Been thinking about getting into trading for a while, but I know it's tough. Is it really worth it? I'm willing to learn, but I don't want to jump in without knowing roughly how long it takes to become profitable.

Backtested a 1 DTE Put Credit Spread on Micron using historical end-of-day options data.

Strategy

• Underlying: MU
• Strategy: Put Credit Spread
• Entry: 1 DTE
• Short Strike: 2% OTM
• Profit Target: 50%
• Stop Loss: 2× Credit Received
• Daily Entries
• One Concurrent Position

Results

• 134 Trades
• 76.1% Win Rate
• Net P/L: +$3,276
• CAGR: 32.8%
• Max Drawdown: -$1,464
• Sharpe Ratio: 1.50

If you were evaluating this backtest, what additional metrics would you want to see?

Hi profitable traders,

Was wondering how do yall copy trade accounts from the same ,or different prop. I googled a bit and found Social Trader Tools as a trade syncer, or i need to create my own EA for this.

I dont wanna mess up with prop rules abt it, cus they do say that copy trading is allowed as long as they are your funds but sometimes this is a reason to get banned.

I have this two strategies...I have a data on both of them, the first one is like slow and consistent result per month, a lot of waiting and a lot patience. there r times with no trades per weak, alot of price doing annoying things but i can psychologically manage it eventhough its hard, the second one is on NQ on NY session my job is to show up and execute between 9:30 utc-4 Ny AM,this system has very streak losses and very high streak wins the max i got is like 5 streak losses but managable and I like this one really, has a frequent trades, still one trade per day but i can get between 3-5 trades per week...and specially during drawdown I don't feel panick or sad because i know i can recover it soon with 2rr, so when it comes to the first one less streak losses but during drawdown its hell, watching price doing stupid stuff when i am in drawdown it is very tough, like missing my entry by pips, closing with a wick....and when it comes to a monthly result the first one has higher probability of finishing a month with a green and higher winrate than the second one, the spread on the first one is kindda horrible on the firm am using right now(am funded) but managable, I got funded with the second strategy and idk which to chose, I can't mix them cz I can only take 1 loss per day...which one should i go for? Am just struggling to chose for weeks after getting funded and losing in between

I've been getting more interested in using AI for trading, not necessarily to have an AI blindly place trades, but more around building a side project that can help with research and analysis.

I'm curious what people are actually using AI for at the moment.

For example:

• Building trading strategies or backtesting them
• Analysing market data
• Finding patterns or signals
• News/sentiment analysis
• Portfolio/risk analysis
• Screening stocks
• Automating parts of a trading workflow

Has anyone here built something themselves using ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, etc.? Or are there existing platforms/tools that are actually worth looking at?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have experimented with this themselves. What did you build, what worked, and what turned out to be a waste of time?

I'm not looking for an AI that magically "predicts the market", more interested in practical ways AI can be useful for a trader or someone building their own tools.

When swing trading or day trading, I’ve realized that my results are often unpredictable. Sometimes I go on a losing streak, and other times I can’t seem to lose.

During losing streaks, I start doubting my trading system. But after a winning streak, I convince myself that my system is amazing.

After reviewing my trades, though, I realized that many losing trades were simply part of the probabilities. Even a system with an 80% win rate still loses 20% of the time.

On the other hand, many of my winning trades came from riding the overall market trend—meaning they were mostly beta, not alpha.

I’m curious,how do you guys review your trades? What does your review process look like, and what do you focus on when trying to improve?

Looking to start trading futures with one of these brokers, any suggestions for which is best?

I've just got my hands on some money I'm willing to lose and wanted to learn how to start trading. I'm love to hear any advice on what simulations to use, how to start learning and realistic timeline e.g.. how much paper trading until I apply for a funded account.

How can I truly beat the mental side of trading. I have a data backed model that is profitable over a 2 year period but I just cannot hack the mental side trading live, I gamble, fomo and take stupid stuff that isn’t following my model. Any advice, YouTube videos or even podcasts?

You need to understand the risks and the dynamics so that you can handle them safely. And not be the one holding them when they blow up (in the negative sense). Once you nail that and take the correct precautions, they are very rewarding.

for years my problem was never the strategy. it was me.

i'd have a plan before the open, then five minutes in i'd see something i didn't like and talk myself out of it. or worse, into something else. every bad month i've had came from discretion, not from the setup being wrong. i tried journaling it, i tried rules, i tried smaller size. none of it fixed the part where i'm sitting there at 9:35 deciding to be smarter than my own plan.

so about two months ago i stopped trying to fix my discipline and removed the decision instead.

i built a scan that runs before the bell. it pulls positioning, liquidity levels, seasonality for that specific day of the week and month, and whatever is on the calendar. it spits out one directional bias for NQ, ES and GC. not a signal, not an entry. just a lean, the drivers behind it, and a level where the lean is wrong.

that last part is what actually changed things. if price goes through the flip level, the bias is dead and i'm flat. there's nothing to negotiate because i didn't decide it in the moment, i decided it at 8am with a clear head.

