I don't think anyone was actually talking about making a living from such an account size were they? I thought the point at issue was whether one could start there and build it up decently. The point at issue being what it the "critical mass" of a trading account needed to get it into fissionable state, if I can put it in those terms.
You, advfntrader, think it's 10k, and Black Swan thinks it's 1k.
Hi Mike, ADVN,
Quite simply I fundamentally disagree that you need a minimum of £10K in order to trade successfully; particularly trading in the manner most day traders/swing traders do on forex or SB. Further, IMHO any new trader is best engaging with the markets in stages, perhaps over 6 months, whilst matching it to further investment thereafter only if he/she enjoys any level of success.
At no stage have I implied you only need a grand to trade full time, however, the stages I would suggest for new traders would be 500 quid betting no more than 50p per pip, then 1 grand betting no more than £1 pp. If this account equity grows then perhaps the level of trades could be compounded and only then would I suggest imputing more cash into the account; perhaps another 2K. IMHO a total account size of 3K is all that's needed (for a new or intermediate trader) in order to day trade forex and/or SB.
I fully accept if you're going to position trade, or buy options, or ETF's etc then this needs adjusting, but for the simple Northern bloke I am and at the level of development I'm at this can wait.
FWIW this is me; trade mainly of 1 hour charts, take approx ten-twelve trades per day (24 hours) across 6/7 currency pairs/1 or 2 indices. 6-8 win 4-5 lose. Winners av. net retained 30-35 pip, losers 25. My max exposure rarely exceeds a grand, (I always use a stop) and my worst day ever was a loss of 180 quid, and that was when (although not new to trading) I was v. raw and moving over to become a full time day trader.
We can only really speak from our personal experiences I am now consistently profitable, and honestly do not need ten grand committed to the market, or 5K committed and the rest as a 'backstop'.
I will however be moving up to the full fxcm account where the level of deposit to 'sit at the table' is 25K, but TBH I'll be doing that 'cos I'm developing a mean streak, It''ll cost less and the L2 data will move me on, but I don't have to do that in order to become profitable, it's simply the most professional opportunity/solution out there IMHO.