# On a daily basis how much do day traders expect to make?



## constable (4 April 2007)

I was a bit curious as to what other day traders expect to make on the market on any given day. Is there a cut off point where you say hey im happy with that or... I'm not happy until I make x amount of dollars. 
Personally on a daily basis I look for $300 - $500 and getting anything over a $1000 is time to switch off the computer and adjust my eyes to the sunlight! Obviously there are days that are quick to wipe out the previous days gains but tomorrow you set up and startover with a similar goal in mind.
Thought I'd do a poll anyway... money can be such a sensitive thing!


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## rustyheela (4 April 2007)

*Re: On a daily basis how much are day traders expecting to make?*

I guess its all relative to return on equity isnt it? if u have a risk exposure of say 100k and you are returning $250 to $500 a day is that acceptable for the risk/reward? Assuming you are getting that return every day. I prefer to look at it in %. Hypothetically speaking "I made $200 yesterday" sounds impressive but if I made that return on $100k exposure...well....

Just my thoughts and opinion.


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## constable (4 April 2007)

*Re: On a daily basis how much are day traders expecting to make?*



rustyheela said:


> I guess its all relative to return on equity isnt it? If u have a risk exposure of say 100k and you are returning $250 to $500 a day is that acceptable for the risk/reward? Assuming you are getting that return every day. I prefer to look at it in %. Hypothetically speaking "I made $200 yesterday" sounds impressive but if I made that return on $100k exposure...well....
> 
> Just my thoughts and opinion.




I hear what your saying, $200 bucks on a 100k trade... well the only person that would make happy is your broker. Hypothetically if you did it every day consistently tho your returning 50k. 
However I would hazard a guess and say over 50% of day trading is done without putting any money on the bar.


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## Realist (4 April 2007)

Is there an option for "less than zero"?


I suspect overall the average day trader spends more than they make...


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## clowboy (4 April 2007)

Realist said:


> Is there an option for "less than zero"?
> 
> 
> I suspect overall the average day trader spends more than they make...




Not at the moment they don't

Everyone is a guru ATM

It should be hope to make though.......


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## clowboy (4 April 2007)

Hrmm.......


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## wayneL (4 April 2007)

clowboy said:


> Hrmm.......


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## wayneL (4 April 2007)

Realist said:


> Is there an option for "less than zero"?
> 
> 
> I *suspect* overall the average day trader spends more than they make...



The survivors do well


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## constable (4 April 2007)

well so far we are an honest bunch to say the least!! well done!!


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## nizar (4 April 2007)

Realist said:


> Is there an option for "less than zero"?
> 
> I suspect overall the average day trader spends more than they make...




MOST daytraders do as you say.

Agree with Wayne - the survivors do well.
Those others - they will have to find another job when this bullmarket is over.


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## It's Snake Pliskin (5 April 2007)

The thread should be: "How much do you expect to lose?"


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## constable (5 April 2007)

It's Snake Pliskin said:


> The thread should be: "How much do you expect to lose?"




Why? Not a day trader? Unsuccessful at day trading? Had a bad experience?
Know a friend who lost too much?
Give us something Snake other than pessimism!!


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## wayneL (5 April 2007)

constable said:


> Why? Not a day trader? Unsuccessful at day trading? Had a bad experience?
> Know a friend who lost too much?
> Give us something Snake other than pessimism!!



It's common for folks to be negative on daytrading. I think because it attracts the gamblers, but daytrading can be constructed with positive expectancy just like any other time frame.

The actual expectancy figure will be lower than, say a trend trading system, but opportunity is far greater and a larger position size can  be used.

There was a lady making $150,000 *a month* that I heard about (verified at the time, she worked for an insto)

You do need bulletproof psychology and great concentration however and this is what is the undoing of many.

fwiw


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## Uncle Festivus (5 April 2007)

Depending on experience, I would think that the last month would be day traders heaven, with the daily ranges in both stocks & indexs above normal. When used correctly & with sound position sizing & stop loss criteria, trading on margin should provide a steady return in these market conditions. I aim for a minimum of $500 profit per day, with $125 worst case loss/drawdown. This is acheivable with the likes of index CFD's etc


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## constable (12 April 2007)

wow... there is some big guns amongst us!
I wonder if ....all the non day traders divided there yearly profit by the number of trading days and found out what there daily average is, whether they would fair better than an average day trader? Impossible to answer but as the size of the portfolio increased the long termer would be doing it easier i think. Anyway thankyou to all those that voted/replied.