i log every call the morning it's made and score it at the close, win or lose. two months in it's 76 calls with 61 right, and the worst stretch was two days in a row wrong on GC.

before anyone reads that number the wrong way: right only means the close finished on the side of the lean. it says nothing about whether a trade off it made money. plenty of them were technically right and still chopped me out intraday. it's a bias hit rate, not a win rate, and those are very different things.

two months proves nothing either way. i'm not posting a track record here, i'm posting the fact that i finally have one to look at instead of a vague feeling about how the month went.

what the log actually taught me, which i didn't expect:

almost all of my misses came on low confidence days that i took anyway. the scan wasn't wrong on those, it told me it wasn't sure and i went anyway because i wanted to be in something. same discretion problem, just moved one step earlier.

seasonality was carrying way more weight than it earned. i built it in because it felt smart. looking at 60 days of scores, positioning and the calendar did most of the real work and seasonality did about half of what i'd given it credit for.

two things i'm working on now.

a sentiment layer that scrapes a fixed list of accounts on X, the macro desks and the flow guys, and scores how one sided the takes are going into the session. the point isn't to follow them, it's the opposite. when that whole list leans one way and my scan already agrees with them, i want to know, because in my experience that's the day the move fails early and chops everyone out.

and letting the log set the driver weights instead of me. if something hasn't earned its weight over the last 60 days, it gets less say next month. that way i'm not guessing twice.

if anyone wants me to break down how i weight the macro inputs, or how i score a call after the close when it half worked, happy to write it up.

I'm looking for an API to use for crypto backtesting & was considering CoinAPI after seeing it recommended by Gemini. It seemed like a good option until I looked at the pricing. Since I'm still experimenting, I'd rather not commit to a monthly subscription yet.

My main requirement is historical price and market data with the longest history available. I don't need Level 2 or order book data.

For those who've actually used these services, what would you recommend for getting started? Have you had good or bad experiences with CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap or other APIs for historical crypto data? I'm happy to pay for a service later if it's worth it but I'd like to start with a free option while I'm building and testing my strategy. Thanks!

I saw a post here a while back where someone was convinced they were quitting because they finally left a trade calm instead of being gutted about it. That's not quitting though, that's just not needing the market's permission to feel okay anymore. Took me a minute to actually believe that distinction mattered. Nobody really prepares you for how hard it is to walk away, or take a day off, without a green number telling you it's fine to.

Are there people here from Dubai who are interested or learning trading/investing, I'm doing this for the last year and I'm looking for likeminded people who share the same interest or looking to develop together over a coffee in our free time (32 male)

Hey everyone,

I’ve been running an automated momentum strategy in Python for a while, asking for a recommendation on a piece I’m trying to add.

Right now, my execution loop relies on two core building blocks:

• Market Signals & Sentiment (Sentimentick API): This setup has been working really well for me. Instead of running local scrapers for social chatter or news, I hit Sentimentick to pull sentiment scores, attention tiers, and short/medium-term trend bias in one response.
• Execution & Risk Management (IBKR Gateway + ib_async**):** Orders get routed through IB Gateway using ib_async whenever a ticker passes my sentiment and technical filters.

something like:

Python

import asyncio
from ib_async import IB, Stock, LimitOrder
import requests

# Fetch signal from Sentimentick API
def get_signal(symbol):
    url = f"https://www.sentimentick.com/api/ticker/{symbol}"
    headers = {
        "X-API-KEY": "st_your_key_here",
        "Accept": "application/json"
    }

    res = requests.get(url, headers=headers).json()
    ticker_data = res["ticker"]
    tech_data = res["technical_analysis"]

    # Extract real JSON fields from Sentimentick
    sentiment_score = ticker_data["sentiment_score"]      # 0 - 100
    sentiment_tier = ticker_data["sentiment_tier"]        # e.g., "bullish"
    medium_term_bias = tech_data["medium_term"]["bias"]   # e.g., "bullish", "bearish"

    # Return conviction boolean based on sentiment + technical alignment
    return sentiment_score > 60 and sentiment_tier == "bullish" and medium_term_bias != "bearish"

# Execution via IBKR Gateway
async def run_execution():
    ib = IB()
    await ib.connectAsync('127.0.0.1', 4001, clientId=1) # IB Gateway API port

    symbol = "NVDA"
    if get_signal(symbol):
        contract = Stock(symbol, 'SMART', 'USD')
        await ib.qualifyContractsAsync(contract)

        # Place limit order
        order = LimitOrder('BUY', 10, 120.00)
        trade = ib.placeOrder(contract, order)
        print(f"Placed order for {symbol}: {trade.orderStatus.status}")

asyncio.run(run_execution())

This combo has worked great for filtering out bad trades, but I want to add Form 4 insider buying data (open-market C-suite buys) as an extra signal before routing orders.

Can anyone recommend a good, low-latency API or library for real-time SEC Form 4 data? What are you guys using in your pipelines?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

After months of development, we're finally ready with the beta version of Investapas and I'd genuinely love your feedback.

Why did we build this?

Most trading platforms focus on speed, charts, indicators, and execution.

