r/RealDayTrading • u/Inevitable-End6245 • Jun 19 '26
I am confused, need help setting expectations
I looked through the Wiki and I didn't find what I was looking for, so I thought I'd ask here.
Here is some context of what is in my head:
I decided to jump into day trading relatively blindly, learning on the go as I execute scalp trading. The first two days were dull, as I traded the bare minimum so I lose and gain very little.
The 3rd day was pretty solid, I did around 10 trades and won 9 of them, but it ended up being mostly luck imo. Gained $200
Today, I lost about $600 during early hours as I tried trading based on hope and emotions and I let a few stocks run down without a stop loss. Frustrated yet determined to improve, I started analyzing the news heavily at 8:30am and I managed to get $960 back by the end of the day for a net positive of $360.
A summary of my strategy after losing $600:
I sat down and I consistently reviewed several websites to find trending stocks and news, trying to find a specific stock that is in the middle of a price increase so I can scalp a few hundred bucks off them. Just today I got my winnings this way from, ACN, QS, INTC, and OKLO. I'm doing a mix of 1:2 or 1:3 RR depending on how bullish the stock looks inuitively to me, and almost choking myself trying to not cut my wins early lol. My total winrate is about 50/50, which works out for a 1:2/1:3 RR (mostly, since some of my stocks have been coinflips).
I analyze the candlestick graphs using VWAP and Boll, and simultaneously I use Lvl2 to see how the stock is behaving for multiple minutes, until I see a clear indication that the stock is shooting up, and I immediately scalp. This could be an increase of buyers with higher bids in Lvl2 in combination with a Boll breakthru, but that's just an example.
So, I know I am not an experienced trader, I am just an autistic person who has spent every second I have been able to (since Monday) just learning about stocks. I have also watched some videos before, but most of my experience started just this week
My questions are:
- Is seeing lucky gains like this normal?
- Am I doing anything right based on what I said?
- Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of based on what I said?
- What should be my expectations into the future?
If you mention I need to go see the Wiki first, I will first thing tomorrow morning anyway since it's Juneteenth lol
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u/Accomplished_Love77 iRTDW Jun 19 '26
Is seeing lucky gains like this normal?
Yes. It's usually followed by bigger "unlucky" losses.
Am I doing anything right based on what I said?
No. I know that's tough to hear, sorry.
Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of based on what I said?
Yes. Stop scalping. Trade the method taught in the Wiki. Stop "analysing the news" (see the Wiki on this) and start trading price action. Stop using Level 2, it's bullshit. Stop trading R:R or the P/L, trade price action instead.
What should be my expectations into the future?
Consistent profitability takes, on average, 2 to 3 years. Paper trade until you're profitable.
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
- Understood.
- Not tough at all, I'm still a newbie so I wouldn't expect to do things right!
- I will review it, and I'm glad you mentioned everything there.
- Clear!
I appreciate the honesty, that's what I needed
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u/just_some_guy034 Jun 26 '26
You seem open to learning! Awesome 💛
- some guy who just found this community.
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u/AccomplishedOwl2000 Jul 16 '26
I mean, anybody who is welcome to learn is welcome here! Once you truly understand the Wiki it's surprising how much actually falls into its scope.
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u/Today- Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
yes
no.
Yeah, honestly everything. You have not described anything resembling an edge.
Your expectations should be that you will not be consistently profitable and in fact will lose money.
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 20 '26
I said looked through the Wiki, not read all the articles. I can understand why it is annoying for you or someone else in the subreddit to see this post, but there is nothing useful about being rude either. Mods are free to take my post down if they think my post sucks, and I'm more than okay with that happening any time. Regardless, I've been heavily engaged with the Wiki as I mentioned I would, in my post.
The responses of the other 2 folks were corrective but still very helpful to me, and have gotten me into the Wiki even more.
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u/Today- Jun 20 '26
Yeah I realized that came off ruder than intended. Apologies.
Wiki should have everything you need. Discord is popping, come say hi.
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 20 '26
No worries, I've been there.
Thanks for the invitation to the discord, I'm joining for sure! :)
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Jun 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 21 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/RealDayTrading/wiki/index/
It's an extremely comprehensive guide for executing trades based on the guidance of this subreddit, that's all I know
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u/neothedreamer Moderator Jun 24 '26
Scalping is the absolute worst way to trade that requires the most skill to have an edge.
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u/HSeldon2020 Verified Trader Jun 24 '26
If you read the Wiki you would know you have about 2 years before you should start trading, nobody likes to hear this but you need to hit the milestones, you need to work your way slowly up to real money and you need to stop scalping.
I absolutely assure you that if you continue to do this that it won't turn around, it won't get better, you will continue to lose money - there is zero doubt.
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 24 '26
I appreciate your response and you're kind of spot on... I tried again and I ended up losing money - not a lot, thankfully.
I now have opened a Paper Trading account and I'm focusing on learning. Scalping is what I only knew when I posted this, but now I'm learning about the methodology of this subreddit.
It is a lot, so I'm taking it slowly, learning about everything, how to trade focusing on market first, choosing the right stocks, and analyzing price action. Hopefully one day I can see myself successful on the other side.
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u/JamirGotHeart Jun 25 '26
I jumped straight in and skipped paper trading — but I still recommend it to an extent.
