How much money do you need to begin trading for a living?

Beginner Questions
#90

There are indeed a lot of negative people in the trading industry. That’s not by accident and should tell you something.

Very true that people fail in all walks of life. That should be even more of a concern as in these other walks of life the odds are not stacked against them before they even start out and mostly they would have gone into something else having realistic expectations.

I agree too that there is no reason to not try. Just know beforehand what you’re getting into. Ironically this no different from knowing what you’re getting into with any other business. It’s called Due Diligence and without doing it for any business the likelihood of failure is great. Problem with this business though: even those prepared to do their Due Diligence are not happy when they don’t hear what they want to hear. If somebody wanted to open a burger franchise and an experienced businessman or analyst showed them facts and figures as to why it probably isn’t a good idea for whatever reasons e.g. location, economy, competition, cost of beef etc. then they would heed such advice. In this business: if somebody with knowledge of the industry and the relevant experience tells a new and aspiring trader that they’re not going to turn a $500 account into a $1M account in three days then such advice is ignored. And if you or anybody else cannot see the difference between this and any other business then it’s a certainty that you have no experience, don’t know what you’re talking about, and we will either not see too many more posts from you or we’ll be seeing posts over the months detailing your first, second, third, fourth etc. wipe out and subsequent re-funding of your account while searching for the next best trading system or methodology that can help you recoup your losses.

But good luck. I wish you all the luck in the world. Because believe me that without a sound and proven trading system or methodology and in the absence of realistic expectations and experience and not to mention the other rules of the game which are regurgitated ad infinitum on a daily basis but largely misunderstood or ignored e.g. risk management and the psychological fortitude required: you are going to need as much luck as you can get. And luck has a nasty habit of running out when you least expect it to.

Regards,

Dale.

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#91

Terrific post, Dale

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#92

And there are even more people living with their heads in the clouds_and_ the sand.
One needs to try and differentiate between negativity and realistic practicality.
This thread is not just about trading it is about trading full-time for a living and that involves a lot more issues than just how much one made last month - especially in an industry with around 80% failure rate.

What you need for a stroll in the hills is somewhat less than for an expedition up Everest.

Just saying, trying not to sound negative! :upside_down_face:

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#93

@anon46773462.

Are you not supposed to be on the beach or in the country??? LOL!!!

You up to us starting a thread and tackling these pivots???

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#94

I’m up to adding what little I know to the discussion on pivots.

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#95

No worries. I’ve blown up enough accounts to know it takes more than a month of lucky trades to survive in this business. I don’t expect to be able to make 250% every month either. Just want to be on the positive side of the discussion.

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#96

Just got here. Beautiful day! But can start the pivots tomorrow unless you want to start a thread today?

20190518_113203
20190518_1132034032×1908 2.03 MB

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#97

Oh MAN. That looks wonderful. Where’s the speedboat??? That water almost like glass. Used to ski (but some MANY years ago i.e. LONG before my initial trading “career” even began) (something I SOLD out of choice as opposed to having LOST it!!! LOL!!!). Always promised myself another boat sometime though. Was a real pain in the you-know-what to own etc. but missed it the very first week after I sold it!!! LOL!!! Murphy and his law at play!!!

I reckon I’ll start a thread today then and post my musings and maybe we go from there @anon46773462 and @GilasTrading??? How does that sound???

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#98

Sounds good. :slightly_smiling_face: I’ll try and look at it later today. Pivots are interesting.

There is no speedboat here. Its very like “outback” style. Water from a spring and only electricity from a solar system i installed a few years back. But it is so peaceful.
Sometimes there are signs of bears and elks but i have never actually seen either of these.

Its just an old log cabin as a getaway. But pretty lake, yes! :slightly_smiling_face:

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#99

I agree with a lot of what you guys say, but at the same time i cannot agree with your approach. Anybody can make money trading if they apply themselvs correctly and have a sickening work ethic in terms of studying etc. This is not the same in something like football/basketball and many other sports. You have to have supreme talent, i would argue trading requires less talent and more hard work. Ofcourse you must have a certain mind set and ability to digest information. I think people who come into trading expecting to be able to quit there job within a month and make hundreds of thousands of dollars at the roll of a dice are not the kind of people that will be reading your comment and trying to better themselvs as traders as these kind of people will next month have a different idea to become rich and will have forgotten about trading.

I respect your opinion and actually agree with you in the most part, i just think it would be a lot better to see experienced traders (who clearly know what theyre doing) like yourself maybe speak about some of the positive things trading has added to your life and not just the negative.

I am speaking only in terms of that one post btw as i have not seen many of your other posts. I also have to agree with zhadow in terms in lonliness, it is a lot more lonely/depressing working a 9-5 in a job you hate wasting your life making other people rich. I don’t think you should just quit your job and start trading but if you have just a one percent chance to change your life from that to a life of a trader working for yourself i think you should go for it, in a calculated way ofcourse.

Apologies for some of my spelling and punctuation, and thanks for reading.

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#100

That is perfectly ok @El-Nino :slightly_smiling_face:
The more points of view the better!

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#101

@El-Nino

Thanks for the post. Please know that nothing was directed at you personally or your earlier post. And you make some good points. Truth be told: there are positive aspects. Several. I’ll try to detail some myself in the coming days.

Thanks for the post.

Regards,

Dale.

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#102

@anon46773462 and @GilasTrading (and @AnyoneElse)…

Time to stop lounging around in the country or nursing headaches etc

https://forums.babypips.com/t/pivot-points-revisited-the-definitive-guide-to-trading-pivots/217788

#103

That’s beautiful!

Can you disclose location?

Or is it a wpp situation?:grin:

KC

#104

Hi

@frandlost :slight_smile: what’s a wpp?

#105

Witness protection program!

Light early morning humor attempt from the south of Boston Massachusetts

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#106

Too funny.

#107

No secret. @frandlost :slight_smile:

Put it this way, last night i was watching the Finland -Britain ice hockey world championship match. If GB had won i would be hiding out here for fear of my life - and that that would be just from the missus! :joy:

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#108

Massachusetts will always be synonymous for me with Rep. Barney Frank!!! LOL!!!

I spent a good part of my life watching hours and hours of testimony in the House Financial Services Committee.

Frank, Dodd, Reid, Paulson, Bernanke, Greenspan. Big fan over here!!! LOL!!! Kept me entertained while Rome was burning!!! LOL!!! But: they had class (personal opinion anyway).

#109

I know! I always find it truly amazing how few people wield so much power that effect so many!

I would agree! Class seemed to be heading for the exit when Willie Horton arrived in the Mike Dukakis/George Bush presidential campaign.

Can use a lot more tolerance and class today.

KC

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