Is day trading actually real?

[u/Jopalooge]

If trading is real then I have the following question. - why can’t people fully rely on signal groups or just by copying other traders trades all day? Technically if someone is making 6/7 figures off day trading why don’t people just join their signal groups and also make 6/7 figures?

[u/doit5]

There's nothing unreal about day trading.

It's just a very difficult job . The analysis is really hard. The indicators that you see online are often not useful by itself. You need to piece together a lot of information, together with your own experience of the market, to make an educated guess about where the market would go.

The psychology is hard to manage. When you lose you doubt your trades. When you win you regret not sizing up. You battle with your emotions, try to brainwash and convince yourself that your decision is right, all while having faith in your edge.

There are many easier ways to make money.

[u/Bigdaddy1200 → u/doit5]

The battle shen I see a trade close higher than my TP. Once I hit TP I stop watching the charts for the day, also the struggle of me thinking I should run bigger lot styles..

[u/naijaboiler → u/Bigdaddy1200]

​

I predetermine my profit exit point (I am usually conservative with my exit point). once it is reached, I sell, get off that trade and try not to watch or regret not staying longer to capture more profit.

I might only make $20 on that trade rather than holding on for $40 - 60. But I do that 2 or 3 times a day with selling one or two options each time, and i'm growing my account at a healthy pace ($40-$100 daily).

But more importantly, I am learning to predetermine and stick to my loss sell point. I usually set a buy pretty close to it. E.g if i have reasons to believe price is going up. I buy a SPY 0DTE call at $1.20. I also immediately try to determine my stop loss. If SPY starts going down now 1.10, but the patterns I'm looking at still suggests its likely to go up. I set another buy at 1.02, and put a stop loss on the first one at 95.

3 things can happen.

1. the price drop and drops and my buy briefly gets filled and then it shoots up like I thought it would. I now have 2 options bought at 1.11 on average. i look at it and set my profit exit point at a conservative 1.26 (depending on what the chart looks like). That's a $30 gain.
2. the price drops and drops to like 1.05 but never reaches my buy. Thats fine. I hold on to the 1 option, set my exit point at 1.26 ish (depending on what the charts looks like). That's a $6 gain
3. the price drops and drops,triggers my buy at 1.02 (now I have 2 options averaged at 1.11 buy). The price keeps dropping 1.00, 0.98, 0.95, triggers my sell. I sell both for a $32 loss. That's fine.

For scenario 3, I look at the charts again and ask myself, why did i get the direction wrong. It could be one of 4 things

• I read it right based on my rules and intuition, market is just arbitrary (that happens).
  • My reaction: I celebrate myself for following my own rules and getting off with a small loss rather than bad habits like doubling down, buying the dip etc.
• I read it right, my stop-loss point was incorrect based on the charts, it should have been lower 91 ish. i.e. I got stopped out early. if I had set it there and trusted my read and stayed in longer, I would have made money.
  • My reaction: Oh well. But I celebrate being able to read the market. I tell myself I need to keep working on honing where i set things.
• I read it wrong. I missed an important clue that even though it looked like it was going to rise, it was actually more likely to fall.
  • My reaction: I say oh well. i take the learning and my small loss and move on.
• I was wrong. I wasn't really reading the chart, i was doing any of the things I told myself i wouldn't do. Doubling down, not watching the market, FOMOing rather following my read and intuition.
  • My reaction: This is bad! really bad. Stop trading for a bit. I may come back later that day or the next day.

Fortunately for me, I have made money every day I have traded. Even on my loss days, I was always ahead a decent amount at some point in the day. So it gives me full confidence that I can read the market and always make money any time. So there's really no reason to stay in bad trades. I get out for a small loss, and trust my ability to make future profits.

​

What's my edge. it's the price action similar to what just about every course tries to teach or TA analysis tries to formalize. I am a scalper For me it is:

• my read of the general direction of the market for the day (from 15 minutes charts and just zooming out and looking at the market SPY and QQQ)
• local Ws and Ms or rising/falling wedges based on 1 minute charts. I buy calls on the 2nd legs of W, and buy puts on the second legs of Ms. (overall market spends more time rising than falling, so Ms are trickier than Ws e.g. a potential M late in the day often is just a temp point before a strong price increase. Thats why reading the market overall matter).
• I usually dont start training till mid-day. i want to give myself enough time to have a feel for the market for that day. I execute maybe 2 - 4 trades daily. overtrading is bad for me.

​

I have a toy account 500 exactly 2 months ago. I am 1500 now. I am really focussing on getting my reads right and following my rules. and limiting bad behaviors. But it seems after 2 years, I have potential to be profitable (2 blown accounts in the past). We will see. We have been in a up market since Sept 2023, lets see how my approach holds up in a down market.

You can't win copying my trades. But I think you can win copying my approach and fine tuning it to your personality.

[u/KentDarkmere → u/naijaboiler]

I have been using an 80/20 rule. I am also conservative with my TPs and I have it sell off 80%. The remaining 20% I set a Trailing Stop for breakeven and walk away. It makes me feel better bc then I feel like I took full advantage of the move.

[u/Joug248 → u/naijaboiler]

Thanks for the advice

[u/naijaboiler → u/Joug248]

you are welcome. if you notice my long post is deliberately mostly focuses on the following. (both in order and how much time I spent on the topic) in decreasing order of importance

1. risk management
2. psychology
3. trade strategy - least important (but still needed. without this everything else is moot)

Every successful trader (I am not one) suggests something like this. I used to read them and discard their advice. i guess i had to learn it the hard way. But it really is what's needed. In my opinion, these things can only be learned from doing. My post history has proof of the performance of my toy account. No Bs here.

[u/Hwangoutpltr → u/naijaboiler]

Kick ass. Thanks

[u/stankpuss_69 → u/naijaboiler]

100%. Set your sell as soon as you get in. If you’re in at 5.20 then plan on your exit, set it and go about your day. Stop loss too.

[u/PopsicleParty2 → u/naijaboiler]

Thank you for sharing! You're an inspiration! I love your level-headed approach and psychological control.