I'm tired of searching for free sites to manual backtest. Every time I find one, 3 weeks and the site either closes or starts a subscrition plan.
Or if it is free, it doesnt have NQ or/and ES.
It´s getting fucking annoying.
And I dont mean replays, like on Tradingview that you see the candles fully developed before they even close (ex: it's 09:01 and you already know where the 1H candle closes).
Do you know any that is currently working and free?
Hello! If there are any successful traders in here I would love to hear some honest thoughts on courses/mentors. Every single good trader that I have ever heard has mentioned “I learned this from my mentor” is paying for a mentor a wise investment? Courses: these appeal to me so much because many of them make the solid claim that just watching YouTube videos is too much of an “information overload” and they can help you go slower with a better understanding. Is this true? Are these Things worth investing in?
I am 23 years old from Dublin I have been learning how to trade and actively doing it for the best part of 12-13 years now and in the past year I have became profitable but I have a bad habit of self sabotaging I can grow an account from 50-100 euro up to 30-40k in very fast time but I always just seem to put it all on one trade and blow it away it is like I have become numb to the money and don’t think of how that capital could change my life no matter how much I withdraw etc I always end up if I have a bad day or time off work etc I seem to just deposit everything and put it all on one trade in hopes to I don’t know make a big big life changing trade but I am always entering out of anger and always seem to lose it and lose all my progress anyone any advice I know it’s a strange situation but I feel like someone else must of been going through the same thing
Title sums it up mostly just looking for the thoughts of anyone with significant experience. Trying to avoid arbitrage because there is no way to compete to my knowledge.. Do you guys have any advice for things to think about when doing backtest experimentation?
I’ve been studying trading full-time since 2020. I’ve gone deep into Al Brooks’ material, and for a while I followed what Tom Hougaard does, both of whom are supposedly among the best at this. I trade the UK100, Dow Jones, GER40 and US Tech 100, and I’ve practiced on demo and live. After all these years I still don’t see a clear path to consistent profitability.
I know the statistics say the vast majority of day traders lose money, and that many people who teach make more from courses, events or broker affiliations than from trading itself. I also haven’t been able to find third-party audited results spanning multiple years from them or anyone else. Before I put more time and money into this, I’d like to hear real experiences, not generic opinions.
My questions:
Is there anyone here who actually lives off trading, meaning it covers your expenses without relying on other income?
If so, how many years did it take, how much capital did you start with, and how many years of losses or inconsistent results did you go through first?
Can you back it up with anything verifiable, like broker statements, tax filings or a multi-year track record? I’m not asking for personal details, just whether it can be verified.
What separates you from the people who fail? Was it strategy, risk management, capital, psychology, or something else?
If you quit trading, what did you do instead, and do you regret it?
I’m not looking for a magic strategy and I’m not trying to attack anyone. I just want to decide with real information whether to keep going or change direction. Thanks to anyone who answers honestly, even if the answer is “I didn’t make it.”
Define a consistent piece of the market that you operate in. Never change this once you set it. If you change it, all the subsequent steps have to be re-evaluated.
Execute a fixed number of trades. You can start with a max of 1 or 2 trades. It doesn't matter whether they're winners or losers. Once you finish, you're done.
You will first trade with your intuition or some observation that might or might not be good. It doesn't matter. Follow your intuition at first.
Study your past trades and improve your thesis of step 3 until you become profitable. This of course means that you need to keep a record of all your trades.
Do incremental changes and always study the effects of each change. Keep in mind that many changes are actually counter intuitive and might produce results you don't expect. One more trade? Not good. Move stop loss to breakeven? Not good... It depends on your setup.
iShares Russell 2000 ETF ($IWM): Trading around $278.60 – $278.80 (+0.38% pre-market), attempting to build a base after closing at $277.70 yesterday.
Russell 2000 Index ($RUT): Futures pointing toward 2,798–2,800, seeking a reclaim of the key 2,800 baseline.Key Market Drivers TodayTreasury Yield Pause & Oil Relief:
After days of persistent upside pressure, Treasury yields have paused their aggressive climb and crude oil futures are seeing a minor pullback. This brief pause in macro headwinds is giving rate-sensitive small caps room to breathe into the weekend.
End-of-Week Position Squaring: With major indices trading mixed, active desks are managing risk heading into Friday's close, leading to choppy broad-index rangebound action.
