r/traders

Basically, I'm a 16 year old investor using a fidelity youth account. Over 3 years, I have 870 trades with a 70% win rate. My expected value is 2.2%. I have an opportunity to take a loan with 10% APR and I'm wondering if it's a good idea. I'm confident in my ability, but taking loans out for investments isn't usually a good idea you're I'm dealing with stocks. The loan is from my dad if that makes any difference.

Additional info-

Despite a somewhat high win rate and decent ev, my balance isn't super high. I used to spend a lot and I also made small trades while holding for weeks at a time. I now do shorter intraday trades. This year, I actually have a higher win rate of 76% with the shorter trades. I'm at $3100 and the loan would be 7.5k.

So what do people do to sharpen their skills when the markets are closed? I'm looking for any suggestions people have: specific books, videos, podcasts, etc that I can consume on Saturday and Sunday.

Hi, I'm a freshman in college right now in a health-allied program so my schedule is really tight, hence why swing trading. I've been looking for the past year or so in what skills I could learn while still being relatively young and is helpful in life. I stumbled across trading, swing trading, prop firms, etc.

I've been studying some trading stuff and mindset and been trying to avoid trading gurus since it feels like pollution in my brain everytime i see a guru say this, say that, and I don't think its good for my learning. I plan to polish my strategy (institutional order flow, volume, still incomplete but thats the main premise so far) and do a paper/demo trading journal of 30 trades before starting to see how my strategy holds up on the market.

My questions for advice are:
- In my stage of life, is FTMO's 10k 2-step challenge enough?
I know there are cheaper and bigger accounts in other prop firms but so far, I can see FTMO being the most trustworthy one, even if it's more expensive.

- How much would I realistically earn in a month if I passed?
I know consistency and discipline is more important, but profits and loss is still a big part of trading and I need to understand how much I could earn on a 10k account. Most likely a 1:3 RRR, 0.5 or 1% risk per trade, and maybe 1-2 trades a week, no winrate % yet but a ballpark estimation would be appreciated, it helps a lil bit with the motivation too.

- How would you recommend I backtest my strategy once I have it completed/polished?
I have no background in coding so the 30 trade journal is basically like the only way I can test my strategy.

- Am I being too ambitious getting into this field?
I do have my doubts whether I'm too optimistic about all this. I know trading isn't a get rich quick scheme and I genuinely do want to learn this skill. I just wonder whether I have the wits to push through into all this.

That's about all I have to ask, any more advice would also be appreciated. Please do help this newbie make the right decisions moving forward 🙏

any tips how to trade i’m beginner

Me and my friend are paper trading in hs I am doing it all for fun and for a laugh but he is taking it seriously and according to him he made 1.8 mil paper and he is now taking things too seriously and says he will retire his parents before or after high school with day trading and says he might drop out. I told him my plan in life to go to uni or college and major marketing or some with Business or money and hopefully get a high ranking job and he says I’m the one brainwashed and that this plan doesn’t work anymore and day trading is gonna work. He doesn’t realize how difficult day trading is and paper trading made him think it’s easy. please Let me know what you think about this

Hey guys I need help from u, me and my friend paper trade i do it for fun and he says he’s gonna get funded account and use real money we both are profitable with paper and i keep telling him that with real money it is a different world and that you cant succeed cuz he says hes gonna make millions and buy koenigsegg because he says he’s gonna make a lot. He is absolutely brainwashed and delusional. I just wanted to asked what you guys think abt this.

Looking to connect with experienced traders

I’m interested in learning from people who have been actively trading for some time, especially those who have experience with disciplined risk management.

I had a rough start myself and lost around ₹20,000 while learning. Now I’m trying to understand how more experienced traders approach the market and manage risk.

If you’ve been trading for a while, I’d be interested in hearing:

How long you’ve been trading

What markets you trade

What your risk-management approach looks like

Whether you have any paper-trading results or a documented trading journal you can share

Not looking for signals, paid services, Telegram groups, or promotional offers — just genuine discussion and experience-sharing.

Can someone explain to me how do fees work so lets say i am trading 20k with a 10x leverage so the contract size is 200k so every time i enter and exit a trade how much fees do most brokers take on avg is like a fixed charge or a % and what platform gives u the lowest fee.

Please Help.

I’m a university student who’s genuinely interested in learning how to trade and understand financial markets.
I’m starting from the ground up, and I’m open to learning about anything that can be traded — whether that’s Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, forex and currencies, stocks, commodities like gold and oil, or other financial markets.
I’m not looking for someone to simply give me signals or tell me what to buy and sell. I actually want to learn the skill — how the markets work, how to analyze charts, manage risk, understand different strategies, and make informed decisions.
I’m willing to put in the time, ask questions, practice, make mistakes, and learn from them. I’m a university student, so I may not have a lot of capital to start with, but I have the motivation and the willingness to learn.
If you’re an experienced trader, mentor, or someone who genuinely enjoys teaching others, I’d really appreciate the opportunity to learn from you.
I’m willing to learn — I just need someone willing to teach me.