Comments on: Why Is Day Trading So Difficult? http://www.traderslog.com/trading-difficult/ Online Trading Community for Stocks Futures and Forex Traders Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:21:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: David http://www.traderslog.com/trading-difficult/comment-page-1/#comment-2372 David Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:24:20 +0000 http://qs2506.traderslog.com/2009/09/24/why-is-day-trading-so-difficult/#comment-2372 I too have wondered why day trading is so difficult. I have come to the conclusion that it for 3 main reasons, they are - 1. There is greater randomness on short term time frames. 2. The costs of trading (the spread) are huge and has to be overcome. 3. The winners aren't given time to become much larger than the losers, therefore you need a higher winning trade to losing trade ratio. I too have wondered why day trading is so difficult. I have come to the conclusion that it for 3 main reasons, they are -

1. There is greater randomness on short term time frames.
2. The costs of trading (the spread) are huge and has to be overcome.
3. The winners aren’t given time to become much larger than the losers, therefore you need a higher winning trade to losing trade ratio.

]]> By: Jonathan Yates http://www.traderslog.com/trading-difficult/comment-page-1/#comment-2040 Jonathan Yates Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:07:13 +0000 http://qs2506.traderslog.com/2009/09/24/why-is-day-trading-so-difficult/#comment-2040 Day trading is so difficult as "The Market" or "The House" almost always wins. Study after study reveals that more than 90 percent of day traders lose money. When you read the reviews of the great investors on TradersLog, it is very obvious that they prosper as they work harder and work smarter. Day trading is trying to outmaneuver the market. Some times it will work, but over the long term it is the proverbial, "Picking up dimes in front of bulldozers." Or, as my father, who spent his entire career in the securities industry used to say, "Little gains, big losses." This does not mean that profits can not be made day trading, but do it where the individual investor has an advantage. There used to be one for SOES bandits, but we all know what happened to them (and if you don't, you should find out before you consider day trading). You want to put the odds on your side and control risk. The best book for this is, "The Way of the Turtle." I think capture the dividend strategies with tax free bond ETFs puts the odds on your side and certainly controls risks for a variety factors. Day trading can be lucrative, but first put the odds on your side and limit risk. Day trading is so difficult as “The Market” or “The House” almost always wins. Study after study reveals that more than 90 percent of day traders lose money. When you read the reviews of the great investors on TradersLog, it is very obvious that they prosper as they work harder and work smarter. Day trading is trying to outmaneuver the market. Some times it will work, but over the long term it is the proverbial, “Picking up dimes in front of bulldozers.” Or, as my father, who spent his entire career in the securities industry used to say, “Little gains, big losses.” This does not mean that profits can not be made day trading, but do it where the individual investor has an advantage. There used to be one for SOES bandits, but we all know what happened to them (and if you don’t, you should find out before you consider day trading). You want to put the odds on your side and control risk. The best book for this is, “The Way of the Turtle.” I think capture the dividend strategies with tax free bond ETFs puts the odds on your side and certainly controls risks for a variety factors. Day trading can be lucrative, but first put the odds on your side and limit risk.

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