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## tech/a (12 April 2007)

2 months ago I worked out that I had made $31.86/hr (before tax) for every hr I have spent researching/developing/learning and trading over the 12 yrs I have been involved.
In otherwords I worked out how much an hr I had made for all the effort I have put in. Including the costs involved---around $32,000 Computers, software, books, subscriptions, courses, data providers--it sure adds up.
Oh and that doesnt include the hrs posting--Another $30 bucks an hr for that would be good!


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## Sean K (12 April 2007)

I aim to not lose any money.


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## clowboy (12 April 2007)

kennas said:


> I aim to not lose any money.





Meaning?

Are you implying that at the end of the year if you have not suffered a loss you are happy?


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## CanOz (12 April 2007)

tech/a said:


> 2 months ago I worked out that I had made $31.86/hr (before tax) for every hr I have spent researching/developing/learning and trading over the 12 yrs I have been involved.
> In otherwords I worked out how much an hr I had made for all the effort I have put in. Including the costs involved---around $32,000 Computers, software, books, subscriptions, courses, data providers--it sure adds up.
> Oh and that doesnt include the hrs posting--Another $30 bucks an hr for that would be good!




Thats not a bad second income TA. If one were to debt free, an income like that is plenty...agree? Its a living.

Cheers,


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## Sean K (12 April 2007)

clowboy said:


> Meaning?
> 
> Are you implying that at the end of the year if you have not suffered a loss you are happy?



Minimise loss and maximise gain, is the aim of the game, some claim, in the rain, or you will feel the pain, I say.


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## Julia (12 April 2007)

constable said:


> well so far we are an honest bunch to say the least!! well done!!




How on earth would you know that???

I could put that I make $10,000 a day and that I am a guru trader.
Neither would be true but you wouldn't know that.

This is why I'd put zilch faith in the results of these polls, just like the one which asked how much investable funds we had.  Anyone can say anything


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## constable (13 April 2007)

Julia said:


> How on earth would you know that???
> 
> I could put that I make $10,000 a day and that I am a guru trader.
> Neither would be true but you wouldn't know that.
> ...




Ye of little faith......where's your trust?  Id hope that 95% of voters are honest , sure there may be some that stretch the truth but id think that what gets voted on would be a fair reflection and a reasonable guide,( so far i would have thought this poll is a fair representation of traders esp the number of non day traders). Nobody has picked "guru" trader yet !(although they probably will now)and besides what's the point of lying on these polls? And just what is the point of being on the forum if you dont trust anyone?


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## bingk6 (13 April 2007)

constable said:


> Ye of little faith......where's your trust?  Id hope that 95% of voters are honest , sure there may be some that stretch the truth but id think that what gets voted on would be a fair reflection and a reasonable guide,( so far i would have thought this poll is a fair representation of traders esp the number of non day traders). Nobody has picked "guru" trader yet !(although they probably will now)and besides what's the point of lying on these polls? And just what is the point of being on the forum if you dont trust anyone?




2 points

Firstly, I would tend to believe the results are reasonably close to reality. At the end of the day, the poll is anonymous and there is really nothing to be gained by anybody stretching the truth. 

Secondly, I really believe that there should be some options for the amount lost each day. I believe that only a small percentage of traders have the ability to daytrade successfully and consistently, and therefore without some negative options, the majority of day traders cannot participate in this poll.


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## professor_frink (13 April 2007)

*Re: On a daily basis how much are day traders expecting to make?*

While I do agree with rustyheela that the % return is probably more appropriate than the actual dollars made per day, there are so many different things you could look at, it's almost impossible to compare people and the results they generate.

Some things to consider-

Is the person that generates 2% a day, but has some pretty violent swings in their equity curve doing better than the trader making 0.5% a day, yet has very few down days and doesn't even know the meaning of a down week?

Is one trader doing better than another if they make more $$/% currently, yet can't scale their size up as much as the person that isn't making the same return presently, yet can continue to scale the operation up almost indefinetely?

Is one trader doing better than the other if they make more, yet literally have to be glued to the screen all day long?- some daytrading methods can be developed to buy the open, set a stop, then return to the computer to close the trade out at the end of the day if they haven't been stopped out already.

