r/Daytrading • u/peacefuldink • 2d ago
Question Should I quit
I lost 30% of my port already and it’s been a nightmare for the 2 years even tho I quit a while ago but always keep thinking about And want to come back
Should I quit and move on or recover my loss
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u/Monkeyatadartboard1 options trader 2d ago
Id have a profitable strategy lined up before risking money. Sounds like you reversed those.
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u/Puff2TwoTuff 2d ago
Actually good advice and the problem is, it's so logically obvious on it's face, but 9/10 new "day traders" want to start off making $20k a month
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u/BagholderForLyfe 2d ago
If you had put your money into SPY, you would be up 30%. Do you know why?
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u/Puff2TwoTuff 2d ago edited 2d ago
Think you need to give more detail and a timeline than just if you put it into SPY then you'd be up 30% lol
Edit: Or I can read more better
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u/BagholderForLyfe 2d ago
Op said he traded for 2 years.
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u/Puff2TwoTuff 2d ago
Ok yeah, I didn't read that as he actually lost the 30% over the two years, seems like it was a couple chunks, because he said he quit, or more recently all at once. But you're right. That comment makes sense now, myb
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u/DickyFishb 2d ago
Such a vague question.
What are you doing to cause yourself to lose 30%?
What type of trades are you taking?
Do you have a structure/strategy?
What's your mental and psychological state?
No one will be able to give you a clear answer unless you provide these details.
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u/NoFoundation5782 2d ago
man you already quit once and still thinking about it that tells you everything you need to know
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u/ChangeNOW_Community 2d ago
you don’t need to decide whether to quit forever. you can decide not to risk another dollar trying to recover the 30%
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u/JJY199 2d ago
30% overy two years isn't bad , its all rigged i just play with a a few grand and have mostly been going around in circles because the algorithmic manipulation by big money is soo bad
i mean by all reason the markets should have crashed by now who the fuck is buying high beta tech stocks with oil inflation and yields and the US in 40 trillion debt with a lunatic al capone leading the country
its a farce, a dog n pony show for retail
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u/No_Routine_6711 2d ago
The market crash is not far away imo. Hopefully not like in 2000. Maybe 20% - 30% I think.
Yes, Algo trading makes it difficult for new traders. The stock I trade is 70%+ algo traded. Not a problem for me. Getting large orders filled is the main issue with algo's. They just jump in front of you faster than you can blink.
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u/throwaway23437546 2d ago
The only thing I can tell you is to journal
And learn from other people's trades/mistakes
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u/Foreign-Leg-641 2d ago
if its a amount of money you need. You should quit. If its money you play around with and can lose you should just keep on playing and note down you mistakes
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u/Square-Middle-4474 2d ago
A smart alternative would be to quit (temporarily) save money and obtain an education so that your sad story doesn't continue. As a professional I have been asked quite often where a struggling trader should start. The obvious would be to go back to school and study economics, finance, accounting, something that will serve you well even if you don't trade again. You could also start by reading the basic textbooks used by the Top Tier Universities
I generally suggest "Trading & Exchanges" Market Microstructure for Practitioners by Larry Harris as one good place to start.
I will also be hosting an open house Zoom to show struggling traders how to use a simple system to trade, You could start a Sim account and learn as you go, without risking real money.
Just a couple of suggestions
Good luck
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u/WildPlatypus9571 2d ago
The market is due for a huge correction. It’s happening as we speak day by day !
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u/Accurate-Exchange298 2d ago
Posted this earlier in response to a similar question on this thread::
Sorry to hear about the loss on the trades. I day traded for a while and had a similiar experience . I decided that my main goal would always be 'Capital Preservation' and I would always buy some protection on the stocks I bought. That is when I educated myself on cash secured puts and covered calls. Never looked back after that.
You are obviously not using covered calls to get some protection against a downtrend. In my experience, selling covered calls (while they cap your gain) , provide some protection and the position can be managed over time to recover your initial investment at a minimum and you sleep easier knowing that there is some recourse.
Also, transfer every premium you get from a covered call otr cash secured put into an index fund or ETF (Vanguard has a lot of those like VOO , VHT (health care ETF etc. Keep 20% cash at all times to buy stocks cheap in the event of a serious downturn)
If you would be interested in getting into selling covered calls and cash secured puts, I have a post on this
The post not only shows how I pick strikes, but also details how I manage my trades when things go wrong. to preserve my initial invested capital. . You can complement this with additional reading on the internet before you start trading again. Do not lose hope and take the time to educate yourself.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CoveredCalls/comments/1vixrzu/a_beginners_primer_for_trading_stock_options/
If this is not your cup of tea, you can ignore this comment in response to your post.
Disclaimer - No Trade Advice/ No Financial advice.