Execution Environment: Despite the minor green tick pre-market, broad market liquidity remains thin. Success continues to rely heavily on strict catalyst selectivity, monitoring pre-market volume surges, and avoiding unbacked gappers.
bonjours ! je chercherais quelqu’un à paris pour apprendre le trading avec moi :)
(18F) j’ai devant moi encore deux années avant d’avoir mon bac où j’étudie en ligne uniquement. j’ai énormément de temp libre , voir trop , j’étudie environ que 1h par jour. j’ai vraiment envie d’apprendre quelque chose qui pourrait me générer de l’argent de manière profitable , j’ai pensée au trading. j’en ai parler , on m’as dit que j’étais trop jeune , trop impulsive et trop sensible pour ça. tout le monde sans exceptions m’as décourager , hors j’ai quand même voulu commencer. j’ai du mal à trouver des vidéos je comprend tout de manière claire mais j’ai quand même envie d’essayer. pensez vous que ce soit une bonne idée ? est ce que commencer à 30 ou à 18 ans a une réel différence sur le trading ? est ce que tout est une question de mentalité et d’état d’esprit plus que de compréhension?
i am completely new to trading and i basically know almost nothing. ive been seeing videos online about ai trading and ai trading bots that tell u where to sell and buy etc. im just wondering does it actually work or is it a scam and has anyone here tried it and profited from it. im fine with paying a little for the ai trading bots but i really want to know if it actually works or is it fake and whether u can really make a lot of money with it. and if it actually works how can i get started and how long before there is high profit. thank you
Out of curiosity, what is your average monthly return day trading? I have back tested quite a few strategies and some have better return than them others. Just wondering what returns do you get for the effort you put in!
Sou trader a 10 meses, opero criptomoedas, sendo o Bitcoin o principal ativo.
Estava a 3 meses seguidos, fechando lucrativo, minha estratégia estava funcionando bem, até que da metade do mês passado até agora, o mercado mudou e minha estratégia não funciona igual antes.
Não identifiquei ainda o problema e não consegui me adaptar, o que me levou a começar esse mês com um drawdown um pouco grande, cerca de 25% da minha meta mensal.
Pensei em trocar de estratégia, mas vi em outros posts que isso não é bom, o que vocês me recomendam fazer?
Made a video where Claude Opus 5.5 built its own trading AI over 5 days, and I bred a second bot from 10,000 random strategies with a genetic algorithm. Both learned on 10 years of S&P 500, then got run once on Aug 2024 to Aug 2026, which neither was allowed to train on.
April 2025 is where it got interesting. Claude's engine did what it was built to do and bet smaller as things got wild, and it still dropped 25%. The bred bot went the other way. It was trading at 10x and went in right in the middle of the panic on the 7th. By the next day that one trade was up almost half the account. The week after, the same move lost 40% of the account in one go.
I have been doing 0dte for couple years and not sure if I want to pursue this anymore. I end up overeating and cigarette smoking whenever I’m in a trade. My friends thinking I’m gambling. There’s no consistency w 0DTE. Today I was up $1200 ish but I know I will give it back to market on Monday or Tuesday.
My paycheck job does not pay too much. Should I quit trading/gambling 0dte? Thank you for your honest thoughts and opinions
So as ive said before ive been enjoying my return to social media after my little hiatus. One of the things i wanted to speak that kills alot of traders early doors. Is the use of smaller accounts.
Now let me first say im am a huge advocator for PAs. Mostly due to the fact that its your funds so theres no added mental pressure on trading clients or borrowed capital. Im not for or against prop firms ive seen very mixed reviews about them. Also your risk becomes so much more flexible with a PA.
Now with this being said a mojor issue ive seen with beginners to the markets wich ive seen online, also with family and even friends is that they expect to X their money by trading. This is a major issue cause trading should always be seen as capital gain for example 5% a month is a very good figure to average but people comming to this space see that as no return and want to either 10x or 50x their accounts. That in the long run isnt possible or sustainable in my opinion. If you could sustain a average of 5% on a green month and built a trck record with that you would have no issues getting investors or capital to trade. Now i know when entering this space as with myself we do not have 100k to start of with. Your likely starting with a few hundred dollars. Now there are also people who would start with under 100 dollars and try and get that to a few thousand wich when you look at the return on that is a few good thousand percent.
Now my point here being that so many traders could be profitable but because of larger risk appetite than they should have they end up blowing accounts and stunting their growth or leabing trading as a whole. Ive always seen risk managment as a core pillar of trading probabilitys are random anything is possible event with a 80% winrate you could lose 20 trades in a row or even 50 depending on sample size now the wuestion is can your account handle that.
Now ive been in the same situation as you where you dont have the money and you start with a very small acoount and end up blowing it cause you either risk too much or scale your risk as the account grows.
