I'm totally new to this trading business. I have been made redundant for the 5th time and so looking to dig my own ditch instead of somebody elses. I am hoping I can suppliment my capital with a view to Betangel trading becoming my sole income. My question is how big a bank do I need to make say £100 per day and is this doable?
Thanks in advance
Realistic expectations
I sympathise with your position and admire your desire to, as you say, dig your own ditch, but in all honesty if I were you mate I would look elsewhere. The vast, vast majority, however dedicated and professionally they appraoch this, end up losing money and certainly don't make a job out of it. Tens of thousands have signed up for these forums and tried the various pieces of software, yet there are very few full time traders on here. Of course, it is possible that you could be one of the few who could make it, but realistically the odds are stacked against you. If you are willing to give up 6 months to a year of your life in pursuit of this, fully in the knowledge that there is a very small chance you will make it pay, then by all means throw yourself into it. But I think its only fair that you and anyone else in your position are aware of things realistically. The markets are extremely competitive. There are people out there who have been doing this for years who eat new traders for breakfast. If you wouldnt think of learning to trade financials, then you shouldnt think of trading sports, because the days that it was easier to trade sports are arguably long gone. Sorry if I sound negative about all this but I'm just being realistic - I've been trading professionally for over 3 years now and was lucky to learn in an easier time. By all means give it a go in your spare time if you wish, but personally I wouldnt recommend anyone put all their eggs in this basket as you could (and most likely would, however dedicated you are and intelligent you sound) be wasting a lot of your time and money
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oddstrader
- Posts: 344
- Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:55 pm
I fully understand where hgodden is coming from but i want to add some balance to the thread as trading has been very very good to me and i feel very lucky to have found a way of making a living that gives me a lifestyle i once could only dream of, YES trading isnt for everyone and can end in tears but! alan where you are now so once was i - its your decision to make. you have the negative and the positve from my post and hgoddens.
To answer the question about 1 to 1.5 k should be enough, IF you have an edge at pre-race horse racing and trade the normal swing and scalp.
If you trade in other ways and with other risk expectations your bank will vary accordingly. I just encounterd a losing series of trades of 1500 quid over 2 days so I need a bank big enough to withstand such swings.
Having said this don't even consider trading more than a few pounds at a time until you are sure you have an edge.
For example start with a 200 quid bank trade with 20p a tick and increase it by 10p a tick after each 50 races where you show a profit.
If you trade in other ways and with other risk expectations your bank will vary accordingly. I just encounterd a losing series of trades of 1500 quid over 2 days so I need a bank big enough to withstand such swings.
Having said this don't even consider trading more than a few pounds at a time until you are sure you have an edge.
For example start with a 200 quid bank trade with 20p a tick and increase it by 10p a tick after each 50 races where you show a profit.
alanbaxter wrote:I'm totally new to this trading business. I have been made redundant for the 5th time and so looking to dig my own ditch instead of somebody elses. I am hoping I can suppliment my capital with a view to Betangel trading becoming my sole income. My question is how big a bank do I need to make say £100 per day and is this doable?
Thanks in advance
Hi
I think a lot of sense has been written on here so far and would stress that trying to earn a living from the exchanges is very difficult, but not impossible.
Something I would say is this, have a target per day but don't stick to it rigidly.
If you want to earn a £100 and you hit your target before 50% of the days racing is over, just switch off your machine and do something else with the rest of the day, or watch the markets, research and record what you see but don't trade.
If you are 70% through the days racing and are half way (£50) to your target make a decision, you are halfway there but have only a third of the days racing left, if things go against you you have little time to pull it back, so you can at this point stop trading for the day with £50 in the bank, this is a good option so always consider it, alternatively carry on but in my experience it is often better not to.
Accept that there will be good days and bad days, if you can limit your losses and learn when to switch off even when only halfway to your target then you will be successful in the long term, one thing is for certain, you will not hit your target everyday and the harder you try to hit it every day or compensate for the day before the more chance you have of failing.
