The reality of becoming a day trader: Its fucking tough.

Its not difficult in the same way that as it was to build the highline of New York city, nor is it as complex or mathematically precise as sending a rocket to the moon. You don’t really have to learn a great deal to be successful, if fact, quite the opposite. So, what is it that makes it such a tough egg to crack, why do near 90% of retail traders lose money and why am I still here?

For a bit of context: I have always been drawn to trading, probably for the wrong reasons, at first. There was something immensely alluring about having all that dosh, being able to click a few buttons and be very wealthy. I dabbled in trading about 13 years ago and have been in and out of it several times, never with more money than when I started; until now.

So, what is it that made me nearly have a fucking meltdown this week? There are a few side effects to trading that if left unchecked can compound and leave you out of pocket and your brain in pieces.

To name a few:

1) You have to come head to head with things in your head you didn’t know existed. (likely be a whole blog on this topic!)

2) Wanting it all NOW

3) Putting to much pressure on yourself

4) Thinking more = more (it doesn’t!)

5) Not having, or not following a plan

Now the title of this blog is a bit self-defeating, I don’t like using language that enforces the idea that something is difficult, but as I’ve been through the trenches with this and know that it is 100% possible to get out the other side, I’ll give myself a pass on that!

As I’ve already alluded to, trading isn’t hard. You just have to click a button and hey presto- your rich! Well, not quite, but in the long term, and in combination with a trading plan, that pretty much all it’s about. The major battles are in your mind. Its very easy to jump straight in and think ‘I’ve got this’, and have a streak of winners. But inevitably, the losers start to mount, and you don’t know how to handle it. The reality is- you must become exceptionally good at losing. That might not sit right with a lot of people. Many of the super successful traders have very low win rates. Some even lower the 10%, but on the 10% of winners- they are huge winners. The idea is that if you can manage the loses, the gains will take care of themselves. This is easier said than done and doesn’t fit all styles of trading. If you’re scalping the market (like I do) the opportunity to get huge Risk to Reward ratios in a day aren’t overly common, none the less- being able to accept that 40-60% of trades can lose and you’ll still be profitable, is a bit of a head fuck. In a live environment having 2 loses and 1 win, just doesn’t feel right, even if your balance is up! Unfortunately, there isn’t a book or YouTube channel that will teach you the practical and heart wrenching emotional instability this brings. You kind of have to experience it.

Wanting it all now syndrome, or just impatience, is very common. Not just wanting the money now but being to ‘’get’’ whatever strategy you’ve chosen to adopt. I see it all the time, new traders will risk too much of their account because if it wins, you’re in the money (myself included!). This is not sustainable and the only way to learn not to do this is to blow an account. And if you’re really stubborn, many accounts! Eventually, if you’re still around and haven’t thrown in the towel (because the markets are against you and its all a big conspiracy), then the process will wear you down, you’ll be empty and emotionally dead inside enough to just follow the risk rules and take your time. The plus side to this is, you will have lost enough money to stop caring as much about it!

The next topic has been the hardest thing to deal with for me personally. With out sounding arrogant, I generally pick things up quickly and expected to up and running in no time at all. The thing is though, in a day job you tend to have many training plans and a layer of checks and balances in place to avoid most major cock ups. When its just you and the charts- it’s a different ball game. We also rarely instantly see a consequence of a decision we’ve made. In trading, you see it immediately. This brings on a wrath of second guessing and silly mistakes. I’m grateful for YouTube and telegram groups, but the reality is- its just not the same as being mentored. Its very easy to forget that it usually takes years to become consistently profitable. I just left a decade long career in Automation to purse this dream. I had to take a minute to think that “imagine if I put the same expectation and pressure on myself in the first year in my automation career”; I wouldn’t have lasted. So why do it in trading? Like with most things, they compound over time and the rate of improvement will get faster and I have every faith the profits will surge inline with that. So, understand it will take years to get right, in most cases. This week I very nearly switched strategy. Thankfully I didn’t. After months of not getting it, I finally feel like I can identify the right levels, filter out the noise and get my entries there or there abouts. So the lesson here is, if you find a style that you can see is simple, profitable, and suits your lifestyle, just keep going at it. Get 121 training with the person who developed it, or someone who trades its successfully.

More means More, right? Wrong, mostly. I know, I know- more contradictions. Let me explain. In sales we have an expression KISS!: Keep It Simple, Stupid! I have found this applies to most things. Something simple done exceptionally well, is usually better than something complex done average. In trading terms: more indicators, more pairs, more strategies, more trades, more, more, more… not good. That said, when learning, more chart time = more experience, so long as your following the same plan, this is good. Even when learning, 8 hours in front of the screen is less likely to produce a better result than 1 hour when your fresh in the morning (or whenever), for example. Only after my psychotic break this week have I stepped away from the charts and only come to the screen for my morning analysis (takes about 15 mins) and when I get an alert than something juicy is happening. I also now only trade GBPUSD. I will add pairs as time goes on, but for now, this pair alone create 1 or 2 very good set ups, most days. Less trades= less opportunities to fuck it all up. You also learn to chill, wait for the market to do its thing and go about enjoying your day. I literally watched a season of American Dad from bed and got 3/3 win yesterday, with about 10 mins total input. All that said, you do need to dedicate enough time to be able to learn it, I suggest minimum 5 hours a week on the simulator. Plus daily chart time and placing very small trades (like pennies) to get used to the feeling of entering the market and getting a result.

Creating a plan isn’t too difficult. Sticking to it is easier said than done. There are so many distractions out there. Instagram is full of supercars and posts promising the get rick quick life. Is it possible- yes. I made an enough for a house deposit using automated robots, however, it also took me months of trial and error, back testing and blowing an account to get there. Not too dissimilar of a process to manually trading. If you trade using indicators, there is ALWAYS another one out there. I spent hours on YouTube watching Trading View 90% win ratio indicators, I never actually tried any of them because there was a new video with something else the next day! Its exceptionally unlikely you’ll stumble on the holy grail of indicators that don’t require you to at understand the basics of market structure. That being the case, what do we do? My journey got good when I purchased a course along with the Binary Destroyer indicator. There is a detailed program which, if you follow, should give you the skills and knowledge you need to move from the theory to the practical. I do believe that after some months you will tweek and change a plan, but the fundamentals should be there or there abouts. For me, my plan is quite simple: Check charts at 7AM, Only trade GBPUSD, Enter when the rules have been met, money management based on profit ratio, Stop based on Drawdown. Done. In the meantime, I test out things on the simulator and try to help out in the telegram group.

To end, I would like to answer the first question: Why am I still here? As I mentioned before, I’ve dabbled many times but never stuck it out. There was something different about it this time. Maybe I’m a bit older, wiser and had more faith that if I dedicated myself to it, the only result could be success- which I truly believe. To endure this type of torture, you have to be able to see the light at the end. In my case, I became so immersed in trading that it occupied my mind most of time. I even would dream about it. When I close my eyes I mostly see candle bars and imagine play backs of sets up. It sounds sad but I just want it this time around. If you think of being a successful trader like joining a fraternity. There are certain initiation rights you need to pass before being allowed in, but once your there, your set for life!

After hearing all that; is trading for you?