I got an AHGer that took 5K to 125k in under 6 months, in cash,. no bullshit I know him well and saw his returns. Got a few guys doing over 75 points per week per car, that is net, on a pretty constant basis on the NQ, although they are still in the simulator because they are following a strict plan and I won't allow them to go cash yet. I'm sure these numbers will reduce a bit when the cash demon hits. Still, a very good display of trading. A lot is possible in futures if you have studied the market well. Agree with the four rules posted by Mandel, pretty important stuff, no doubt. Anek
Is one of the rules to limit max drawdown on a trade? Like no more than 2.5% of trading capital risked on any one trade? Thanks all.
I'm usually at about 1% risk per trade, but I do set the max draw at roughly 2.5%. I rarely let it get there though. It actually feels like zero risk over time, cause I know given a big enough population of trades, I'll come out ahead no matter what the markets are doing. If I was risking more, it would put some fear into the equation I think. Risking too much is just asking for trouble in the long term, no matter how good you are.
Thanks, that makes sense to me and is quite encouraging. I am not profitable yet because I am currently out of action after about 6 months live trading. I purposely explored different approaches and learned with my own trading account that I was exploring CHAMPAGNE techniques with a BEER trading account. It actually made me feel GREAT about my trades that were beer budget efforts... my losses were decreasing and my profits made small frequent appearances. I felt the sting early in my trading journey that this is real money, MY real money. I am encouraged to read your comments.
These explainations fit extremely well with my personal trading logic. I tied my trading self to my playing baseball. I still dabble with competitive softball. I'm a leadoff batter, over 45. I don't have the strength or desire to consistenly drive the long ball, and I've accepted that. So for me, consistent base hits (occassionally stretched into a double) brings me a batting/on base average that is solid. Once there, I make the most of the fact that I still have good speed and a great couple of (smart) batters behind me. Disciplined base running gets me around the horn most of the time. I just love going first to third. Or even better second to home.
the best lessons that I learn so far 1. If you haven't blown out of an account you won't know how to trade correctly. 2. If you blown out the second time then you are not trading the right market, leverage, size. 3. If you blow out the third time, maybe trading isn't for you. I can say I am been in between 2-3 for this decade and i want to stay there until I die.
I consistently make $500-$1000 per day. But I use a significantly larger margin than $5,000 i.e. at least $2500 per lot to do it. I could trade with $5,000 but making $200 per day doesn't cut it. I don't understand how you can make a "living" on $5,000. What kind of stoploss are you using? Seems like you're cutting it awfully close.
the fact that the OP refuses to list the 4 mistakes seems suspect. makes no sense; why even make a post if you refuse to name the so-called 4 trading mistakes? are you indirectly asking for money. wtf!!!!
I'm pretty sure he's talking about prop trading, not the futs. For them I would recommend 50k to 100k (plus a year's expenses in the bank) if you're trying to make a living at trading. FWIW, the OP recently started a thread about quitting the trading game, so he's still in process, still finding his way. That's not a dig, just an observation, and I hope some of the posts here have helped him along.