Do people actually earn a living from personal trading alone?

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missblog

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Hi


First thanks for this forum it is really interesting, I had been practising spreadbetting equities with a simulator for a few months and all went well enough, but of course as soon as I used real money it went awful, I only place (relatively) small bets, lost approx £130 over two days and found it unnerving (n). Are there people here who have had bad starts and gone on to be good traders?

I would like to know if anyone makes a living from personal account trading? Or are the only people that make money out of this thing the companies that operate the trading websites, and the author of the books on the topic? :confused:
 
Don't worry miss blog - everyone has bad starts. The thing is to learn from them.

And it's much better to have a bad start than a good one and then blow a much larger amount of money later.

There are plenty of people who make a living trading - but they are a rare breed. Don't expect to master trading straight away - start small and stay small - it'll take years to truely become competant.
 
missblog said:
Hi


First thanks for this forum it is really interesting, I had been practising spreadbetting equities with a simulator for a few months and all went well enough, but of course as soon as I used real money it went awful, I only place (relatively) small bets, lost approx £130 over two days and found it unnerving (n). Are there people here who have had bad starts and gone on to be good traders?

I would like to know if anyone makes a living from personal account trading? Or are the only people that make money out of this thing the companies that operate the trading websites, and the author of the books on the topic? :confused:
Click to expand...

If you want to read a book I suggest Nick Darvas ....how i made $2million ...you will recognise yourself :(
& Scwager Stock Market Wizards......thats for the poor starts bit of your question:clap:
 
You're not a relative of JTrader's are you by any chance...?

Think of it like horse racing. Most people have no real clue what they're doing, a lot of them are in it for the sheer thrill. Most of us however know someone who makes a living from betting the horses, even though to the novice/untrained eye it would seem like there's no way of knowing which horses will win.

The biggest winners/institutional guys doubtless have access to information most don't; these are the investment banks of the racing world. There are, however, a lot of guys out there, on their own, making a living from it. How do they do this? Through their knowledge of how racing works, and their constant study and analysis of the variables. They look after their money, they never let emotion or the thrill of the bet cloud their judgement, and they're at every race day in day out, having studied the form to determine their plan of action.

Of course the bookies (brokers) are the ones that make the money from everybody, winners or losers. They set the prices, so as to give them the best chance of success, giving you the lesser end of the stick. This doesn't mean you can't beat the system, with a little perseverance and education. Stick with it, have faith. Good things will follow.

SL
 
someone once said" my life is a work in progress" and i believe it everyday... having a trading plan, and sticking to your stuctures and limits that you set for yourself e.i. knowing your reward to risk ration, don't chase stocks ( especially with emotion) if you have to lose money, lose very little money. everyone is different in their trading disciplines, as a risk manager i've watched two different traders, trade the same stock at the same time, and one could come out with gains and the other with a headache... everyone is different
 
I don't unfortunately, but I do believe that it is a reachable goal that takes one good ingredient to work: time. Working and saving hard and continuing to grow your income (aka also more $$$ for trading) as well as patience will help make the ride smoother. I started off with a small account when I started working 2 years ago, and since then both salary and trading funds have increased significantly.
 
set yourself achievable objectives, go step by step, keep your losses as small as possible (this implies making profit nearly unexistant, which is ok in a first phase)
 
Thanks for your responses, it’s really nice to be able to talk to people like this, are any of you girls? Is trading a guys domain?

Sods law I closed my real account yesterday and went back to demo trading using capital spreads demo account, I am currently £180 up in my demo account, of course once I go back to real money I'll prob be down again....urgh, base capital in Capital is 10,000 much more than I had funded my real account with....although I do have £10,000 free enough to trade with, just not confident to put that much to work yet

P.S I'm not knowingly related to Jtrader...

