Paper trading is a very necessary step to success. Perfect practice comes from sloppy practice, first. Those who insist on practicing = honig their skills with real money on the line find themselves in the 90% group the OP mentioned. Yes, papertrading is a long step from real money in the trenches. So was summer camp back in August for the Colts and Bears Capiche`?
for pete's sake. traders fail at roughly the same rate that all small businesses fail and that's a GOOD thing for good traders, because bad traders make trading easier, cause they are easier to read regardless... you are extrapolating from the individual to the whole. fine. you didn't succeed. most don't it took me a long time to become profitable and if i gave up like you i never would have. most potential traders do not have the discipline and emotional makeup to trade.
Slick, Take time off. Review all your trades. Pick up 'Trading In The Zone' by Mark Douglas and really work on the psychological aspect of trading.
I would say with a much bigger rate, because: 1. It is much easier to get started in trading, even and specially without any skill. 2. Before people start any other kind of business, they usually have a plan. That doesn't necessery true for new traders...
And not many people are going to help you along the way. If anything they'll try and take your money. The help you do get is often questionable. cm69
I might get flamed for saying this but here it goes..... The days of scalping by reading the book are gone, imo. You absolutely can not trust anything you see there anymore. Don't try to read the tape in hybrid. Try trading from the chart. Look at technical setups. I don't mean using indicators neccessarily. If you truely understand price action, I think you can find some good trades by just looking at the chart.
easier said than done.. i have responsibilities.. bills, i wanted it to work... but there's to much on the line.. believe me, i think it woulda worked under differate circumstances.. i have a strong belief in my skills and that it can make me just as wealthy as this would of.. or so i thought anyways.. before and after the bell, i can say alot.. its during that mr hyde takes over,, yeah yeah.. i know
It's a highly competitive arena. And, just like most all competitive arenas, Darwinism rings true in that only the fittest survive. Not everyone can be a great athlete, or own a successful restaurant, or write great music, or be a consistently profitable trader, etc. Some people make it, most don't. Good luck in your future endeavours.