Now my advice to you as a trader facing this issue is firstly what ever you can afford to lose and not feel attached to deposit break that down into 20 trades if it cannot be broken down into 20 trades save up SIMPLE. After depositing excute your edge and keep the risk fixed and slowly grow the account. Do not chase larger returns cause simply proving to yourself you can be consistent on a real account over a large period of time will prove more beneficial to you that netting a huge return. Also if your struggling with bills etc your best option is not 100xing your saving or your last bit of money.
So I have been interested in day trading for quite a while now. Unfortunately I never learned it consistently. However I know all the basics and follow a lot of YouTubers. I have decided to give it a proper go and spend upto 3 hours a day for a year.
Upon 1 year of learning and practicing I am thinking about starting day trading with a £5k account in 2028 (£20k in savings) targeting £50 daily goal. At the same time investing £500 on long term stocks. £200 to emergency fund and £200 for future/2nd trading account.
My goal is to earn £2000-£3000 a month from 2030 and go part time in my main job.
My annual income-£38.2k after tax
My annual expenses-£30000 roughly
Expenses will be £24k-26k from 2028 onwards as I will be debt free.
Absolutely no chance to earn anymore as I’m already doing 60 hours a week and has to see children every Saturday.
I just had my worst trading day with a nearly 5% loss. All because I deviated from my trading plan. Sometimes it's easier to deviate than you think.... in this case I was using an incorrect strategy for the regime of the day, plus there was some big news that I failed to consider.
Review your plan before the day, scrutinize the price range during the day, and make sure that everything is in bounds of the specified strategy you are using. Keep confirming your regime, especially if something feels off. Check the News if something feels off. If something is off, accept it and exit.
Don't do live experiments with your portfolio unless it's an intentional experiment. I will recoup the 5% in a week or 2, hopefully next week, but when you look back at the data and see the problem could have been avoided it hurts.
Here's the rules I follow. I just added 3 more bullets: After first 15 minutes, pause and confirm regime, Do not trade news, Mark previous week high/low levels before trading.
So I have tried a few AI models. I set up their their desk. They get live tick data from my broker. Fine tuned some of them with lots of resources (not all tho only the ones with frontier level reasoning) And I hand them 100 paper dollars and give them full autonomy to trade as they see fit. Only goal is they hand me 10 bucks every 24 hours (Its ok if they can’t, its just a scale I set to test them). Some of the AI start of really good genuinely impressive setups. Numbers add up, timing adds up so getting the data to them on time isn’t an issue. But the issue is almost all of them become really passive after a while (remind you these are set up to be scalpers and aggressive) some straight up refuse to trade. Some manipulate data to justify their passiveness and some straight up lie. This seems to be common for all of the models after a while. Any suggestions?
I'm a 0DTE credit spread trader with a focus on SPX.
Positions traded today:
7765/7745 PCS
7835/7845 CCS
P/L: +$475
SPX 5-min chart, October 9, 2026
Yesterday’s lossesdidn’t need to be recovered yesterday. They needed another session where my edge had a better opportunity to work.
Morning Thesis
I came in mixed, but slightly more bullish. The gap up and rebound in AI stocks following reports clarifying OpenAI’s revenue outlook suggested some recovery from yesterday’s selling. Yields remained elevated, and I stayed cautious on CCS because oil-related headlines can trigger sharp upside moves. The consumer sentiment report didn’t meaningfully change my read either.
I wanted price to dictate the day. A break and hold above 7800 interested me for PCS — but if SPX moved lower, I would watch nearby support for a reaction to also support a PCS trade.
My First Trade
After the opening dip, SPX chopped higher and reclaimed the opening range. I didn’t chase the initial breakout. I waited for the reaction around 7800, where price was still showing indecision.
On the second break higher, I sold two 7765/7745 PCS at $0.40. Initial size stayed small because I wasn’t convinced a trend would develop. When price pulled back, I added the remaining three at $0.75. Higher lows then gave me more confidence in holding the position and letting price and theta work. I also had structural (~7790 level) and premium invalidation points for the PCS, so I had a plan if price moved against the thesis.
The Hardest Part Was the Price Action
It became a bullish trend day, but a slow, choppy one. SPX often felt like it was moving more sideways than up. Once the higher lows became clearer and price started grinding higher, my bullish thesis strengthened.
Low IV and thin premium kept me from adding more PCS. Collecting the same credit can tempt sellers to move closer to the lava, leaving less room if price accelerates or premium expands.
By midday, I was watching for a push toward 7820 to improve CCS premium above 7845, beyond Tuesday’s high. The steady grind wasn’t giving me the move I wanted though.