Could anyone recommend me a book or a course they have been on that they have found helpful. I am mainly interested in trading the UK and US indices, I know v little about FX, I have had a bit of technical training...
 
im at the same point as you, im down £100. if you know the basic's like me then i dont think there is or its worth going on any course. the problem with those demo accounts is your not realy bothered about looseing therefor you dont make well thought out desicions its all guess work. im curently reading A Beginner's Guide to Charting Financial Markets buy Michael Kahn because i belive the key is in the charts.

im trying out a new theory, im going to keep a diary with reasons for any trades ive made why i think that the trade will make money.

if this is going to be a job it will need to feel like a job lots of thinking and reasons for making trades.
 
missblog said:
Thanks for your responses, it’s really nice to be able to talk to people like this, are any of you girls? Is trading a guys domain?

Sods law I closed my real account yesterday and went back to demo trading using capital spreads demo account, I am currently £180 up in my demo account, of course once I go back to real money I'll prob be down again....urgh, base capital in Capital is 10,000 much more than I had funded my real account with....although I do have £10,000 free enough to trade with, just not confident to put that much to work yet

P.S I'm not knowingly related to Jtrader...

Could anyone recommend me a book or a course they have been on that they have found helpful. I am mainly interested in trading the UK and US indices, I know v little about FX, I have had a bit of technical training...
Click to expand...

Its probably hard for you to believe this, however, considering the seemingley humongous plethora of "stuff" out there, anyone that knows and probably has read any of it will say its all pointless and unhelpful..most people will also say anything you are looking for including systems etc are already on here.....for free.....and more genuine than anything you have to pay for. Just spend a bit of time searching. The books I recommended above are easy to read....and also give a real insight into real traders and the grief they suffer before becoming successful.
 
missblog said:
Thanks for your responses, it’s really nice to be able to talk to people like this, are any of you girls? Is trading a guys domain?

Sods law I closed my real account yesterday and went back to demo trading using capital spreads demo account, I am currently £180 up in my demo account, of course once I go back to real money I'll prob be down again....urgh, base capital in Capital is 10,000 much more than I had funded my real account with....although I do have £10,000 free enough to trade with, just not confident to put that much to work yet

P.S I'm not knowingly related to Jtrader...

Could anyone recommend me a book or a course they have been on that they have found helpful. I am mainly interested in trading the UK and US indices, I know v little about FX, I have had a bit of technical training...
Click to expand...

I'm a girl. I joined a trading club to learn.
I made a bunch of pips this week but the only way I was able to do it was by trading such small stakes I did not care if I lost the trade or not.
Next step for me is to up the stakes slowly.
Hang in
Nicola
 
Been trading fulltime for six months, more than three years on-off trading and yet not up to the level where I want to achieve.

Based on my "experience" - these are my steps

- perception and reality of being a trader (its not that exciting, no room for emotions particularly in the early stages)
- understanding about markets
- what to trade, what method to use - position, swing, scalp etc
- what is my psycho set-up, how can I overcome weaknesses
- don't want to loose, can't win enough
- looking for holy grail, searching for perfect exit
5. making up my mind about strategy and methods
4. realisation that it is a business
3.making proper business decisions
2. weathering ups and downs, there will be hits and misses..
1. consistently making money .....

I think I am at the last five steps... the goal is to get passed four and five and just repeat the last three steps
 
Hi,

I would recommend you read Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas. It will help clue you in to the reasons why you trade demo well and live costs you money. All the advice here is great. Remember equity (risk) management is the key to long term survival.
 
elitejets said:
I'm a girl. I joined a trading club to learn.
I made a bunch of pips this week but the only way I was able to do it was by trading such small stakes I did not care if I lost the trade or not.
Next step for me is to up the stakes slowly.
Hang in
Nicola
Click to expand...

Right.

Leave something on the table, too. Many stay too long and see the trade reverse into a loss. It happens all the time. With practice, you'll learn to judge the timing. In the meantime, build your account size.

