Honestly, this isn't mentioned or talked about often, but a lot of people go into this thinking they can do it, but deep down on a subconscious level they truly believe they can't. This has to be undone in order for you to succeed at all.
None of the above choices. It's inherent in free exchange markets. Chakraborti, 2005, "Yard Sale Model." And research along the same lines since. Even in the absence of transaction costs, adequate capitalization, or quantifiable edges, most traders will lose. It's baked in. Also see research on Wealth Condensation in the 90's from Bouchaud and other econophysicists. Also from Ole Peters (bit of a crank, but got this particular thing right).
If you have low cap and no other income streams, it is much harder to trade then if you have income coming in. Work to make yourself a better trader so that you can one day become a full time trader. I traded better lately as I currently have more income coming in.
Undercapitalised, if i had $10 or $20 million, i could average 10% a year, with no drawdown ever greater than 10%, and less than 5% drawdowns most years.
LOL, must be. Actually, some of the threads I read over this weekend made me feel all depressed. I wonder why they just can't give up, even after so many years of losses.
It reminds of Nassim Taleb’s observations: "The 5 traits of the market fool Overestimating accuracy of his beliefs (black swan) Getting married to his positions Changing story No plan for taking losses Is in denial (attributes losses to bad luck, and wins to skill)" PS: I believe that most of the trading obstacles can be overcomed by commitment and taking full responsibility for one’s own results.