Is the daytrader that trades small caps using a long only strategy to make a killing in a bullmarket doing better than the index/currency trader that is making less currently, but whom has the ability to generate exactly the same return in a volatile sidewards/bear market?

Depending on each individuals circumstances, they may see one of the comments above as being better than another. That's the great thing about trading and the markets in general, there is room for all of us, with our own ideas about what is acceptable and achievable.

So having said that, I choose not to vote in this poll. Pretty long winded excuse for only making 50 bucks a day, isn't it

Cheers


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## surfingman (13 April 2007)

I'm not a day trader but am setting a goal of $200 per day average over a month with $8000 investment weather this can be achieved or not by me time will tell, it is possible when the market is progresses forward but on a bull market i will probably be eating 2 minute noodles  .


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## tech/a (13 April 2007)

> At the end of the day, the poll is anonymous and there is really nothing to be gained by anybody stretching the truth.




No its not---and Yes to some there is. 

Doesnt appear too anonymous to me.


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## Uncle Festivus (13 April 2007)

Percent returns are fine for those that like to look back and see how good they are but it's absolute dollar returns that matters when it come to the thread topic eg day trading. 
As per Tech/a & calculating the time/reward ratio, if you make 20% a day it sounds good but in dollar terms making $100 for sitting in front of a computer all day (& all night?) just isn't productive. 
I have a target I _expect_ to make per day, I have a loss I am prepared to write off if stopped out,  and with all the various instruments around it's a reasonable expectation to achieve these targets, whether the market is up or down, which is the key if a daytrader is to survive.
If I make my weekly target in the first hour on the Monday I walk away & do something a bit more stimulating; although the urge to 'double dip' back in to more trades usually results in undisciplined trading & losses.


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## nizar (13 April 2007)

Chops LOLOLOL.
5G+ a day, keep it up son! 

Ummmm... daily basis, i dunno, i used to aim for $1k/week when i traded breakouts...

But yeh dont do that much anymore, no time, back to skool...


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## chops_a_must (13 April 2007)

:


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## bingk6 (13 April 2007)

tech/a said:


> No its not---and Yes to some there is.
> 
> Doesnt appear too anonymous to me.




Oops ! In that case, I agree with Julia. Egos can do terrible things to a poll like this.


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## The Y-man (13 April 2007)

*Re: On a daily basis how much are day traders expecting to make?*



rustyheela said:


> ...I prefer to look at it in %. ...
> Just my thoughts and opinion.




Thoroughly agree  

Cheers,

The Y-man


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## Halba (13 April 2007)

Huh $5k a day? Thats like a million dollars a year. You wouldn't be on this forum.


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## clowboy (13 April 2007)

tech/a said:


> No its not---and Yes to some there is.
> 
> Doesnt appear too anonymous to me.




How do you view that?


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## Julia (13 April 2007)

clowboy said:


> How do you view that?




If you mean how do you view who has voted what, just click on "View Poll Results" in the voting panel.


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## lrushing (13 April 2007)

As an experienced day trader, I have learn over the years to simply adjust my daily profit goals according to _*market conditions*_.  Easily said, in _trending markets I try to push aggressively_, while in _congestion and consolidation periods, focus only on the highest odds trades available_. 

By tracking my intraday, daily, weekly and monthly progress, some days I use a combination of techniques to accomplish my targets.  Missing a daily is expected and should not impact your thinking as much as missing a weekly target.  Day trading with realistic targets that are most definitely a function of how much you risk is essential in trading survival.


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## wayneL (14 April 2007)

Halba said:


> Huh $5k a day? Thats like a million dollars a year. You wouldn't be on this forum.



You've lost me. Why wouldn't someone making $5k a day be on this forum?


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## virago (28 July 2009)

how much you make in a day? look for how well you going to trade, money will follow, minimize loss and preserving capital will let you play the game little longer.


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## nunthewiser (28 July 2009)

To the original poster 

how much do you earn a year?

how many kids you got ?

how much are your total assets worth ? 

what colour undies does your partner wear


........ i find the question rude and its not the kind of question that respects a serious answer .

no offense intended but none ya bleedin business


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## Geckoo (26 December 2014)

surfingman said:


> I'm not a day trader but am setting a goal of $200 per day average over a month with $8000 investment weather this can be achieved or not by me time will tell, it is possible when the market is progresses forward but on a bull market i will probably be eating 2 minute noodles  .




Sounds great how are you going with this?


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