I know from your perspective, 15% on a $1000 account is not very good, but you're thinking in direct terms of dollars and cents and not ROI. Yes, 15% right now is not a hell of dollars in profit terms, but remember that if you do that with 1000, you can probably do it with 100,000 and more (until the point where liquidity is an issue). Also that was my return as of midway through the month, so 1/2 a month return.
As a follow up to that point, could I make 300% a month? I think that I could. If I make some good trades and put in heavy positions and am leveraged well, but also understand that the higher you set your target, the larger the risk becomes. You make a few bad trades and you are out of the game. Remember that every time you make a trade, there is some guy (or gal) on the other side that thinks your an idiot for making it. There is always a chance you are wrong, or maybe even that you are right, but your timing was too soon or too late. When you're risking 10,20,30,50% of your equity on one trade, you better know what you're doing (and the thing is, I think a lot of people think they know what they are doing, but really don't)
Anyway, could I put my savings into my trading account? Sure, but I don't want to. This is more of an experiment in being able to monitor the markets and enter successful trades while managing my risk. The markets are fascinating to me, and I wanted to get exposure that went beyond academia. I am currently a Sophomore in college, and for the record I'm actually most interested in Sell-Side Trading (most likely in some sort of quantitative product), which is a different beast, but some of the core competencies are the same.
I know that I don't know nearly everything about price action and different types of analyses, I'm here to experiment, learn and do something I enjoy. Trading is thrilling and the analytical stimulation is unparalleled. I trade because I enjoy it, and I want to develop into a successful trader and manage risk. And right now, I don't care too much about making tons of money in my personal account. Feel free to critique, you're not going to hurt my feelings. I'm genuinely happy with the progress I am making, particularly with understanding and limiting risk.
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