longduck74
9 posts
msg #59856
- Ignore longduck74 |
2/21/2008 3:56:10 PM
Who trades for a living here?? How much do you make a year? % and net income per year please. And finally, is it really possible to be a "professional" trader or am I just dreamin??! thanks for your honesty.
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nikoschopen
2,824 posts
msg #59870
- Ignore nikoschopen |
2/22/2008 1:38:38 PM
Those who have the time to BS are only deluding themselves. As far as money is at stake, I doubt there's anyone who is not serious about trading. Moreover, serious (or professional) traders care only about their own pocketbook, not whether others make or lose money.
As far as being able to stand on ure two feet, you'll need at LEAST 3 years of exposure in the market to even remotely feel comfortable and not the 6 months typically written by hacks. In that time, the last thing on ure mind should be when you will become the next anonymous millionaire. It should be first and foremost about survival. Just as the three most important things to running a good business are location, location, location, the three essential concepts to starting a sound trading career are survival, survival, survival.
Good luck!
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EWZuber
1,373 posts
msg #59881
- Ignore EWZuber |
2/23/2008 1:02:30 AM
Besides experience the most important aspect of making a living trading is having sufficient funds to trade with.
I suspect that one would need at least $100K to make a decent living at it.
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guru_trader
485 posts
msg #59882
- Ignore guru_trader |
2/23/2008 1:35:13 AM
Tim Sykes is trying to do it, again, with just $12,415
http://timothysykes.com/
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luc1grunt
622 posts
msg #59886
- Ignore luc1grunt |
2/23/2008 9:05:24 AM
Good God...another thread with Sykes name in it! Sorry, couldn't resist.
Great post Niko and sound advice.
Fear of giving back any portion of that monthly income "earned" presents it's own little psyche problem. That's why the larger the base capital the better. Let your system play out so that drawdowns do not corrode your attitude. That may be very hard to do with 30-50k.
Can you stomach a 4k drawdown while depending on profits to pay the bills? How about 8k? As the pressure mounts, so do the "potential" negative effects it can have on your trading execution. Revenge, failure to pull the trigger, anger etc.
My $.02
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miketranz
961 posts
msg #59889
- Ignore miketranz |
2/23/2008 11:07:53 AM
I agree with EW,you would need at least 100K to start off with.If your only trading stocks under $10,you might get away with 50K.Remember also,there is a 3 day transaction settlement period where your capitol is locked up.So if you plan on day trading,its real easy to max out an account,given the 3 day settlement period.The first thing you need to do is have a system that works for you consistently and you're comfortable trading(let me know when you find one).The second next thing is learning how to take a loss,to know what your risk tolerance is.The textbook 5-8% stop loss rule will wipe your account out.The key to survival in this business is preservation of capitol,staying around long enough to become profitable on a weekly/monthly basis.And finally how to take a profit,if your lucky enough to make it that far.Sounds easy right? Good luck...........
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EWZuber
1,373 posts
msg #59894
- Ignore EWZuber |
2/24/2008 12:23:32 AM
miketranz, thats right. Preservation of capitol is a much better approach than letting losses ride and HOPE( a four letter word in trading) for the best.
A technical sell stop is absolutely the best way to prevent big losses, IMO, and beats the heck out of trying to regain losses with future gains.
Remember a 50% loss can only be reclaimed with a 100% gain!
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miketranz
961 posts
msg #59897
- Ignore miketranz |
2/24/2008 10:06:57 AM
EW,Longduck asked an interesting question.Who on here actually trades for a living? So far I did'nt see any responses.I would like to know the answer to that question myself,to see what kind of company I'm keeping.Most people can talk the talk,but can they walk the walk?? Mike.........
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rtucker
318 posts
msg #59899
- Ignore rtucker
modified |
2/24/2008 3:04:42 PM
d
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nikoschopen
2,824 posts
msg #59900
- Ignore nikoschopen |
2/24/2008 3:08:33 PM
Mike, can YOU give us more than just the badass rhetoric ure so accustomed to? Where the hell you been for the last 2 years? Some people, myself included, have taken the liberty to post real trades in real time. Why don't you start posting some real trades ureself before passing judgments on others?!
Be that as it may, it's silly to even contemplate trading for a living based on others' response. They're success (or failure) does not necessarily translate into ure own. Like I said above, the most fundamental part you'll need to succeed is experience.
So just how much do I make? Last month alone, I scored more than 10% of my capital. Considering that the average return for S&P during a typical bull market can't even amount to that much, I consider myself pretty damn lucky. But the bottom line is what does that got to with ure bottom line?
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