Let's hear from the small guy

[jamus]

It certainly is possible for a small guy to start from £500 and see a good exponential growth to their capital, even using spreadbetting. If you have a setup that gives you say signals which, say have proved even +80% right in determining good strong trends, with even an aggressive and risky money management strategy, you could easily compound that to a sizable amount in a few months. It has been done before.

 

[mma]

* so i'm off soon for a nice long w/e in the Swiss alps paid for with this past 2 minutes profits..... *

Easy for some when their daddy and mommy pays for everything .

 

[sidinuk]

I agree that in theory it is possible to make huge sums spreadbetting. We've all worked out what can be achieved if we just make 10 or 20 pts a day compounded over a couple of years. Unfortunately this is just theory, the reality is somewhat different.

Most spreadbet success stories are where people have had a lucky trade or run of trades not through small consistent gains. Sometimes punters pick a 5000-1 accumulator at Ladbrokes it doesn't mean that betting on horses is a viable long term career.

 

[stevet]

jamus

there is always a possibility - i guess thats what keeps gamblers going - but it aint ever happened and it aint gonna happen

the trending luck that would increase someone's wad - is also gonna take it away with some interest - when the trending luck turns to trending bad luck

+80% right in determining trend - yeh - right - someone spreadbetting is gonna be onto that - not in a million years

 

[Finlayson]

Trading is like most skills in life I guess, if u want to get really good u have to spend the time & make the sacrifice, I am not from a financial background, But I have spent every day for the last 3 years studying the DAX & SWISS Future tick charts & tick volume because I knew I could learn what other people have & I have sacrificed a lot for this ........but this was my choice ultimately.

whether in other peoples opinion this is the right or wrong thing to do, I believe it has taught me what I needed.......& I guess every else has their own limits of what they believe they need to do. Re the SB or not, obviously there r many benefits to the levels of money u have & direct access over SB. but it is your ability to understand yourself, your instrument & read market sentiment that will determine what happens.

at the end of the day it is all down to your self belief, what u r prepared to do & whether u let someone's opinion of what u can do become your reality

Jay

 

[jamus]

True, making money from spreadbetting isnt easy, but unlike the horses and the like, the mathematical nature of the financial markets makes it possible to devise techniques that make you find those high probability trades. If a spead bet company offers a spread of +/- 8 on say eur/usd as opposed to a direct broker offering +/- 4 pips, it will be a small price to pay if your technique yields 80 pips. Like I said before it has been done before, perhaps not advertised to the masses. Ofcourse like any financially rewarding endeavour, it requires hard work, research, and a few tears along the way.

 

[stevet]

jamus

when u move from theory to practice - we will do an update on this

and dont worry - spreadbetting companies will let you know if anyone wins big -and it does happen occasionally - there are some big gamblers out there - but they all give it back in the end

 

[jamus]

Actually, I just didnt want to say it, I hinted at it, but I was talking about my own REAL trading using spread betting. Simulated trades are good for training but at the end of the day you have to get your hands dirty to win in this business. Sometimes folks just quietly go on about their business without talking about these things, as can be seen by responses in another thread...

 

[grubs50]

hear hear Jamus, there is a lot of assumption cos some ppl don't like sounding off........

 

[stevet]

jamus

how did i just know you were going to say that!!!!

ummm - just realised that you are talking abour currencies - which i dont know anything about - i never met a happy currency trader so i stayed out of currencies - so who knows - currencies are a whole different ball game - i have always understood way way harder - i will stick with indexes and bonds

who knows - maybe you are making a million a day - but you would be better off doing it direct anyway

 

[jamus]

I know sometimes its hard to believe that some people do actually have successful strategies, especially when one has had a nasty experience in the past, indeed may still do so...but without people coming out of the shadows to share their experiences, the new trader, will forever be bombarded with words of gloom and despondency "You will never make it...only 10% make it and you are not one of them...You will donate all your capital to the spread betting companies..."
This is a message to the new traders, or the ones who have had an expensive education : Yes, It can be done. With hard work it can. Its not easy by any means, but it is not impossible. A positive mental attitude is one small step to getting there...
One of the reasons successful traders dont bother to share their experiences is that some will say 'Never, Impossible, Cannot be done, You are pulling our legs...'

 

[mma]

Somewhat naive to say lucky punting is the main factor behind most SB players wins - Gamblers exists big time in direct access as well , if you don't know this then you ain't seen nothing yet .


* Maybe you should try trading with a couple of grand on SB.... it AINT easy. *

Best thing you have said so far CM , and add to that if one can actually get some decent returns on it - they deserve a big congrats.

 

[suggy]

great thread, minus a few bitchy comments.
My personal take as a blank slate who started a few months ago - agree with Jamus a lot. The negativity aimed at those who hope to 'make it' (subjective though that aim is) is pretty overwhelming. self-belief, determination, hard work = success in any field. Why should trading be any different?

I have absolutely no doubt that I will end up trading for a living for myself, whether that takes 2 years or twenty. Confidence and self belief are so critical in what is essentially a psychological game. As I was ill all week I traded pretty much full time on the DJ, small account with D4F. Net result was -3 points after about 10 trades. I'm happy with that because I learnt a hell of a lot and it only cost me 3 points. When I am consistently making profit from my account I will look at my situation and see what my options are.

I will keep trading and learning until I have achieved my goal, and at the moment I cannot see any reason why I will not eventually achieve what I want.

 

[mma]

make up your own mind , forget the rest and what they say .

most people on the net are jealous BS artists.

 

[ChartMan]

Yes, the small guy can win. The biggest problem is overcoming the disire to make 100% in a week. It has to be slowly ,slowly. There's NO other way. Realistically, slowly slowly ,with SB ( or direct) and a couple of grand has to be pro rata- £100 a week? Any other expectation will lead to only one outcome.

 

[Kilnside]

As someone once said - "In all of Life every journey starts with a single step".

 

[sidinuk]

I'm certainly not trying to put people off trading. I've used SB and direct access. SB is ok for swing trading over a few days but if you want to daytrade then direct access will offer you a much better opportunity to make a profit. It's still not easy but you are offered a more level playing field.

The e-mini's are not expensive to trade. The dow (YM) is $5/pt and S&P500 is $50/full point.

Congratulations Jamus on your success, are you day trading or holding for longer?

 

[Mr. Charts]

Kilnside,
Mao Ze-Dong, I think, said "even the Long March started with one step".
I'm sure our resident literati will correct that.

mma,
"most people on the net are jealous BS artists."
I would say "a few" rather than "most", but still I'm so pleased we finally agree on something ;-)))

 

[grubs50]

The problem with some ppl is self-doubt (i.e if they can't c themselves capable of doing something, they feel dat means nobody else can) and i have also noticed that a lot of ppl get bogged down by all sorts of statistics at the expense of the reality and psychological part of trading (the most vital part of trading in my book).

 

[Kilnside]

Mr Charts. Many thanks for that. Perhaps he had something after all. I wonder if he had spread betting in mind.

Regards