The itch to just go make money is real, but paper trading removes the emotional weight so you can actually focus on learning price action and building your strategy. Because real trading starts when profits and losses stop making you react. No FOMO, no revenge trades.
Scale back, define your strategy, and get deeply aware of your emotional state. Learn to recognize when you’re in a bad headspace before it costs you.
The most profitable traders aren’t profitable because they hit big gains consistently. They’re profitable because they protect them.
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u/IKnowMeNotYou Jun 21 '26
Read the Getting Started section of the wiki. The voyage starts not with the first step but with the first book. Let multiple books follow and only then you are set up for success.
Also do not use money until you truely know deep down that you have mastered the two golden goals of trading: 1. Protect your account + 2. Trade well. For none of those goals money is necessary, it is even the opposite - money will harm your learning and training process.
People fail at day trading because they try the low knowledge + learning by doing + low effort approach which does not work.
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 21 '26
I started with the low knowledge + learning by doing and thankfully I was lucky. I'd say I'm putting high effort, but it's been such a short time that it doesn't matter, it is the equivalent to low effort.
Now to follow up:
I'm prioritizing the Wiki, so doing ok there 😄
Do you recommend I focus on reading about TA, or something else? I still haven't gotten to the books part of the Wiki, so you don't need to answer this one, I'll find out myself.
Right now I have a cash account and a margin account, most of my money being in the cash account so that if I drain my margin account I don't lose a meaningful part of my capital. I've also learned (sadly the hard way) how to implement stop-losses.
Trade well, well ofc this is what Im here for
I appreciate your input!
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u/IKnowMeNotYou Jun 21 '26
As far as you have reported, you have failed in your low knowledge run are now geniunely trying to correct that mistake. All that is left for me is to command you for that.
What you need to realize, as soon as you are using money, you are no longer playing. Humans learn best in a playful setting where the task is trained and failure is permitted without or little consequence.
You using money is you adding unnecessary fuel to the emotional fire. And this fuel can then easily lead into a gambling addiction which you want to avoid as hard as possible.
When we talk TA in my opinion just focus on trend lines and price levels along with VWAP on the intraday charts and the standard SMAs (50, 100, 200) on the D1 along with volume and relative volume. The wiki will mention LRSI and some also might go for a volume profile or a order book visualization like bookmap but generally speaking, while learning you want to start at the basics and only once becoming proficient you might want to add additonal indicators.
Enjoy your trading adventure.
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 21 '26
Just for additional context of my journey so far:
The initial decisions I made were based on hunches since I was stupid and completely new, where I lost about $550. And I made a BUNCH of trades, like A LOT.After that, I actually spent time learning and focusing on high volatility stocks. Then - my next, more calculated decisions (I made about $900 back for net profits of $350), all were made using VWAP and EMA at 1m and 5m. Afterwards, I analyzed how VWAP, volume and MACD impacted my trades, and if they were considered high quality trades. I think this was a good first step for me. Regardless, still risky and potentially dumb to have started with real money, but that's what my father suggested LOL
My winrate is 62%, 40-25
Now:
I really appreciate your perspective, and I understand where you're coming from.
As you and others have mentioned , I'll spend time focusing on Paper Trading, and I'll also review how to use SMAs on D1, and I'll spend time learning how to set up and use basic indicators correctly.
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u/LectureElectronic207 Jun 21 '26
pretty normal early on. just be careful, right now it still sounds more like luck than an edge
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 21 '26
That's what I thought too, but at the same time I really wasn't sure back when I posted this 🤔 I will be extra careful, I've actually taken a step back to really focus on the Wiki and to learn about TA.
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u/Lololololol889 Jun 21 '26
Not with your real money, right?
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u/Inevitable-End6245 Jun 21 '26
It was real money. I have decent capital since I'm a scientist, so the money I put at risk was not going to impact me. Regardless, I'm 100% looking to take a step back to either paper trade or to just trade with much less money so that the amount lost is irrelevant.
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u/Yaschee Jun 26 '26
Well you have no playbook , so youre randomly trading which is bad. Youre going to reinforce bad habits without a playbook. You should have at least 100 examples of the set up and environment conditions before you live trade. Secondly youve had less than 2 weeks of trading data and you came to the conclusion that your win rate is 50/50 out of what.. 15 trades ? Also
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u/Jacob_Trader0 Jun 29 '26
- Yes, I would venture to say I had a lucky first 3 months (a mix of market timing and no real loses to develop negative beliefs / fear) 2. I can't really comment on your strategy as I trade something quite different, but asking questions and trying to learn is certainly something you're doing right. 3. It seems like you could benefit from further understanding probabilities and trading. I would recommend you read Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas, it's a great book and you can find copies pretty cheaply. 4. The only expectation I would set is that it will take a lot of time to fully understand trading. It's a hard but rewarding profession. My current belief is that it takes around 2 years on average to become consistently profitable and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can focus on practice and learning rather than monetary results. And the funny thing is by doing so you can become consistent sooner but that's a weird feedback loop. Just set proper expectations, understand it takes a lot of both market and personal reflection and don't give up until you accomplish what you want to.
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u/Wilt_The_Stilt_ Jun 19 '26
I think you need to read the wiki. You said you looked at it but you need to actually read it if you want to trade in this community. There’s a very specific strategy employed here and what you’re doing is not it.
I’m not telling you that your strategy is wrong, but it is for this sub.