<i>"this just sounds a little wack."</i> No it ain't... Dustin is being honest with you. My point is, experienced traders can handle anything. Traders with less experience may not handle current tape violence well, but that doesn't mean they have no hope for long-term success. This stuff is relatively short-lived. Enjoy it or avoid it as seen fit, but will soon be gone and back to "normal"
Let me clarify, I'm not saying anyone makes this much every single day. Of the 10+ guys that I keep in touch with, it is not uncommon in this market for a few of them to hit these numbers. Of course I won't be posting names.
I'll add to Dustin's point. The room that I am, we are all killing it having record days and months. This trading environment is some of the best I have ever seen. I personally had a record month last month and know of atleast 5 others that did as well. While not giving the exact number, lets just say it was mid 6 fig's, while others I know were making millions over the last several weeks. If you can not trade in this environment, please consider another job.
Agreed... this is the best trading market I've seen since 01'. Anyone who says they're losing money, doesn't know what they're doing.
Dustin, $500K A day?! shit that's gravy. I know guys doing 40K consistently and I was thinking they're trading gods. As for the OP. Not a bad market. You can even make money trading the damn noise. Take a position with small targets and large stops. The chop will always take you out with a profit.
---------------------- Both of you guys are right, i mean, some traders will be better off staying at the sidelines if they can't keep up with the volatility. I'd say they are good traders and kudos to them for realizing their weakness in this ultra volatile market (rather than force their old ways and get creamed). They simply are having a hard time adapting. They've probably realized their old ways are not working and have lost a bit of money and decided to take a break to see if the market will revert to its "old ways". Now the excellent traders will take advantage of this volatility and once in a life time opportunity as you so well put it and adapt to it like never before (i personally am seeing history in the making in that i'm seeing % moves that i've never thought possible). I suppose that's what distinguishes the varying degrees of good traders. I really love that quote "Good traders minimize risk, Great traders maximize opportunity" I guess you now know where you stand, i personally consider myself in that first part still stuck with minimizing risk as I usually trade the noise and do many trades sort of like a market maker. Speaking of which, i wonder if they do well in this type of environment. PS You do have great advice about chopping down your size to at least partake in some of the opportunities. IMHO completely staying at the sides lines is admitting defeat in a way that you are not willing to adapt to the market. Flexibility and adaptability is one of the most important keys to success in trading. Also, under these conditions one must be very well capitalized as precision is extremely crucial.
A few pts need to be made here.i know a guy up 27 mil this year. But i also know other guys struggling as they've been on the wrong side of the volatility. ONE THING NOT MENTIONED HERE IS THE GUYS MAKING THE BIG $'S ARE THE ONES WHO ARE WELL CAPITALIZED AND CAN TAKE HUGE HEAT. yesterday i make 48 k jumping on xom's huge vertical $8 run. I also too $20k heat during the day. But i'm day trading a retail account with 7 figures so a 20 k loss is acceptable. a prop guy with 20k in his account can't handle this this draw down. ALSO REMEMBER MANY OF THE PEOPLE DUSTIN SPEAKS OF IN HIS GROUP ARE BLACK BOX AUTOMATED TRADERS WHICH GIVES THEM HUGE ADVANTAGES IN SUPER FAST MKT'S AS THERE ORDERS ARE SHOT OUT IN MILLISECONDS VERSUS A MANUAL TRADER TAKING MUCH MORE TIME.
would you say that you actually did not take enough heat yesterday? what i mean is that a 20K drawdown on 1M account is only 2%, your account could easily withstand a several fold higher drawdown. do you think you are missing out by not trying to maximize profits during this volatile time?