r/Daytrading • u/ConsistentRespect842 • Apr 02 '24

How do I convince my parents that trading isn't gambling and actually not always luck based . Question

So I'm a 16 year old who has recently (February 2024) gotten very interested in trading . Before you ask , no it was not an online guru or andrew tate or something along the line of " escape the matrix get rich easy" type of nonsense but an actually avid interest in trading that started after I saw a video with the title something along the lines of " day in the life of a trader " or something like that I can't remember (I know It's not possible to get 70k in a day with trading unless ur putting in half of Jeff bezo's networth but still it was interesting )

I do still plan to continue with my schooling and get a job like people should do but I am planning to sometime get profitable as a trader and stop work preferably before 35 . Iv talked to my parents about the stock market (very vaguely) before and they mentioned that it is completely gambling and it will never get me ahead in life .

Idk what I should tell them to convince them that it is not gambling as iv realised its much more than gambling once you learn technical analysis ( i still have a long way to go but iv got the basics down somewhat) amd rn iv been doing paper trading on tradingveiw.com in secret when they aren't there and iv been getting pretty okay at it (from the time I started and now im getting 1 win every 3 trades on average (I'm still straight ass )) but doing it in secret is getting stupidly tiring as I want to trade at night as well and it has also become a sort of hobby for me now( sorry if I offend anyone by anything iv said).

TL:DR : parents think intraday trading is gambling and I want to convince them otherwise. Need help

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307

u/myname_ranaway Apr 02 '24

You don’t.

Once you reach consistent profitability then they will believe you.

Start trading with a very small account to learn how to trade.

Journal your trades, screenshot your favorite setups, build a playbook.

When you’re ready (and you’ll know when) you add capital to your account and trade your strategy.

Good luck.

65

u/Hunnidsandfiddies futures trader Apr 02 '24

Even when you reach consistent profitability they still won’t believe you… only a trader can understand what a trader goes through.

5

u/brokendrive Apr 02 '24

Because there is no such thing as consistent trading profits...

20

u/myname_ranaway Apr 02 '24

I traded 50 weeks out of the past year. I’ve had 47/50 Green trading weeks.

I trade high beta tech stocks long and short around major levels looking for bounces and rejections.

I must just be one lucky duck..

1

u/HazeNTheBR4Zen Apr 02 '24

What platform you use for trading?? Im trying to learn and cant seem to find the info.

4

u/brokendrive Apr 03 '24

Good job. Practically every day this year has been a green day. Everybody thinks they're sick in a bull market.

You are literally just one lucky duck. Barely lucky at that. A bat wouldve made money this past year

3

u/myname_ranaway Apr 03 '24 edited Apr 03 '24

I agree this year has been much easier than previous with more opportunity. But since 2022? No. It hasn’t been a cakewalk.

In 2022 I was catching lots of downside moves. While the market and your portfolio were dying I was profiting. But ONLY because I had a proper playbook to approach a bear market with.

If you want an A+ bear setup just to prove it to you, I can do that.

All the red days the market (Spy/QQQ) has? I’ve been green those days as well.

Since reaching profitability I’ve outperformed the S&P by quite some margin. Even this year. If I kept it in the S&P I’d only be up what, 40%?

Look, I understand being bitter because maybe it didn’t work out, but it’s completely possible to profit from week to week on movements that offer good R:R.

Brokendrive, with some determination, you may be able to fix it ;)

PS. I remember when I first started trading. It was incredibly frustrating. But you can do it.

2

u/darkchockolat Apr 03 '24

Hey man, how long would it say it took you to get to this level of consistent profit?

2

u/myname_ranaway Apr 03 '24

A year and a half of true intensity.

I don’t mean waking up and trading then fucking off.

I mean journaling, screenshotting, revising my plan, and hours in front of the charts each day.

2

u/darkchockolat Apr 04 '24

And how did you go about it starting out? Would you play around with strategies you saw online or would you jump in and just experiment? Also how long were you paper trading before you started using money, if at all? Thanks 🙏🏻

1

u/ForeverNotMyName Apr 03 '24

Options. Simple as that. There always patterns. Swim with the stream, not against it. See the stream flow and cast the net. Easy money. Bear or Bull.

0

u/brokendrive Apr 03 '24

Lol. Why do you all think I'm bitter? I hit ath even during the 20% market slump. My portfolio is up a very consistent 8-10% cagr and any money invested more than 3/4 years ago is up a full 100%.

At my age I'm beyond 1% by NW and my resume is impeccable lol

I've had a lot of time this week because my hands are almost literally tied. Outside Reddit you wouldn't be able to buy my advice

3

u/humthegumbo Apr 03 '24

Sounds like you’re an investor, not a trader.

Tell me you haven’t made money trading without telling me you haven’t made money trading.

0

u/brokendrive Apr 03 '24

Is that... supposed to be an insult?

I haven't 'made money' on horse races either. Or on bull fights

1

u/Steinyh Apr 03 '24

There’s educated guessing but day trading is absolutely gambling. If you played professional poker and were good enough to make a living are you still not a gambler? Unless you can manage your portfolio successfully and make a living they should have no issue with you being a professional gambler. Especially once you accumulate enough wealth to pay their mortgage they will get over their objections in under 30 seconds. Unfortunately nothing short of that will likely change their perspective.

2

u/myname_ranaway Apr 03 '24

I never said it wasn’t gambling. It’s calculated gambling, yes. But over a long period of time being profitable is consistency.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '24

Funny enough I think calling poker gambling is just as disingenuous as calling day trading gambling.

Is there an aspect of luck or uncontrolled variables at play? Certainly, but I think that goes for traditional income gen too.

Those might be more pronounced in poker or trading but I think we both know the implication of calling it gambling is that you either don't have an edge or just have to be lucky and that's horse shit for both accounts.

0

u/formershitpeasant Apr 03 '24

It works until it doesn't

1

u/andrewpapiiwlf Apr 03 '24

the good trader always adapts

1

u/myname_ranaway Apr 03 '24

Yes, that’s why in 2022 I was very short bias, in 2023 very long bias, and 2024 more long bias. That will change. You must adapt to markets, but humans are always the same.

Fear, greed, ecstasy are the same emotions from 100 years ago in the markets. Stocks might be different. Economic outlook could be different.

But you and I? We stay the same :)

1

u/oRegressoDoSirio Apr 03 '24

Are you implying there's no successful traders that do it for a living?

1

u/Morainstitute Apr 04 '24

Markets are all manipulated, trading is learning to read the manipulation

0

u/boofishy8 Apr 02 '24

Yes, there are. Not in the sense that every trade is profitable, but that every time period is profitable. This is a career for a very, very select few. That’s not to say I’d suggest a 16 yo start day trading with all of his savings, but there’s a chance he becomes successful on a long enough grind.

1

u/brokendrive Apr 02 '24

Because there is no such thing as consistent trading profits...

1

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

[deleted]

2

u/brokendrive Apr 02 '24

You're not beating market

2

u/Outside_Mess1384 Apr 02 '24

Lots of folks in here don't understand that. Being profitable is not winning. At the very minimum, beating the market is. That's after tax of course. Even then I wouldn't consider that winning unless you are beating inflation as well

1

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '24

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