For me success started to happen more frequently when I decided I needed to go back to the basics. I started to look at my system, which was built upon taking bits and pieces of other systems and making it my own. I think as traders we all have one big problem, it’s information overload. Type in on google blank trading system and you will be overwhelmed with what you find. For a long time I was hopping around from forum to forum reading everything I could on different systems, trying to build the holy grail. I eventually became overwhelmed and felt defeated, and stopped trading. Eventually I came back, and I told myself I wanted to really start with just the basics. Jerry Parker preaches a robust trading system should have one one entry, one exit and one trailing stop loss. So that was my new starting point. Whatever system I wanted to trade, I stripped it down to that one concept and coupled it with good money management and I started seeing success. I think another important decision that needs to be made is what is your motive for trading? Are you here to take a few hundred dollars out of the market 1,2,3 times a week and then withdrawal those profits to supplement your income. Or is it to take 10,20,50 k and trade it on a diversified portfolio and grow your assets for a later goal such as retirement. Having answered that question to helped me better perform in each of my accounts. Hope this helps! I personally really like trading mechanical trading systems and trading simple price action like Al Brooks preaches. In regards to Al Brooks I trade his H1,H2, L1 L2 pullbacks, after studying his dense material many times and feeling defeated I finally was able to grasp that concept and it’s really been a game changer ever since.

I am trading for 24 years and not even 1 month is the same. Try to quantify why the strategy is working. This will help you to save money when the strategy will die slowly


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OccamsRazorTrader 

Good job, I told my wife I was going to quit my day job in 2020 (I'm self employed so I really can't just quit) if I was profitable in the 1st quarter. I returned 136% in the first 2 1/2 months, leveraged up my position size and gave most of it back through the rest of the year. I never quit and I'm glad I didn't, but I'm close to that point again, revised some things and using steadfast system discipline I'm up 93% in my account for the year. Much like your own business, it's trading's lumpy returns that get people down, and trading systems usually give lumpy returns ............ you go from a prince to a pauper and back to a prince, month to month. And it's much harder with a wife and kids to support. You're young use that to your advantage, I had a successful family friend told me in my 30's "You're young, you can shoot for the stars and if you fail, you can restart and retry several times .........." So my advice to you is ..............: "You're young, you can shoot for the stars and if you fail, you can restart and retry several times .........." Good luck and keep us posted .............

This has definitely been my mindset the past couple years. I've failed a number of times and seem to have found a solid stride where I'm at right now. I definitely wouldn't be leaning as hard as I am into the strategies and leverage if I was older or had a wife and kids behind me. I appreciate the good words!

profits 

When I make significant profit, I take it OUT of the game, not put more in. I would never want the stress of knowing that trading is my only income. Just my 2 bitcoin worth.

I have a baseline account size and every couple weeks I take out everything above my baseline. I have no plans to keep the profit I've made in the account.

Erikie 

I am trading for 24 years and not even 1 month is the same. Try to quantify why the strategy is working. This will help you to save money when the strategy will die slowly Sent using the NexusFi mobile app

I actually did this recently. I reviewed all trades on my top 10 recent days and wrote down what I saw in each trade. I then made a list of the common factors between all trades and have them printed out next to my monitor that I consistently remind myself of when looking at charts throughout the day.

As a broker and one who is passionate about the markets i love hearing that!! Wish you consistency and discipline.

CURIOUS: what type of trading methods do you employ?
short term?
swing?
options?
spreads?
writing premium?

CannonTrading 

As a broker and one who is passionate about the markets i love hearing that!! Wish you consistency and discipline. CURIOUS: what type of trading methods do you employ? short term? swing? options? spreads? writing premium?

I used to trade options but I work with NQ and CL futures short-term trading. I've found short term trading to be almost liberating in a sense of not worrying about macro issues (although I always know when there's scheduled news/catalysts) and can focus on the trend in front of me. I would spend a lot of time looking around a number of markets on large timeframes every night, like I was trying to piece together an impossible puzzle, now I've replaced that time with refining and working on my main strategies, learning from past trades, ect....this has been a game changer.

Another game changer was that I set a profit goal every day, and if that profit goal is hit and I still feel good mentally and with where the market is I'll keep trading with basically a trailing day's stop. Just for example numbers here if my profit target for the day was $100 and I hit $100, I can keep trading unless I lose 10%. So if I went from 100 to 90 I'd be done for the day, if I went from 200 to 180 I'd be done for the day. This has been a good way to keep riding the good days while holding onto profits.

SylBlade 

I used to trade options but I work with NQ and CL futures short-term trading. I've found short term trading to be almost liberating in a sense of not worrying about macro issues (although I always know when there's scheduled news/catalysts) and can focus on the trend in front of me. I would spend a lot of time looking around a number of markets on large timeframes every night, like I was trying to piece together an impossible puzzle, now I've replaced that time with refining and working on my main strategies, learning from past trades, ect....this has been a game changer. Another game changer was that I set a profit goal every day, and if that profit goal is hit and I still feel good mentally and with where the market is I'll keep trading with basically a trailing day's stop. Just for example numbers here if my profit target for the day was $100 and I hit $100, I can keep trading unless I lose 10%. So if I went from 100 to 90 I'd be done for the day, if I went from 200 to 180 I'd be done for the day. This has been a good way to keep riding the good days while holding onto profits.

VERY nice to hear!

I actually wrote an article a few years back for SFO magazine on the topic of setting daily profit targets and daily loss limits. You can read it here: https://www.cannontrading.com/tools/survivor-day-trader

I wish you continued success and please keep us posted on the forum every few weeks.

Congratulations; I am really glad for you.

I have not been that profitable in trading, but I think you are doing the right thing with saving. My personal recommendation would be to take off whatever amount you had not planned to earn off the market, pay off any outstanding debt (if not already), get (a) mentor(s) to learn about finances & asset protection, and invest in real estate.

Blessings and wish you the best!

SylBlade 

Hey all, I am curious if anyone here has had a moment in their trading career where all of a sudden they were making more money than they ever had before, and how they handled it? I've been successful for a bit with trading but recently scaled up quite a bit and am now making roughly 10x more than any job has gotten me in the past, and very consistently. I really hadn't thought about how I'd handle this situation, but my plan for now is to sit and save while I figure out exactly how to deal with having some real money for the first time in my life. I'm 32 and single, but have always looked at trading as a way to fund the life and family that I'd love to have.

That's great. I'd just keep in mind that many people make money only to give it all back, and then some. It's easier to make money fast if one takes a lot of risk. But, gamblers pretty much always give it all back. I'd think about risk first, and how much money you're making second.