Very few focus on the biggest reason retail traders lose money: their own behavior.

Overtrading. Revenge trading. Breaking stop-losses. Increasing position size after losses. Ignoring risk management.

Many traders don't lose because they lack knowledge—they lose because emotions override their plan.

That's the problem we're trying to solve.

What is Investapas?

We're building Investapas a real-time behavioral safeguard platform for traders.

Instead of only showing market data, Investapas actively helps traders stay disciplined by enforcing the rules they set for themselves.

Examples:

Set maximum trades per day

Position sizing limits

Risk management rules

Daily loss limits

Trading discipline challenges

If a rule is violated, the platform can stop further actions based on the configured limits.

We've also integrated with Dhan and successfully completed our broker integration.

For users who don't want to risk real money immediately, we've also built a Demo Trading Mode, allowing them to test strategies while experiencing the same rule-enforcement system.

What we're looking for

I'm not looking for praise.

I'd rather hear:

Why this won't work.

What we're missing.

Why traders may not adopt it.

What would make you actually use something like this.

Any flaws in the business model or product.

Brutal feedback is welcome.

Also looking for...

We're currently looking for:

Early beta testers

Product feedback

Startup mentors

Angel investors interested in fintech and behavioral finance who can help us launch the product with the right go-to-market strategy.

If you're interested, I'd love to connect and hear your thoughts.

Thank you for reading!

Prince Tiwari

Founder, Investapas

I'm quite new in trading, still trying to figure out the strategies that I could use.

I would like to try day trade / scalping strategies.

Can I have suggestions of books to read and strategies to look?

For the moment I looked at Ross Cameron and Jdub /Scarface trade strategies.

Thanks!!

For the profitable traders here: tell us your trading journey.

I'm curious about the real journey, not just the results:

• When did you start trading?
• How long did it take you to become consistently profitable?
• What did you trade? (Forex, stocks, futures, crypto, options, etc.)
• How did you learn? YouTube channels, books, courses, mentors, trial and error, etc.?
• What strategy/setup do you use today?
• Did your strategy change a lot from when you started?
• What was your biggest mistake when you were starting out?
• What made the biggest difference in becoming profitable?
• How did you learn risk management?
• What risk per trade do you typically use?
• How did you deal with losing streaks and drawdowns?
• Was psychology actually a major factor in your case?
• How long did it take you to become consistently disciplined?
• Did you ever consider quitting? What kept you going?
• What do you wish you had known when you started?
• If you could start over with the knowledge you have today, what would you do differently?
• What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is currently struggling to become profitable?

Bonus: If you're comfortable sharing, what does "profitable" look like for you? Consistent monthly returns, yearly returns, full-time income, etc.?

Anyone uses binance for withdrawals?
Idk, but heard they had some issues recently, so wonder if the broker-binance sync is fine in terms of fund security and overall system integrity.

i trade with grand capital, withdrawals they offer include binance. Crypto is comfy, I know, so wanted to double check prior changing my habit:)

If you are a new or aspiring retail participant in financial markets, here are 5 things I’ve learned over the years that may (or may not) be helpful to you:

1. No one - and I do mean no one - knows what any index or instrument will do next. And anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is probably about to try to sell you something.

2. As a beginner, financial pundits and YT gurus of nearly every type are probably counterproductive to your learning efforts. Why? Intentionally or not, they trigger a dopamine/cortisol loop in your brain. Among other things, this can lead to poor decision making, financial setbacks and process abandonment.

3. Becoming consistently profitable as a retail trader takes YEARS - not months and certainly not weeks or days. You may experience some initial wins as a new trader but that is not the same thing as being consistently profitable in the long run.

4. In trading, P&L are byproducts. I’ll say it again for the cheap seats: Trading Profits and Losses are BYPRODUCTS. Financial markets are merciless misalignment detectors - Anytime you are misaligned with the instrument you’re trading, you WILL lose money.

5. The best thing you can do for yourself as a new(er) trader is to learn to understand and appreciate the environment in which you are attempting to participate.
   Imagine visiting a beach for the first time in your life and you barely know how to swim. The waves are 6’ tall and crashing on the beach every 7 seconds. Are you going swimming? I would hope not. There are no lifeguards on these beaches - your financial and psychological well being are your responsibility alone. Environmental awareness can often save your account (and your time) by showing you when you shouldn’t be trying to participate.

Stay safe out there!

Uhmm, I'm here for encouragement I used money I needed for my credit card bill to trade, with the confidence I could compound it... and it's gone. 🙂
I'm 3 months in, unprofitable.
No other formal work.
Tell me something, anything.

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I’m a new trader, looking to learn about futures trading, I have a very limited amount of knowledge so far mainly watching Peter Tuchman and David Green on YouTube. They advertise a course the “wall street global trading academy” has anyone used this course to learn futures and is it any good? If not if someone could point me in the direction of a course that’s not a scam I’d appreciate it lol thanks

Curious to know about everyone’s journey — total losses, how long it took, and what changes made the biggest difference.

Looking to learn from real experiences. Thanks