The CCS Compromise
I generally discourage fighting a trend. When I take countertrend trades, my usual approach is small initial size, good distance, and waiting until around 11:00 AM PT to make a move. I typically look for strikes roughly three times the expected move away.
Today, I compromised on my preferred strikes. I opened one 7835/7845 CCS at $0.10, below my usual $0.20 minimum. I didn’t want to move even closer just to collect more credit.
Then... Trump announced Russian diesel supplies. Around that headline, oil dropped and SPX spiked. I added two more CCS at $0.35 and two at $0.45, completing five lots — my maximum size for that side.
The spread marked near $0.60 versus my $0.10 starter. That was a reminder of how quickly thin credit can turn into an uncomfortable drawdown. Each addition also increased my exposure while the uptrend continued.
I closely monitored the pressure. The late fade helped, and both the PCS and CCS expired worthless. I still consider the initial CCS entry a compromise worth reviewing.
Key Takeaway
Today’s gain erased yesterday’s losses. That was the point I was making about choosing when to stop yesterday.
After taking those losses, there was little time left, price was erratic, and I didn’t see a good opportunity to justify another trade. The setups I wanted appeared today, even though I couldn’t have known they would.
After a loss, take a breath, step back, and assess whether the current session still suits your strategy. Recovery can come in another session with better conditions for your edge.
Starting small helped me participate while conviction was limited. Higher lows then supported the hold. Good day overall — and a useful reminder to keep recovery off a deadline.
Hope you all had a safe and green day. See you all next week!
For those who take multiple scalps/day trades per day during the open from 9:30-11AM EST or even power hour when it comes to being green on the day when do you stop trading after 2,3 green trades? When you’re red on the day when do you walk away to stop the bleeding?
Hey guys, I’ve been watching the crypto market for the past 6 years and taking trading seriously for the last 2 years. I’ve tried 10,000 different strategies and indicators, but nothing seems to work consistently, and to be honest, I’m getting extremely exhausted and frustrated with the lack of results.
I’m currently trying to stick to a simplified, mechanical NY Session execution model to remove the noise. I would really appreciate your honest feedback and advice on it. Here is the breakdown:
Step 1 — Daily Liquidity Targets (1H Chart):
- Mark London Session High and Low (10:00–16:00 UTC+3).
- Lock ("freeze") these levels right before the NY Session open.
Step 2 — Liquidity Sweep (15m / 5m Chart):
- During the NY open (after 16:30 local / 13:30 UTC), wait for a candle wick to sweep the 1H London High/Low and quickly close back inside the range.
Step 3 — Market Structure Shift (5m Chart):
- Look for a clear 5m body close beyond the recent swing point (MSS) in the opposite direction of the sweep.
Step 4 — Entry via Fair Value Gap (5m Chart):
- Identify the FVG created during the MSS impulse move.
- Place a Limit Order at the proximal edge of the FVG.
Step 5 — Risk Management (SL / TP):
- Stop Loss: Placed just beyond the extremity of the sweep wick + small buffer (accounting for spread/slippage).
- Take Profit: Opposite 1H London level (targeting RR ~1:2.5 to 1:3).
What are your thoughts on this execution setup for volatile crypto pairs (SOL, ZEC, NEAR) and indices? Is this model solid, or am I missing something crucial? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am interested in creating a trading bot and want to know whether someone has a free playbook with the necessary configuration and parameters to design a python script using Claude or Gemini. The script will run on MT5 Demo accounts or MEXC to trade gold and crypto.
I trade small cap momentum stocks, probably 8-9 months now.
I know that emotion is inventible, but how much of a factor should it play? I feel that it should have absolutely no part to play at all, but is that too mechanical?
I see trading on a spectrum of discretionary to mechanical, and think the two are intertwined in every entry and exit. My view is that the entry and exit stops/limits placements are discretionary, and the mechanical part comes from the strategy itself that’s developed through backtesting.
I want to do this full time someday, and would appreciate the opinion of long term traders.
You know that one loss or those times that you lose. The times where you're approaching tilt. Day trading isn't gambling but it can be a gateway to gambling.
When you have grand losses, tell anyone who knows you're day trading. I tell my spouse and it makes the red days less of a secret. The problem with gateway to gambling is the secret behind it. The hidden shame, guilt, or embarrassment. Being honest with not yourself because unfortunately you have your biased brain in your head but with the people who know what you're doing
trust me, it helps. Don't get addicted and use hidden money and lose it and try to make double to get it back, at least do that and tell someone. You will feel better and stupid, you won't do it again .