Trading for a living... A day in the life

Discussion in 'The Cocktail Lounge' started by Jrich, Apr 22, 2017.

  1. Jrich

    Jrich Well-Known Member

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    In my short 4 months on this site, im starting to pick up on all the different styles and personalities of our vastly diverse membership.... And I'm curious how many here trade for a living in some way shape or form??

    Maybe you're a full fledged day trader?.. Perhaps a professional broker?.. Maybe you work because you want to (which I'll never understand) and supplement some or most of your income from the market....... Or maybe you just bought Google 10 years ago and sit around with a smile on your face every day....... Either way, I think it would be cool to hear what a day in your life is like, or any other inspirational content you have to share

    A day in my life isn't all that interesting... Load, drive, unload, repeat..... But spring happens to be our slow season, so I've had several early days lately, and even some unplanned days off.... Honestly, it's a nice temporary change of pace from the way I've run over the past 6 years!

    Some of these slow/no work days, of course, I'll head to the lake... But other days, I find myself flipping on CNBC, kicking back on the couch and scanning through charts...... I can't help but imagine what it would be like if this were my life every day!!!

    So... I think this is a goal I will set... Not today and certainly not tomorrow... Hell, at this point in my learning curve, I could probably afford Ramen Noodles but couldn't afford a pot to cook them in....... No.... The truck has provided for 12 years, and will continue to provide for another 12 or more........ But... Some day!

    So, who's "some day" is today?... And what's it like??
     
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  2. StockJock-e

    StockJock-e Brew Master
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    I was a full time trader in the early 2000's and on/off again over the years.

    During the tech rally of 2000 I was a scalper, jumping in and out of stocks every few minutes if possible, taking small $40-$100 gains where ever possible, it was exhausting!

    I had some good weeks and some bad, overall because of the tech rally I was more in the green.

    Actively daytrading like I was is something that I could never do in the long term. Because I was also doing FOREX, there was hardly any downtime!

    You need to be on crack or some sort of drug to ever do that kind of thing over a long period of time. I know some who people did extremely well trading like that and made big bucks, but don't let survivership bias fool you!

    Majority of traders do not make it in the long run!

    My strategy changed over time, I switched to selling options , naked calls and puts. It allowed me to slow down the pace and give a bit of a longer term time frame on the trades. I found that over the long run, this was a better strategy for me because there were less massive swings in wins and losses.

    As time went on, I got more conservative and now I preach long term buy and hold to most people.

    The truth of the matter is that over the long run, buy and hold (although boring as hell), is the best strategy for majority of the people who come into the market.

    I still encourage keeping some powder dry for special opportunities and daytrades, its important to keep things exciting!
     
  3. Jrich

    Jrich Well-Known Member

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    :D Cracked out day traders:D

    There's a funny picture!!!

    Back in my flatbed days, I coulda used some crack on those long 24-36 hour strait runs!... But I had to pee in the cup pretty regularly
     
  4. Jrich

    Jrich Well-Known Member

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    So, I hear people say all the time... "when you turn a hobby into a job, it isn't fun anymore"

    Example, my other hobby is making fishing lures (surprise)... All my friends tell me I should start selling them, but I've talked to fellow hobbiests who have done just that, and they say they wish they hadn't

    So if you consider trading a hobby, would you say the same is true?
     
  5. Timbo

    Timbo Active Member

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    I drive a tri-axle dump truck, 2015 Freight shaker w a 600 hp Cummins equipped w a 6 speed Allison automatic trans. Got it new in early 2016, work for a fairly big construction outfit. Usually in my mobile office 12 hours, 6 days. Don't have much time to trade but find a way to play. Most of my plays were quick scalps based on news that caused a selloff. Being a contrarion I look for the beat down sectors, typically go in w a sizeable amount and keep the profit in shares. My work schedule has become more hectic so I'm leaning more towards the buy n hold side. I also play the option side of SPY on a regular basis, calls or puts. The ultimate goal is to build up a portfolio of dividend paying stocks that I really don't have anything invested in other than being profit shares from trading. Someday it would be nice to daytrade when I retire, but it would be more of a hobby and would be based on quick scalps. We have to realize what we're up against, the big hands and computers that are designed to make the prices swing enough to take out stops. The daytraders have the cards stacked against them for sure.
     
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  6. Timbo

    Timbo Active Member

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    Vitamin water bottle works good to.:D I'm referring to the taking a whizz on the go.. We have random drug test also, best way to pass is be clean.
     
    #6 Timbo, Apr 22, 2017
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2017
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  7. Jrich

    Jrich Well-Known Member

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    I was actually given a 2005 Freightliner Century class, free and clear from my step dad who decided it was time to park it... I didn't think even think twice, i sold it!..... I watched his headache for foo many years!... I spent my days off fishing while he spent his under that truck twisting wrenches

    I hauled fuel for the past 4 years (company driver).. First hailing rig and frac fuel... Good gig!.. But when nobody is drilling or fracing, you ain't working!.. When the oil ran dry, I went down to the city and ran gas stations for a year... To keep a long story short, I'll just say don't ever do that!

    Just last month I got myself into the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) world... So far so good!... It's slow now because butane season is over and propane demand is dwindling.... But soon we'll start storage.. Then we run our asses off (so say the long timers)

    As for trading... Somebody here turned me on to the readings of Richard Wyckoff... The concept grabbed me like a 5/0 wide gap Gamakatsu hook!.... So buy and hold is my basis as well... Scalping is fun too, I did a little when I started, but not near as fun as watching a chart lift off into outer space!
     
    #7 Jrich, Apr 22, 2017
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2017
  8. Ronzoil

    Ronzoil Member

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    Never been a truck driver ,but I do drive a pickup. Very active option trader. Normal day 7-10 trades a day my record is 125 trades. Did not pee in a bottle but it a short run to the bathroom from my office !

    Depending on the type of trade I put on i look for 10-50 % profit.
     
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  9. Jrich

    Jrich Well-Known Member

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    Rule of thumb, if you have to pee in a bottle, you're running too hard!

    That said, I've run too hard many times!
     
  10. StockJock-e

    StockJock-e Brew Master
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    No, trading full time is never boring.

    You need to be on top of the news, you need to constantly educate yourself on everything from politics, commodities, economics and what ever else is out there that may give you an edge.

    If you do not trade on news, but just technicals, then you are constantly trying to refine and back test your system, calculating statistics, seeing what works and what does not.

    Unless you have some sort of algo that is paying you out constantly, trading is a never ending fight to better yourself and make sure you don't fuck up too badly.

    Not boring.
     
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