When did you say you were a successful trader?

[SanMiguel]

After how long trading consistently would you say to yourself you were a successful trader and could make a living doing what you're doing?
And I'm talking about trading price action not indicator based methods.

[TREVPICK001]

Originally Posted by SanMiguel

After how long trading consistently would you say to yourself you were a successful trader and could make a living doing what you're doing?
And I'm talking about trading price action not indicator based methods.

Difficult question, i have been trading live consistently for 6 months with out indicators, how ever i probably would want a few years behind my belt before I claimed I was a successful trader

FYI I only started making profit when I finally got rid of the indicators

i make sure my screen is as fresh as a babys bottom every day

dont like looking at poo!! hehe

Personally I’m not in forex for the ego Bull, just the money will do me.

[xtensive]

I don't know if I'm a successful trader or not even though I am trading live and making profits, only time will truly tell, but I considered myself successful the day I started realizing exactly why a trade went my way, and more importantly, understanding exactly why a trade went against me. Knowing why something happened was much more valuable than earning (or losing) pips and not fully understanding why.

I trade with price action and trend lines, and a few other things I draw on my charts, no squiggly indicators or moving averages, or other lagging indicators, and I am trading live not demo. HTH!

[SanMiguel]

Ok...now how much time would you want before you gave up your day job to trade for a living?
Reason I ask is once your trading price action successfully, supposedly you are set up to trade successfully for ever after that. Indicator based trading might only work temporarily but how do we measure ourselves against the ideal?

[TREVPICK001]

Originally Posted by SanMiguel

Ok...now how much time would you want before you gave up your day job to trade for a living?
Reason I ask is once your trading price action successfully, supposedly you are set up to trade successfully for ever after that. Indicator based trading might only work temporarily but how do we measure ourselves against the ideal?

well personally i lost my job so i sort of landed my self doing forex full time,i had already bein doing it part time b4. however even thoe i consider my self to do it full time, out of my working day approx 3% is spent setting up the trade 4-5% is spent in the trade, and the rest is for educating myself and learning more apart from the last hour as i set up and research any news for the following day

[SanMiguel]

I guess the problem is that a lot of people might think they're successful only to be dumbfounded a year or 2 later, which is not an ideal situation to put yourself in.
I feel if you are trading price action and not using indicators so much there comes a eureka moment where you start improving and being consistent but that's still no guarantee you will be profitable in a year. It should be but how can you know?

[phil838]

Originally Posted by SanMiguel

Ok...now how much time would you want before you gave up your day job to trade for a living?
Reason I ask is once your trading price action successfully, supposedly you are set up to trade successfully for ever after that. Indicator based trading might only work temporarily but how do we measure ourselves against the ideal?

It's not just an issue of time but also account size. If you've been trading for years and have taken your $100 micro account up to $10000 then you are obviously a successful trader, but you still aren't ready to depend on forex as your sole source of income.

Depending on the next trade (or next few trades) being winners in order to pay the rent is no better than living paycheck-to-paycheck with a "normal" job.

I'm a full-time trader and I consider myself successful, but if it wasn't for my wife's job there's no way I'd be trading for a living right now! My account balance is simply not large enough yet.

Personally, if my only source of income was forex I'd want to have at least $50,000 in my trading account. That way when (notice I said when, not if) I hit a losing streak I could dip into my account balance to pay the bills until things turned around.

[SanMiguel]

Originally Posted by phil838

It's not just an issue of time but also account size. If you've been trading for years and have taken your $100 micro account up to $10000 then you are obviously a successful trader, but you still aren't ready to depend on forex as your sole source of income.

Depending on the next trade (or next few trades) being winners in order to pay the rent is no better than living paycheck-to-paycheck with a "normal" job.

I'm a full-time trader and I consider myself successful, but if it wasn't for my wife's job there's no way I'd be trading for a living right now! My account balance is simply not large enough yet.

Personally, if my only source of income was forex I'd want to have at least $50,000 in my trading account. That way when (notice I said when, not if) I hit a losing streak I could dip into my account balance to pay the bills until things turned around.

Sure but that's because out of the 50k, you have a backup for expenses.
However, if you're trading 2% risk are you working out a yearly income based on that 2% x however many trades x %age success rate?
I think we had a thread discussion on worst losing streak a while back in it looked like about 6-8 for most people.

[KENNETH LEE]

I will give you to different instances , I on one hand have been trading for about 2 years. I trade full time now and have excelent strategies to trade all based off price action. I am not succesfull because of myself.. I continue to work on it because I know that I am just one atta boy moment away from becoming the next winner.

Second instance I have a freind who trades fulltime since December. He came a cross the right information and had the right mental attitude to succeed at this.. He started with 15,000 . traded less than 1% he is now making 30,000 to 50,000 a week. on 2000 to 4000 pips. trading 2 pairs.
I know this because we all trade on the same thread.

But before You get all excited. On the same thread. There are about 6 people who do fantastic and then there are 40 more who have been struggling for a long time. You must have the right combination of things that all click. to do good. mentality is key without it you can't win.

The point is as so many people have pointed out in the past. The question is irelevent we are all different. Just keep learning and trading and you will know when you have got it. But don't let a small winning streak let you quit your job. I would put 1 years salary in the bank covering everything including health insurance before I would consider quiting..

So good luck and trade well. Ken Lee

[TalonD]

Kenneth Lee, is that 2 to 4 thousand pips a week? I'd like to hear more about that strategy.