[swansjr]

Here is a short 4-minute interview that answers the question, "How long does it take to become a profitable trader?"

I guess I have a few more years to go! Anyway, I found this interesting and it's probably a fair assessment. Trading is hard work. You better love doing it.

[flyingdutchmen]

this is an impossible to anser question as it is depending on inteligence,
creativity and many more
factors

in short....

me is not you
you is not me

[swansjr]

Originally Posted by flyingdutchmen »

this is an impossible to anser question as it is depending on inteligence,
creativity and many more
factors

in short....

me is not you
you is not me

While the question may be "impossible" to answer in the strictest terms, it is useful. Just as “impossible” is the person in his late 20s spends time predicting his retirement nest-egg amount for age 62 (due to of all the unforeseen changes in your life, tax codes and whatever). Yet, such estimates are useful.

The usefulness in this video comes in the regards to how most people perceive trading when they are first introduced to it. That is, you can make a lot of money quickly and the process of trading looks easy.

Furthermore, while it may be "impossible" to answer for an individual person, given a population of traders we can draw some concludes. In short, most new traders do not become successful under a years time. A lot of work is needed. Probably more than most realizes at first glance. Adjust expectations accordingly.

[Hlm]

Originally Posted by flyingdutchmen »

this is an impossible to anser question as it is depending on inteligence,
creativity and many more
factors

in short....

me is not you
you is not me

The point of the video is not to quote a specific amount of time. The five years comes from a book (non trading related) that looks at factors that breed success. The main point and underlying truth of the video is that most traders have a very unrealistic idea as to how long it will take.

Reminds me of a quote from Thomas Edison....

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

[JBWTrader]

Its a good question. One I constantly ask myself..
I guess one answer is ..."As long as it takes.."
The unknown is always painful...

All the Best
John

[DbPhoenix]

Could be five years. Could be never. Depends in large part on how many detours the wannabe takes, how many dead-ends he winds up in, how susceptible he is to the con. If he's blessed with common sense, a finely-tuned bullshit detector, and a basic understanding of what an auction is, shouldn't take more than a couple of months.

[Tams]

Don't argue with the trend.

If you understand this principle, the route is shorter.

[thetatrader]

Stupid, stupid, stupid, I just gave back all my profits. I agree with Dp if you can stay clear of all the cons out there the road will be much shorter. Imho and defiantly for me, It is my money management and emotional management that needs the most attention. Trades and setups are a dime a dozen. And most work. Death by Mathematics if you eat like a mouse and sh!t like and elephant. you will never become profitable.
I will have ten winning days in row and one day I will be in a trance and say I am bearish I will start shorting every new high. even though my stuff is saying go long. And just about the time I bust my account I will weak up and say what were you thinking. It is kind of funny I used to get mad, but now I just laugh.
Any How I have been trading for two years futures for almost a year. and I am at break even. I know and have confidence in my setups now. But I still have blow up days that kill my p&l. (on those days I break my rules). The Blow up days happen alot less and I am sure with hard work (hard work) ya thats what I said. I will be profitable shotly.

Back to what Dp said. I also wasted about six months of time with the gurus. Makes me laugh. If they could trade they would not be spending so much time selling their junk.