discountedbugs 

While I can agree that it helps to see the trend better, I would argue that the rate of change, that is, how fast a trend is moving in the unit of time, could be an indicator of exhaustion or reversal for that trend. Maybe you can give some examples how it helps you?

Time based bars form a uniform amount of bars per time interval on a time axis. Price based bars do not. If it takes a nanosecond or the whole eternity to form a preset fixed amount Of movement per bar then that is what it is.

If its fully automated on something like Tradestation in an ideal world your probably restarting the software during the CME downtime and checking positions match versus strategies and that's it.

I wanted to give up. Hundreds of times, at least.

They were right. You gotta want this more than you want to breathe.

Big Mike 

I get a lot of emails and PM's from people seeking advice. Usually they've been losing money and don't really know what to do next. But I received a particular letter recently that made me want to write this post. What are some of the characteristics of people who are losing money: - No plan - No way to measure themselves (they just focus on net profit) - No consistent method, jumping from one trading room or indicator to the other - Unrealistic expectations - Unwilling to do the work required - Not in a position in their life to make trading a priority There are many more. For every good trader out there, there are 100 more who think they can just copy someone else's method and start making money or join some trading room or download some expensive set of indicators, and be profitable. Most of these guys have completely unrealistic expectations. They expect to take $10,000 and turn it into $100,000 at the end of the year, for example, even though they have no track record of performance or gains. These people have no plan. They constantly blame their computer, their trading platform, their broker, their wife, their kids for missing trades or mistakes during a trade. They have no idea what to focus on or where to start. And worse, most of them are unwilling to do the work. Yes, there are people for which that does not apply who are truly trying their best. But they are few and far between. Most people that are struggling aren't even willing to maintain a journal. Most people aren't willing to set realistic expectations. Most people aren't willing to accept responsibility for their actions. On top of that, most of these guys aren't in a position in their life to even give trading a chance. Examples would be that they just lost their job. That is the worse time to start trading. Other examples would be that they have a job but no real savings, no money to burn in trading education expenses (and I don't mean from a trading room or buying a product). Worse still, many of these guys have no support from their wife or girlfriend because as you can imagine, they are losing money and also spending a lot of "free time" with trading instead of with their loved ones or kids. This is an impossible situation to put yourself in and expect good results. So the point of this thread is not to talk about really any of that but instead to talk about when it is time to give up, or simply to move on. In fact, a lot of times my advice to these guys is to move on. Stop trading. Let's be real, if you are undercapitalized, unwilling to do the real work, and have no support from your family -- you aren't in a position to be a good trader. But I also have to be honest, some times when I tell someone to stop trading, what I am really wanting them to do is come back and tell me NO, they will not stop, they are going to make it work. I mean if you really want this, then fight for it. But as I've said countless times before -- willpower alone is not enough to make you profitable. We know that most people "give up" once they blow all or a significant portion of their initial deposit at a broker. This usually happens in less than 90 days according to brokers I've talked to. Most of these people aren't a part of any trading forum, and those that are, most of them are not participating, do not have a journal, have not taken time to ask questions or formulate a plan, etc. Again let's be honest: if anyone had taken the time to formulate a plan and prepare, they would not have allowed themselves to blow an account in 90 days. For the rest, the ones that are members of NexusFi (formerly BMT), I find that the overwhelming (close to 100%) of people that are struggling are the ones that have zero posts. I've come to look at this as an important metric. The ones that are uninvolved in the forum, for whatever reason, are going to be at a big disadvantage in my opinion. They lack a support network but also lack the benefit of accountability which is so critically important. I've also found that these struggling traders are ones that haven't participated in any webinars. So that means they are unwilling to put in the time. They spend all their time, instead, on downloading indicators or searching for a new trading room to call trades. OK so let me end by putting this out there... when is it the appropriate time to give up? Let's be honest, not everyone is cut out for trading. In fact, if we are honest, very few are. So it's cruel to string some of these guys along, it would be better for them to help them identify early on they don't have what it takes and they should move on. Mike

I can relate to a lot of what you’re saying. I spent years trying to make scalping work, battling emotions, overtrading, and constantly second-guessing myself. At one point, I was convinced that I just needed more discipline, more willpower—but like you said, willpower alone isn't enough.

I kept blowing up small accounts, tweaking strategies, and chasing setups, thinking the next tweak would be the one. But the real issue wasn't just the strategy—it was that scalping simply didn’t suit my personality. The high-pressure, rapid decision-making, and emotional swings made it unsustainable for me.

The turning point was when I stopped forcing myself into a trading style that didn’t fit and started exploring different approaches. I moved to higher timeframes, focused on fewer but higher-quality trades, and eventually incorporated algorithmic trading into my system. Letting automation handle execution removed a huge emotional burden, and my results improved dramatically.

