would have been in a much better position a few years ago when there was more competition. The norm here was $1500 deposit. 30 cents for 1000 shares. free training included. something like 500 bucks for series 56 license. Unfortunately, the industry has been burdened very heavily by regulation and most of the businesses that were able to survive off those type of margins have moved on to other things. Some have gone into hedge funds. Some have left the field completely. Some are still around losing $$.

The market conditions also have a lot to do with the current situation. The market is grossly manipulated and distorted. The quantitative easing program has had destructive consequences on savings and employment so it's much harder for the average working guy to come up with the deposits of $10,000+; however, this is going to be the new norm so get used to it.

Your best bet is to go to college and take economics and finance courses which help give you a footing on how charts are structured; the laws of supply & demand and various theories on markets such as Keynesian views on intervention and Austrian views on intervention. The way you frame your interpretation of the market will determine if your predictions are realistic. Of course, you could learn all this on your own but it would be cheaper and quicker to go to your local community college and take these classes. You can use their facilities for your training and studying for trading as well.

 

One dumbass say this
“ I'm about to give you some really good advice and I hope you take it or at least consider it. Go to college man.”


Another dumbass say this
“Your best bet is to go to college and take economics and finance courses which help give you a footing on how charts are structured”


Yes daytrade today if you can. A big problem for you is not enough capital to start trading with OK. This is your biggest problem. These two dumbasseseses don’t understand college ain’t going nowhere.

YOU need to start trading once as soon as possible.

YOU could be the next Dylan the daytrader an article around here somewhere



Many stocks in 2013 up about 20% such as JNJ MSG GIS DIS

 

I'm getting the vibe that prop shops are hurting, so if they take your money, it's because they want to take your money, not because conditions are so amenable to prop trading.

 

I think the poker playing could help. Many traders don't have the nuanced view that they need to react to a constant stream of new information - a bit like how your bets will change based on what cards are coming from a deck.

So, people focus on the entry and think less about the exit. They also enter with a pre-determined stop and profit target. This can be a good practice, but it is not optimal.

I think a lot depends on your bankroll. If you can afford to bleed $2,000/mo for a year in fees/losses while risking at most 0.5% of your capital max on any given day, I think you can figure some things out in that time. Survival while learning is key - and you won't really know that you've got something until you've been at it a good while.

Also, you can't speed up the number of opportunities to test a strategy or style like you can with online poker (playing 6 hands at once, etc). You might be sitting on your hands waiting for opportunities for days sometimes, depending on what style you are trading.