FAQ Barriers to Trading

What are your Barriers to Trading ?

  • Lack of decent basic training material

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Lack of knowledge regarding Reliable Brokers

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • poor/complicated Platform execution systems

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Not finding good advanced training/mentoring

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • Pressure from family/friends re "Gambling" or wasting time

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Lack of Time to Learn and Trade

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • Lack of decent networks and forums (?)

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • Bad experiences from Scammers and misselling

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • Unrealistic Expectations and Promises at the outset

    Votes: 5 50.0%
  • Personality traits not suitable for Trading !

    Votes: 2 20.0%

  • Total voters
    10

NVP

Guest Author
Messages
37,934
Likes
2,141
Hey all

i'm interested to know from everyone at T2W and especially those relatively new to trading (and perhaps those who are thinking of walking away) what the main barriers and problems are that are stopping you from advancing your trading...?

who knows some of us here might even construct a business model one day that helps eliminate some/all of these barriers !

and also add your own comments and ideas below as well.........its not a full list

N :smart:
 
Last edited:
I've made my votes ............

I still endlessly suffer from lack of time to learn and Trade .....and always struggle with my low boredom threashold ..........

I also believe if some Brokers actually used their brains and made it much more plug and play for newbies they might get more growable business

N
 
There are no real barriers to trading which is why it is awash with so many people who don't know what they are doing and as a result fund quite adequately those who do.
 
and also add your own comments and ideas below as well.........its not a full list

N :smart:

How about lack of income - unless you are well capitalized - which leads us to the next barrier : lack of capital - unless you have a stable monthly income - .
 
yep ...........100% agreed .........Even the greatest trader in the world needs a serious capital base to fund the trades (assuming realistic MM / % allocation funds to each trade)

N
 
Lack of knowledge regarding Reliable Brokers & Lack of Time to Learn and Trade: after some period in my 20's I hit this milestone, when you just don't have time to do anything. Everything is on the deadline, everything should be done in a few days and these precious weekends are spent by giving yourself some relaxation, just not to over-burn from this marathon. Thus you don't have time to explore better brokers, deepen your knowledge in the field and find a good resource.

Why can't I just open one, two forums/sites where there will be sticky thread/article with all the tools I need: "this is a good broker, this is must read post and you can friend this member..."
 
Unrealistic expectations and getting back up after a hit (or two!)
 
NVP,

Here is my 2 cents, Did not answer the poll, because quite frankly it was none of those reasons.

Most people would not stick with it as long as I have, but I am finally at the point that I comfortable with my trade system, and trading style.

Each person is different, and I think personality, risk tolerance, time frames, expectations, etc, all play a part in what type of trading a person will be comfortable with.

In my case I started trading options, taking advantage of theta, however I would have to wait 40 days until expiration, The market can move a lot in 40 days, so I would adjust my positions, only to have them recover the next week and adjust again, and pretty soon I was waiting 40 days for a couple hundred dollars in profit, only to realize that I could have made a lot more swing trading, if I was right, which is a whole other topic.

Anyhow, Now I trade futures, day trade for a couple of hours a day, no charts, no research, just trade on price action alone, and I love it, suits my personality, I don't have to wait for a trade to develop or look at charts, or do research. I either make or lose money almost instantly but that is the way I like it. I can sleep at night, knowing that I have no positions open that could be potentially disastrous due to something overseas.

There are so many different instruments to trade, so matching the person to a trading style that suits them psychologically would be a good approach, if it is even possible.

Trading is more physiological then anything else. This is where I think a lot of people go wrong, can't take the losses, then afraid to trade, or go back to a sim account, have 10 winners on the sim, and then go to a live account loss, loss...

then they either over-trade, trade to make up for the losses, etc...I know I don't have to tell you, and I am beginning to ramble.

But those are just my thoughts.
 
For me it's myself. When I first start a new system or just after depositing money I would always do really well for a few days and then get bored and lose it all. I used to do the same playing poker many years ago but never realised it until I started taking trading seriously.
 
NVP,

Here is my 2 cents, Did not answer the poll, because quite frankly it was none of those reasons.

Most people would not stick with it as long as I have, but I am finally at the point that I comfortable with my trade system, and trading style.

Each person is different, and I think personality, risk tolerance, time frames, expectations, etc, all play a part in what type of trading a person will be comfortable with.

In my case I started trading options, taking advantage of theta, however I would have to wait 40 days until expiration, The market can move a lot in 40 days, so I would adjust my positions, only to have them recover the next week and adjust again, and pretty soon I was waiting 40 days for a couple hundred dollars in profit, only to realize that I could have made a lot more swing trading, if I was right, which is a whole other topic.

Anyhow, Now I trade futures, day trade for a couple of hours a day, no charts, no research, just trade on price action alone, and I love it, suits my personality, I don't have to wait for a trade to develop or look at charts, or do research. I either make or lose money almost instantly but that is the way I like it. I can sleep at night, knowing that I have no positions open that could be potentially disastrous due to something overseas.

There are so many different instruments to trade, so matching the person to a trading style that suits them psychologically would be a good approach, if it is even possible.

Trading is more physiological then anything else. This is where I think a lot of people go wrong, can't take the losses, then afraid to trade, or go back to a sim account, have 10 winners on the sim, and then go to a live account loss, loss...

then they either over-trade, trade to make up for the losses, etc...I know I don't have to tell you, and I am beginning to ramble.

But those are just my thoughts.

That really interesting Wino 59, almost a return to the old days of tape reading I guess. I used to trade DAX futures on a day basis using 3 and 10 minute bars but I still relied on some charting. If you don't mind me asking, how do you decide entry and exit, is it just knowledge of the underlying and intuition on your part?
 
That really interesting Wino 59, almost a return to the old days of tape reading I guess. I used to trade DAX futures on a day basis using 3 and 10 minute bars but I still relied on some charting. If you don't mind me asking, how do you decide entry and exit, is it just knowledge of the underlying and intuition on your part?

I base my entry on steps on the market profile, and what is happening with the orders at that point. One of two things are going to happen when you are at a step in the profile that no one wants to trade at, it will break out, or fall back into the range. The trick is to figure out which way it is going to go. The nice part about it is if I am wrong, then I get out with a tick or two loss.

There is really no set criteria on exit... I tend to stay in the trade until I see something that would change my mind on buying or selling pressure.

I only trade the treasuries or the e-mini futures. It is easier to stay in the trade when you trade the treasuries, the e-mini is too choppy, and so I generally try and get a quick 4 tick winner and get out, unless I get lucky and hit a breakout, and it runs 8 to 12 ticks quick.
 
Top