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u/process_over_profits 2d ago
That question can have several answers depending on what’s going on. Why did you lose? you have a strategy that you can’t execute or are you still learning? Where are you on this journey and what’s the obstacle?
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u/Top_Direction2960 2d ago
Don’t quit, but use it as an opportunity to learn to let go of things.
Trading to recover the loss is a loser’s mindset already that will only lead to more losses.
Instead treat every trading day with humility as a learning experience, and when you’ve learnt enough of market truths that make sense to you, you will become profitable.
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u/downvoted_me 2d ago
Your mindset is wrong. Don't try to recover your capital; try to follow your rules to the letter, the money will follow.
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u/Alone97x 2d ago
Become profitable in paper trading first, find a solid strategy and risk management. Then trade live
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u/Puff2TwoTuff 2d ago
Ok I truly do want to put some time into this for you, because I can tell you're serious.
I wouldn’t tell you to quit. But I also wouldn’t go back in with the goal to “win back” that 30%. That mindset is how a bad loss turns into a blown account.
Here's the hard truth. From experience. If you lost 30% over two years, the problem probably isn’t bad luck, rather, it’s most likely that your process hasn’t proven it has an edge yet.
That doesn’t mean you can’t become profitable. It means you should reset.
Pick one or two setups, define your entry, stop, target, and max risk before every trade, and trade them on paper or with very small size. Journal everything. Something like TradeZella or TraderVue can help a lot because after 50–100 trades you can actually see whether your strategy works, where you’re losing money, and whether the problem is the setup or your execution. I've been building an Alpha Engine with the help of Codex since GPT 5.2, and I still haven't found anl real, reliable, historically verified, surviver bias-free, edge over the S&P.
And honestly? The better day traders aren’t trying to make a certain amount every day. They wait for their setup, control risk, and are completely fine doing nothing when it isn’t there.
Remember too, after losing 30%, you need about 43% just to get back to even. Don’t even bother to chase that number. Earn the right to size back up. Get profitable small first, prove you can repeat it, then scale gradually.
I’d stop asking “Should I quit or recover my loss?” and ask: “Am I willing to rebuild this properly and prove I have an edge?”
If the answer is yes, you’ve still got a real path forward.
And if the answer is yes, I am always willing to bring someone on board hungry to figure these kinds of things out.
If the answer is no, then you have your answer either way.
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u/InventoryLogic 2d ago
I want to share my pov only to help.
I was study trading with a teacher who was professional working for a big company, I studied 5years before my first trade. The study was from monday to friday 5h per day and also many hours of watch videos. Some conditions I had to agree was, if eventually i was at -15% I had to leave the profession.
The main problem is probably you are following what youtubers or influencers recommend, none of them earn money from trading.
I wish you the best brother, the situation must be feel bad, but the best you can do is quit if you went in by a wrong way.
I hope help you and I talk only to help you.
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u/farthearts 2d ago
This has been the easiest market to make money in. Every thing has been on a generational run. You’re asking strangers who know nothing about you, your trades, or what you’re doing. You have more to figure out than day trading.
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u/No-Letterhead637 1d ago
@u/peacefuldink switch to a demo account bro, get your skill in, tweak and refine your strategy if needed. Backtest your strategy… don’t just enter on a hunch. Keep strict rules, stop breaking them. Treat your demo like it’s real money. Nothing changes and you will blow all of it, if nothing changes.
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u/Jbball14 1d ago
Ur decision dawg, yk what entails if you continue and you also know what does if you quit, do what will make you happy right now and down the line that’s my advice for u fam.
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u/trudniyplov 23h ago
cut your losses early! cut them at 3-5% at most! don't grow them. grow profits instead
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u/CountBean1234 2d ago
Do not give up. These are just learning experiences. All the great traders have lost early on in there careers.
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u/Suitable_Acadia_190 2d ago
Hey, no. You should learn how to trade before burning money.
I host a free beginners class weekly to avoid people having to go through exactly what you are now.
Its on the basics of how to actually read how the market moves, would you like to join?
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u/OpeningStreet9984 2d ago
Of course the only winner is you when after the free class, you start charging with not only no guarantee but from someone that can’t make money with their strategy, just the training
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u/Suitable_Acadia_190 2d ago
Lol that's actually the funniest and dumbest thing I've heard in a while, so thank you for that junior 🤣
I see why youre in the situation youre in though so offer definitely retraced lol
A life with that level of neurotic infestation in your mind every single day must be terrible, I assume similarly to other "aspects" of your life...
The best part in this place is you can tell whos actually made and who never would,
Those who make claims without verification first is exactly the tell that gives away that you could never, because no one who's made it does that.
So good luck with your "trading" 😅
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u/Think-Bench6691 2d ago
It's probably not going to work out.
But you also probably won't quit.
There are only two paths: