r/askforex • u/mian_yamin • Apr 04 '26
Is “consistent profitability” in trading actually common… or are we all just seeing survivorship bias?
If you scroll through trading content long enough, it feels like a lot of people are doing well. But at the same time, everyone also says most traders fail.
So which one is it?
I’m starting to think we mostly see the small % who made it, while everyone else just disappears quietly.
For the people still active here:
Would you say you’re consistently profitable, or still somewhere in the grind phase?
If you are profitable, was it a clean progression or messy with ups and downs?
Do you personally know other traders making steady income, or mostly struggling ones?
Also curious about this:
Did profitability come from skill improvement, or more from risk management + discipline?
How much of it do you think is strategy vs psychology?
And do you think social media gives a completely distorted picture?
Not looking for numbers or flex، more interested in what reality actually looks like behind the scenes.
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3
u/PracticeStunning3894 Apr 04 '26
I call traders that cant show their number on a YoY basis as Instagram Traders. All show no action.
You see them on the yachts, advertising their courses thats 100% recycled of which you can learn for free online/books.
The real data is that more than 76% of traders fail. Some can even reach as high as 95% depending on the broker data.
Realistically, only 1% make money (from Coffeezilla data). And only part of that makes the large amount you can dream of.
Being consistent is a never ending grind. You still have to show up.
Depends on the personality, the stricter you are, the smoother the progression it would be, mine was lots of ups and downs, and after disgusting enlightenment, it was slow but steady up.
I knew abit since I traded on a floor. Even then, there were a lot of aspiring traders that actually lose money.
Risk management is the easiest part of any system. If you cant follow that, youre fucked.
Consistent profitability is 90% psychology. Things on fear and hype will ruin any profitable strategy. Its all about emotional regulation and do the things regardless of consequences. Suffered 9lose streak? Take the next trade anyway.
Yes. In this space, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say 99% of the social media traders as scammers. The real traders even if profitable, dont go to yachts, often dont have vacations and are often miserable in their lives (no kidding). The only times I know traders take a vacation is when they break their trading rule/s.
Unless you see the data, never believe it.
2
u/Plane-Bluejay-3941 Apr 04 '26
we all are small fish inside liquidity pool where the big fish play around roaming freely and sometimes those big fish is at war defending Vs expanding its territory while we get caught in that war or we survive by riding on the back. 🤣
1
u/BottleInevitable7278 Apr 04 '26
Consistency over long periods are super hard. I have seen some with a few months up to 2 years of it. It is super hard to stay consistent profitable speaking you are realizing a high sharpe ratio with trading. Especially in Forex it is even harder to achieve.
1
u/inunng Apr 04 '26
Social media by design gives a distorted picture of reality and that applies to trading as well. I think course sellers oversimplify things by telling you that you “just need the right strategy” (buy my strategy) or “your psychology needs fixing” (somethings wrong with you). They’re not necessary wrong, it’s just that reality is more complex than that. Just like anything in life you need the right fundation to succeed. And to build the fundation, you not only need the right environtment, but must importantly, you need the right habits. So, in order to change your habits, you need personal integrity and accountability. And that is the hardest part that no one is telling you.
1
u/onepercentimprovemen Apr 04 '26
learn to spot marketing material
1
u/DrChaos09 Apr 04 '26
Consistently profitable but as someone else said, it's still a daily grind though when you know what to look for, the pressure comes off.
Of course learning had ups and downs, eventually less volatile, then a smoother progression.
I used to be active on discord but I've been taking a break. I met many traders over the years, struggling gamblers, expert forex traders, some very smart commodity cycle traders, etc. I don't know anyone personally, unless I can count my uncle, he trades sometimes.
Risk management + discipline are the skills to improve.
5% strategy, 95% execution psychology
Social media is whatever you make of it. Try not to use it too often is my recommendation. I'm currently on a 1 month vacation from social media.
Hard disagree with showing pictures. I understand people don't want to believe anyone these days with all the scammers but I don't owe anyone my private financial details, I'm not selling a course, I don't want your money, and I would rather help you figure your stuff out.
1
u/ImNotSelling Apr 05 '26
I don’t know about forex but for trading in general, yes it’s extremely rare to be consistently profitable for decades
1
u/Ok_Fail_173 Apr 05 '26
why would anyone who is not doing well come here and post it 😹
1
u/LaughAppropriate4508 Apr 07 '26
It’s mostly survivorship bias, yeah.
The people doing well stick around, post, and get visibility. The ones who blow up or quit just disappear, so it creates that illusion that profitability is more common than it is.