Another $10k day…THANK YOU! – Member Success Story

Good morning Andrew,

I know it’s been awhile since we’ve communicated, but every once in a while I feel a need to check in with you, and remind you of how you changed my life…

You and I are VERY different traders, and I think we can both agree that I play the game a little differently than you do, but without you — I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. I’d be remiss to not thank you at least a few times every year, lol…

I’ve gone back and forth over the years with the whole YouTube thing. When I first started recording videos, it wasn’t meant to be “public.” I had no desire, or “plan” for it to grow like it did. My intention was solely to record recaps of my trades (like you do), because I figured it would be a good way to keep myself grounded. I was really good at remembering my “great” trades, but really bad at remembering the “not-so-great” ones; forcing myself to face my mistakes head on (hence the recaps) was the only thing that I could think of…

I’d experienced a few good days by that point, but I had suffered far more terrible days. I think my largest single day loss back then was in the neighborhood of $3k, which was surpassed with a $14k day, and then I’ve had a few $10k days (losses) since. Every one of my large losses, however, was due to emotions/psychology. Heck, I’d venture to say that 90%+ of any loss is emotional (beyond standard reward/risk parameters).

Anyways… I don’t know if I’ll ever do the YouTube thing again (I go back and forth on this almost weekly), but I do like providing anecdotes when I think they can be helpful.

On Monday/Tuesday of this week I started two “small account challenges.” I put $1,000 into a regular PDT account (at IBKR), and another $1,000 into a futures account (Tradeovate). I’ve never considered myself a trader of either, but I like the idea of expanding my skill set (into other asset classes), as well as the collateral benefit of showing other people that you CAN make money trading technicals; even in “small” accounts.

I actually recorded the trades I took for the first two days, just in case I do get active on YouTube again… I don’t plan on posting them, but ya’ never know…

On Monday/Tuesday I traded Options in the IBKR account. I made $1k scaling out 1/2 of my first trade, then gave the profits back by not getting “all out” on the remainder position. I was pretty certain I knew which way the markets would unfold, however, so I took my 2nd “day trade” later in the day and made about $800. After taking the profits on that trade, I decided to ‘swing’ another trade overnight; again — I was certain I knew the direction of the markets at this time. I scaled out of that position the next morning for about $4k worth of profits, and then decided to burn through my last (of three) “day trade” later that afternoon.

On Tuesday the funds for the Futures account were ready to go, and so I began trading the same technicals I was leveraging for the Options stuff. I ended that day with about $5k in profits, minus about $500 in commissions.

In LESS than 24 hours, I’d turned two “small accounts” ($1k each) into over $10,000.

The next day I made another $3k in the futures account, and with a nifty trick I like to use with “small accounts” (shifting money between two accounts, same brokerage) — I was able to grow the IBKR accounts to just over $9500.

In LESS than three calendar days, I’d turned $2000 into almost $17,000 dollars. Ironically, I had a position yesterday that I wanted to hold overnight, but decided to take about $1,500 in profits instead. That trade would have been worth another $18,000 had I held it, but I always like to keep a risk-averse mindset, and avoid ‘gambling’ within anything as large as that.

Had I held that position, my $2,000 starting balance would be well over $35,000 — IN LESS THAN FOUR CALENDAR DAYS.

I tell you this for two reasons:

1. I would NOT have experienced an accelerated understanding of the world of “day-trading” if it weren’t for you. Your chatroom at VancouverTraders got me started. Your charts (moving averages, ways to identify support/resistance, candles, etc.) gave me something to work with; a foundation to leverage as I explored and developed my own style… And your live trading gave me hope, inspiration…in that if you could do “this,” I suppose I could too…
2. There is a lot of skepticism about whether, or not, “technicals” is a valid way to trade. I’m living proof that: not only do they work with equities, but considering I use the EXACT same “stuff” to trade options/futures, and anything else — they (obviously) work with everything else as well.

Trading is 10% basic math, and understanding reward/risk parameters, then more importantly — 90% psychology. If a guy like me can turn two seperate $1k accounts into over $17k (35k if I was a “gambler”) — IN LESS THAN A WEEK, believe me — anybody can. It takes time — lots of time. And dedication — lots of dedication. Sprinkle in a few good portions of blood, sweat, and tears, and I’m here to tell you — day trading technicals can be a profitable career.

Just like anything/everything else in life, worth anything, it’s not as “easy” as some make it look, but for those who endure the turbulent road on their way to ‘educating’ in this realm — there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks again Andrew — for being you… Appreciate you man. Have a great day today, and as always — STAY GREEN!

DT