It doesnât matter. Itâs all relative. Traders like to talk about money but not profitability, they like to talk rewards but not risks. The point is the better trader is the guy with the bigger and more consistent edge and not the guy who makes more money by exploiting a razor thin edge by doing crazy volume. When I started trading I was âtrainedâ by a guy that made over a million dollars in the market and he was doing big volume everyday. So I thought, wow this guy must be a really good trader. The first day I sat with him he made over 400 dollars within 5 minutes of the open. I soon found out that he sucks. Totally inconsistent, down YTD, but he has a razor thin edge that (when it works) he exploits by doing crazy volume. I doubt heâs going to survive in this game in the long-run.
For new traders I think the important thing is to build a big and consistent edge. Because once you have that then you can gradually size up and make more money. But if you have a razor thin edge that you exploit by doing big volume you hurt your long-term profitability and youâre not going to survive when your thin edge goes away.
Converse of that is, in an ever-changing market, you need to exploit an edge for all its worth before it disappears. So you press volume to the max. Thats what I do, and have been doing it for the past 5 years. I'm not sure why you are so critical of people doing large volume. Sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder. Your volume, high or low, has nothing to do with your trading ability. Your p/l line says it all. Nothing else matters.
yea sherlock, you know all about it. My commissions and exchange fees run to about $ 4000 a day. now let's think, why would I do that? Arsehole.
Strangely enough, I fail to see the point of this discussion. If you trade small and make money, then trade small. If you trade a lot and make money, then trade a lot. This discussion is just like one where one person is trying to convince another of what the current trend is. It is all relative. The bottom line: There are times when it makes no sense to trade small and then there are times when trading small is the best way to go. It is a personal choice in conjunction with the price action in the market. One's risk tolerance, liquidity and magnitude of price momentum will dictate what size one should trade.