Your mentallity and decision making whilst trading in relation to how you are performing on the day will be the key to long term success, so if its a bad day accept it, if its a good day accept it, but never attempt to turn one in to the other, particularly not a good one in to a bad one, I have done this and it is not the way forward and I would bet a lot of ohters have done the same, you are not invincible no matter how well your trading is going and things can go against you, so if your doing well know when to stop!
Hope this helps.
K
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Online Trader
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:13 am
Just 1 point to add and I do wish you every sucess 
Don't think that any software is the way of making the money, the software of course helps to make life easier but you still have to make the right trades in the 1st place, software will not make a bad trade good
Don't think that any software is the way of making the money, the software of course helps to make life easier but you still have to make the right trades in the 1st place, software will not make a bad trade good
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alanbaxter
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:17 pm
Thank you all for your advice and encouragement - must dash, I have to find my spade!
Hi A,
that's a really interesting question to me, as £100/day, is my profit target (based on my salary and an overwhelming desire not to take a cut in standard of living). At my current level of development I'd need a £5,000 bank and probably couldn't get some of the trades I do with my tiny bank, covered.
I've been subscribing to BA for almost a year now (I'd fiddled about with trading on and off for three years before that) and have only "gone into profit mode" in the last three months (obviously not a natural, eh?).
If you're like me and the competition is as important as the profit, then you'll enjoy getting better and reaching new levels of competence. For my money trading is a skill which can be developed, much like any other, with practice.
Anyway, good luck,
cheers, P
that's a really interesting question to me, as £100/day, is my profit target (based on my salary and an overwhelming desire not to take a cut in standard of living). At my current level of development I'd need a £5,000 bank and probably couldn't get some of the trades I do with my tiny bank, covered.
I've been subscribing to BA for almost a year now (I'd fiddled about with trading on and off for three years before that) and have only "gone into profit mode" in the last three months (obviously not a natural, eh?).
If you're like me and the competition is as important as the profit, then you'll enjoy getting better and reaching new levels of competence. For my money trading is a skill which can be developed, much like any other, with practice.
Anyway, good luck,
cheers, P
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Green Park
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 7:31 pm
If you are trading then surely you can't face 100% loss of your bank so it becomes less of an issue what size you have, it's more how you use it?
100 a day is simple - theoretically at least! Without wanting to blind you with stupid maths, all you are looking for is 50 events with an average profit of 2. Suggest hitting the dogs for a couple of hours around UK lunchtime, should give you close to 20 events, then switch to the horses during the afternoon for the rest. That way you can keep within the usual 9-5 working hours and don't need a huge bank. You would be better off hitting the dogs on small stakes, as the volatility in low volume markets can be quite damaging when you are on the wrong end of a sudden shift.
Where I think a lot of people fall down is keeping on trading in the hope of getting more. Market volatility dictates you can easily push your luck too far. Plan your entrance and exit strategies well, and 2 per event is eminantly achievable.
Also, when you hit a losing streak of 4-5 events in a row, which you will, I recommend giving it up for a bit, go do something else and get the negativity out of your system and come back fresh.
Of course, if it were this simple, everyone would be full time. It's not easy, but it is unquestionably achievable without reaching for the stars.
By the way, I am nowhere near this level yet myself. I have only been trading about 6 mths (probably about 12 hrs a week) but I continue to learn more and more every day - mostly as a result of silly mistakes. But I am confident I am slowly getting there.
Where I think a lot of people fall down is keeping on trading in the hope of getting more. Market volatility dictates you can easily push your luck too far. Plan your entrance and exit strategies well, and 2 per event is eminantly achievable.
Also, when you hit a losing streak of 4-5 events in a row, which you will, I recommend giving it up for a bit, go do something else and get the negativity out of your system and come back fresh.
Of course, if it were this simple, everyone would be full time. It's not easy, but it is unquestionably achievable without reaching for the stars.
By the way, I am nowhere near this level yet myself. I have only been trading about 6 mths (probably about 12 hrs a week) but I continue to learn more and more every day - mostly as a result of silly mistakes. But I am confident I am slowly getting there.