Split
 
missblog said:
Hi


First thanks for this forum it is really interesting, I had been practising spreadbetting equities with a simulator for a few months and all went well enough, but of course as soon as I used real money it went awful, I only place (relatively) small bets, lost approx £130 over two days and found it unnerving (n). Are there people here who have had bad starts and gone on to be good traders?

I would like to know if anyone makes a living from personal account trading? Or are the only people that make money out of this thing the companies that operate the trading websites, and the author of the books on the topic? :confused:
Click to expand...





:)Takes a bit to get into, and through time and experience you become 'tempered' in all aspects of trading and the markets. With this, you then become aware and you develop an expectancy, not just a statistical expectancy, but you actually start to expect the market to play into your hands and wrong trades become part of the expectancy, part of the bigger picture.

Hang in there, kiddo!;)
 
missblog said:
Hi


First thanks for this forum it is really interesting, I had been practising spreadbetting equities with a simulator for a few months and all went well enough, but of course as soon as I used real money it went awful, I only place (relatively) small bets, lost approx £130 over two days and found it unnerving (n). Are there people here who have had bad starts and gone on to be good traders?

I would like to know if anyone makes a living from personal account trading? Or are the only people that make money out of this thing the companies that operate the trading websites, and the author of the books on the topic? :confused:
Click to expand...

Yes, one can earn a (decent) living with trading. And (!) girls are the QUICKER learners. They don't have to fight each fight for themselves, which is what men do :)
 
Before I went out on my own I was pro for many years but do not think it helped a great deal as the style of trading when you are looking to make yourself a living is quite different from how you employ institutional capital. I think it is because the drawdown tolerence is far more real when it is your own money and you see no flow.I spent 3 years trading on my own and had some very good months and some runs where I thought I would not make it (first few months were tough). What you need to do is understand your particular edge and exploit it as much as you dare. Lot of people talk about having an edge but working out exactly what that is may be problematic. You need to find it however and you always need to know your outs of any risk before that risk is live.
I no longer work for myself, although I do still trade my own account, I have a hate of cash sitting in a bank. These days I am tied up in physical gold, commodity etfs and funds being traded by smarter people than me.
I have seen many many people try to do their own thing over the years and I am convinced that there are actually not too many people who can be consistently successful at it. The success does not seem to lie in the method so much as the discipline. I think the most common thing I have seen is for inexperienced traders to lose discipline when thier "bulletproof" method has a few consecutve losses. No matter how much testing and paper trading and pledges to stick to it occured before, real losses can really throw all that into the dustbin and so begins the path to failure. The reality is plan the trade and trade the plan, no exceptions.
 
Last edited:
TWI said:
Before I went out on my own I was pro for many years but do not think it helped a great deal as the style of trading when you are looking at to make yourself a living is quite different from how you employ institutional capital. I think it is because the drawdown tolerence is far more real when it is your own money and you see no flow.I spent 3 years trading on my own and had some very good months and some runs where I thought I would not make it (first few months were tough). What you need to do is understand your particular edge and exploit it as much as you dare. Lot of people talk about having an edge but working out exactly what that is may be problematic. You need to find it however and you always need to know your outs of any risk before that risk is live.
I no longer work for myself, although I do still trade my own account, I have a hate of cash sitting in a bank. These days I am tied up in physical gold, commodity etfs and funds being traded by smarter people than me.
I have seen many many people try to do their own thing over the years and I am convinced that there are actually not too many people who can be consistently successful at it. The success does not seem to lie in the method so much as the discipline. I think th emost common thing I have seen is for inexperienced traders to lose discipline when thier "bulletproof" method has a few consecutve losses. No matter how much testing and paper trading and pledges to stick to it occured before, real losses can really throw all that into the dustbin and so begins the path to failure. The reality is plan the trade and trade the plan, no exceptions.
Click to expand...

Discipline and money management make up at least 80% of the equation. The remaining 20% are bankroll and "edge". Just my 2 cts.
 
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