I think this is something many struggling traders overlook: not all trading styles fit all personalities. Some thrive in fast-paced scalping, others do better with swing trading or systematic approaches. Instead of quitting altogether, sometimes the best move is to step back, reassess, and find a method that aligns with your strengths.

Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone should keep pushing indefinitely. If someone isn’t willing to put in the work or keeps repeating the same mistakes without adapting, then yeah—it’s probably time to move on. But for those who genuinely want to succeed, the key might not be quitting, but rather finding the right trading style and structure that works for them.

Big Mike 

I get a lot of emails and PM's from people seeking advice. Usually they've been losing money and don't really know what to do next. But I received a particular letter recently that made me want to write this post. What are some of the characteristics of people who are losing money: - No plan - No way to measure themselves (they just focus on net profit) - No consistent method, jumping from one trading room or indicator to the other - Unrealistic expectations - Unwilling to do the work required - Not in a position in their life to make trading a priority There are many more. For every good trader out there, there are 100 more who think they can just copy someone else's method and start making money or join some trading room or download some expensive set of indicators, and be profitable. Most of these guys have completely unrealistic expectations. They expect to take $10,000 and turn it into $100,000 at the end of the year, for example, even though they have no track record of performance or gains. These people have no plan. They constantly blame their computer, their trading platform, their broker, their wife, their kids for missing trades or mistakes during a trade. They have no idea what to focus on or where to start. And worse, most of them are unwilling to do the work. Yes, there are people for which that does not apply who are truly trying their best. But they are few and far between. Most people that are struggling aren't even willing to maintain a journal. Most people aren't willing to set realistic expectations. Most people aren't willing to accept responsibility for their actions. On top of that, most of these guys aren't in a position in their life to even give trading a chance. Examples would be that they just lost their job. That is the worse time to start trading. Other examples would be that they have a job but no real savings, no money to burn in trading education expenses (and I don't mean from a trading room or buying a product). Worse still, many of these guys have no support from their wife or girlfriend because as you can imagine, they are losing money and also spending a lot of "free time" with trading instead of with their loved ones or kids. This is an impossible situation to put yourself in and expect good results. So the point of this thread is not to talk about really any of that but instead to talk about when it is time to give up, or simply to move on. In fact, a lot of times my advice to these guys is to move on. Stop trading. Let's be real, if you are undercapitalized, unwilling to do the real work, and have no support from your family -- you aren't in a position to be a good trader. But I also have to be honest, some times when I tell someone to stop trading, what I am really wanting them to do is come back and tell me NO, they will not stop, they are going to make it work. I mean if you really want this, then fight for it. But as I've said countless times before -- willpower alone is not enough to make you profitable. We know that most people "give up" once they blow all or a significant portion of their initial deposit at a broker. This usually happens in less than 90 days according to brokers I've talked to. Most of these people aren't a part of any trading forum, and those that are, most of them are not participating, do not have a journal, have not taken time to ask questions or formulate a plan, etc. Again let's be honest: if anyone had taken the time to formulate a plan and prepare, they would not have allowed themselves to blow an account in 90 days. For the rest, the ones that are members of NexusFi (formerly BMT), I find that the overwhelming (close to 100%) of people that are struggling are the ones that have zero posts. I've come to look at this as an important metric. The ones that are uninvolved in the forum, for whatever reason, are going to be at a big disadvantage in my opinion. They lack a support network but also lack the benefit of accountability which is so critically important. I've also found that these struggling traders are ones that haven't participated in any webinars. So that means they are unwilling to put in the time. They spend all their time, instead, on downloading indicators or searching for a new trading room to call trades. OK so let me end by putting this out there... when is it the appropriate time to give up? Let's be honest, not everyone is cut out for trading. In fact, if we are honest, very few are. So it's cruel to string some of these guys along, it would be better for them to help them identify early on they don't have what it takes and they should move on. Mike

If the truth was told , everyone reading this tread has quit trading for a period of time . I have quit 3 times . I have a little different take on this . If your day trading using leverage and blowing up small accounts , the trader should stop trading at once and quit buying trader stuff . If the trader wants to keep the dream alive , he should move to swing trading stocks or SPY and only trade from the long side with out any leverage . That should stop the bleeding at once . No commissions , no data charges , no software fees . This idea helped me . Trading from the short side takes much more time and experience to master , IF EVER . When trading stocks from the long side there is a 7 to 10 % bias built in . The only negative , you can not quit your day job and be a full time trader with a small account . The positive , the trader has become a very hard nut to crack . This gives the trader all the time necessary to learn how markets work . Most people reading this are not going to like it but it will take 5 to 10 years . However , once the skill set has been mastered , leverage can be added and your off to the races . Just because it worked for me does not mean it will work for everyone . I am just putting my 2 cents in from the trading battlefield . Hope it helps !