If our expectancy is good due to a decent win rate combined with a high risk to reward ratio, we will be able to achieve excellent profitability.

As I was recording some of the Weekly Reviews for students in the STA Training Program this weekend it got me thinking that I should put together a new post using some prior weeks that really drives home the importance of keeping a longer term focus.

A good student to look at for this examination is AK.  Many of you will recognize him from some previous weekly recaps such at this one.  AK is a good example because he is someone who is fairly new to trading the markets, but he has been diligently applying himself each week and sending in his charts on a regular basis for review.

Considering that AK basically came into the STA Training Program as a raw trader, these results are an excellent example of the consistency that can be achieved in only a couple of months if a student is determined and willing to put in the effort to be successful.

Once weekly consistency is reached, the sky is the limit for further development of your trading skills and profitability.

One of the things I find most interesting about AK's results is his impressive returns despite not having a high win rate.  Some of our more experienced traders are able to achieve hit rates of 70% or more but as AK shows, it isn't necessary to have a large majority of winning trades in order to have excellent weekly results.

This is especially important for newer traders taking their first steps into day trading, because the pressure of needing to maintain a high win rate often crushes even the best laid plans under its weight.

As AK gains more experience in the markets, his win rate will continue to improve and his already substantial trading edge will grow.

I don't want to clutter up this post with dozens of charts, but here's a handful for some of the days above (click to enlarge):

Day Trader Income Breakdown

The most common question people email me about is always the same - how much money can you make as a day trader?  For the sake of this example, I've broken things down with the quick chart above.

You might have noticed that although AK's trading breakdown showed 57 points earned for the month, this chart only shows 50.  I've done this to account for commissions and fees in order to give a more realistic look at what would be made if a trader was taking ~80 trades per month.

If a trader was trading with a decent number of contracts his costs would likely be much lower (through better commissions from his broker), adding to his profit.

Please keep in mind that these results are not guaranteed.  Our aim is for our graduates to consistently make 10-15 points per week trading Emini S&P 500 futures, but individual results can vary depending on experience level and time spent each week actively trading.  The example above is a trader who generally trades for a few hours each day.  Please see our disclaimer for more information.

The post Student Results – A Complete 4 Week Trading Breakdown appeared first on Samurai Trading Academy.

In recent weeks I've seen many of our STA Training Program students making great strides and this is incredibly encouraging going forward.  While I wouldn't say that the markets have been especially difficult lately, they haven't been offering ticks and points easily either.

Now that we are seeing the market really open up there's no doubt that many of our now fully prepared and trained traders are going to be taking full advantage.

Considering that I saw multiple traders bring in over 10 points today, it seems to confirm that thinking.

Going forward at STA the plan is to really expand the training for everyone who visits the main site.  This includes more detailed video recaps which key on important lessons from that day in the market, more trading articles that expand on general trading knowledge, and an increased social presence.  Our training program is a very in-depth undertaking, and I realize not everyone is able to take on such a commitment.  At the same time, enrolment is very limited so there are going to be some people who simply won't be able to get in right away if all our spots are full.

For these reasons I want to make sure I continue to focus on trading education for all visitors of Samurai Trading Academy, because I firmly believe that anyone who is serious about improving their trading can benefit greatly from all the free resources here on the site.  Feel free to get in touch if you have questions or have a suggestion for something you would like to see covered in one of our trading articles.  This site has been built with your trading education in mind, so I'll be happy to do whatever I can to improve your overall trading results.

The Day Trading Recap Video

As you can tell, today was a bit unusual in terms of profit potential.  While we certainly aim to make a profit every day, it's unusual to have a day of 15 or more points.  By identifying the strong movements and shifts in supply and demand, we were able to  increase some of our targets and really maximize our trading results.

Emini S&P 500 futures are ideal on many days for those who focus on technical analysis, and today that was certainly the case.  Price was very well structured which allowed us to easily maximize profits and, more importantly, minimize risk.  Trade management is what really opened up this day to be an outlier.

This isn't uncommon, as trade management is what really separates those who struggle in the markets and those who excel.  

There's a reason why experience pays off so much in the trading game and that's because after a while you learn to identify certain things within the market structure that suggest the increased probability of future outcomes.  What we aim to do at STA is to provide that experience and analysis so that you can avoid some of the common trading pitfalls and accelerate your learning curve.

Wishing you all the very best in your trading endeavours!

The post May 29th Day Trading Recap: +20.25 Points – The Market is Back with a Vengeance! appeared first on Samurai Trading Academy.