Month to prove a hope

`My name is Arsten and I am totally new to trading. I find the subject very intresting and realy want to learn the trade of trading, I have been very lucky to be able to come to a trading arcade where I can trade on the simulator next to traders who are doing the real thing. I have a month to prove myself to the principals and if they feel I represent a hope the might admit me on their training program. I envisage it as a massive opportunity but a week has already gone and I don't feel that I have done anything to impress them. My P&L looks shocking, I feel I make every single possible mistake. I spend there 10 hours every ay and go home and read, ft, books on trading and the more I read the more I realize how much is to take in before one can properly even talk about the subject. My question is what do you think I can do in this month to catch their eye or at least benefit the most from my unique opportunity. They don't realy say much, they give me little pointers but that is about it. Many thanks

A month? Feck. I'd have done my research and played with demos at home before letting them see me attempt it. Good luck.

Yeah I know but it is what it is and probably I can try again in a year's time but since I am in it already I would like to give it the best shot. I know I need lots of luck but what else can I do? What reasearch have you done?Thx

Arsten, I am at a prop firm too. Obviously your P&L will be taken into account but I think that your attitude will also be carefully considered. No one becomes a great trader overnight but what a lot of these firms want to see is discipline and determination.

Here is my advice:

1. Get in early (before 7am) and leave late (as close to 9pm as possible).

2. Don't take in information from too many sources, it will only confuse you. Read the FT in the morning and check the calendar first thing so you know what news traders are waiting for. Make sure that you know what each piece of news is, why it affects the market, what the previous number was and what the expected is. Leave your daytime analysis at that. Don't start reading forums, or others opinions about where the market is going, or profitable strategies or systems. It will most likely fill your head with too much cr*p. You need to keep it simple. In the evenings, have a good book to read on the markets. What you read will depend on what you are trading and how much you already know. If you are trading futures and fairly new to this I would suggest something like "The Futures markets: Who wins, who loses, why?" which will give you a good overview of futures and market dynamics. It's a little hard going in parts but worth persevering. Try and get through a chapter before bed each night.

3. Be active on the simulator. Get involved in your chosen market. I can't give specific advice on how to trade because I have no idea what you are doing - outrights, spreads trading etc. But watch the market very closely.

4. Keep notes of all the trades you do. Concentrate less on patterns in the markets and look for patterns in your trading. What are you doing that works? What are you doing that doesn't? etc

5. Always be forthcoming about your mistakes, particularly to any trainers or management that speak with you. Accept responsibility for your own results and attempt to improve on them all the time. If you are ever asked about your P&L, never, ever tell someone that you DO NOT KNOW what happened or you HAVE NO IDEA where you are going wrong etc. This is the worst thing you can say. Always make sure you DO KNOW why you are not getting the results you require. You will achieve this through your journal.

Good luck.

What he said. I just want to emphasise that at this stage it is your mindset that they will be watching - it doesn't matter how bad your strategy is at the moment, they are going to be watching how disciplined you are at sticking to it.

Is this not appropriate behaviour in a prop shop, then?

Only if you don't make it out the door after a rio trade.