I do office administration and trading (futures mostly). Professional trading is the career I want. I study price action relentlessly and trade in simulation every day, have a good simulation profit running since June (real traders may laugh at that since sim is easier because it's less emotional), and only read trading books. I trust myself more and more and soon I'll move back to using real money once again, but I'll likely lose. I've lost a lot in order to learn and had to keep switching back to sim. It's a hard zero sum game and the only people actually trading are professionals & institutions with proven strategies or backtested & profitable computer algorithmic systems that can do fast trades no human can. If they weren't profitable they wouldn't be using money live.
The only way to get anywhere near good is to get your ass wooped over and over until you start understanding the probabilities and what the underlying price action is saying.
No trade is an absolute certainty - the highest probability are brief obscure opportunities with a probability of 60% max, because no one else would take the other side of the trade if yours was 90% and there's was 10%. It's not profitable.
And to make it even more balanced and tough, the high probability trades are usually higher risk and less profit. Lower probability trades are typically more profit but you lose more often. It's a constant balance of reward, risk, and probability. And if you are good enough to recognize probability (which is very hard), you might squeeze out a small edge for yourself resulting in profit.
I mainly watch the ES (S&P500 futures) all day from open to close. Watching tick by tick all day gets tiring, and having to do my main job on top of it is pretty demanding.
It's fun to extract what's going on just from price action analysis. My favorite trades are when one side gets trapped in a shit position and need to get out, and that's where you get in. When they cover to exit it boosts the market in your direction. (example, sellers having to buy back their shorts at a loss as the market moves higher - their buying is buying pressure along with others already buying, and it moves the market higher)
Anyway, it takes years and years to become pro, and the majority wash out and fail.
The pro trader that I look up to phrases it like this - anyone can play golf, but few can do it good enough to make money doing it like Tiger Woods.
It's a very good analogy and many newcomers to the market do not understand that, or understand the grueling amount of dedication and practice it takes. They make a few lucky trades with poor money management skills and think they're special talent, then a little while later risk way too much and get wiped out. They'll do things like take profits way too early because they're too scared the market might turn around - showing an inability to stay objective and handle emotions. Then when they have a losing trade the winners don't offset the losers and their p&l is in the dirt. etc.
You have to be experienced and at your best when trading or else you'll fail. Because your edge is very very small.
To me it's the toughest challenge I've faced in life yet and I am willing to put in the time and effort to make a living doing this.
THIS CONCLUDES MY MINI NOVEL! ¡!
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