Day trading systems, everywhere I look I see them on the internet. They offer huge profits with little or no risk but the fact is day trading simply loses money.

Ask any e-book seller for a track record to support their claims that their day trading system makes money and you will normally be met with a deafening silence.

They can’t produce one, because day trading is doomed to failure.

In theory, day trading sounds exciting and profitable:

Hopping in and out the market, taking a few pips here and there and overtime your day trading will make you huge profits with low risk.

This however is not the reality for the following reasons.

1. Currency price trends

Currencies are subject to supply and demand and are a reflection of the underlying health of a countries economy.

If you look at any price chart you will see that over the longer term trends can last for weeks, months or even years.

Shorter term moves tend to be random.

2. The shorter the data the less reliable it is

Let’s take an insurance company when they calculate your life insurance premium.

Ask yourself this question:

How much data do they use?

Do they calculate premiums based upon when say 10 people?

Of course they don’t.

They use hundreds of thousands or more, as the more people they use the more reliable the data is for their calculation.

It’s the same in currency trading:

You can’t anticipate what is going to happen in a day because you simply don’t have reliable data.

It’s common sense really.

Let’s look at another problem.

3. Volatility

Consider a snapshot day in currency trading

Trillions of dollars are traded – that’s a lot of money!

Traders are all trading for different reasons and it is literally impossible to calculate what volatility or price movement will be in a specific day.

Day traders make the mistake of thinking they can.

Stops take them out the market when they least expect it, as volatility rears its ugly head.

Day trading creates risk

Day traders like to talk about restricting risk, but they actually create it for themselves, by trading with stops that are to close guaranteeing they will lose.

On the other hand, they restrict their profits.

The idea is to take profits quickly and move on.

Let’s look at the day trading equation:

High chance of being stopped out + never run profits = loses

The way of course to make money in forex trading is:

Run your profits to cover your inevitable losses.

This is a fundamental rule of trading!

The acid test

Finally, day traders remind me of the old Burger King advert.

When they were looking at McDonalds burgers and insinuating they had less beef than theirs.

“WHERE’S THE BEEF?”

Was the memorable phrase and to be fair McDonalds burgers, at least they had some!

Ask a day trader:

“WHERE’S THE PROFIT?”

And you won’t find any!

Thinking about it

That e-book I was going to buy offering me huge profits for just $99.00 – Might have a Big Mac and fries instead its better value and I get change to.

Not a day goes by without me seeing yet another day trading system with claims that it can make me huge gains. I normally for fun ask for the real track record and of course don’t receive one.

Fact is day trading systems will lose you money as by their very nature they can’t work here’s why.

Firstly

If you are ever considering buying a day trading system ask for the real time track record over the long term ( this means 2 years + ) don’t accept a hypothetical track record!

Let’s see we know the prices in hindsight can we make a profit?

Of course we can!

Anyone can win with a hypothetical track record, there worthless, so ask for the real time record and you won’t get one here’s why.

1. Short term moves are random

The currency markets trade trillions of dollars per day and short term moves within any daily period are random.

You could flip a coin or use a day trading system your odds of winning are the same.

2. Volatility

Is random in short time frames and prices can simply go anywhere.

As most day trading systems bang on about keeping losses small, stops are normally taken out creating a loss.

Furthermore, your chances of losing are greater as the odds of being taken out are high.

3. Day trading systems never run profits

A day trading system keep your losses small (albeit you have massive odds of being stopped out) but they never seem to do the other essential of making money in FOREX and that’s run profits.

Day trading systems normally have short term profit targets and are grateful for any profit they can get.

So what do you have?

Lots of small losses and no real profits to make up for them.

This means you get wiped out and normally wiped out quickly.

The Myth and The Reality

The myth is that day trading systems make money, the reality is day trading is one of the best ways to not only lose your equity, but lose it quickly.

People day trade because they are greedy or simply fools.

When I read a lot of the sales blurb of day trading systems its obvious these vendors have never traded, they make their money selling courses.

They make money from book sales not from trading, so they win you lose.

Saw one promising me 90% successful trades for a few hundred dollars.

Well if I had one of those, would be making millions and certainly wouldn’t sell it I would be to busy enjoying my riches.

Finally

If you want to trade currency markets you can make money, but be realistic and sensible and make sure that you don’t fall for the hype of day trading systems.

If you do get ready to lose your equity and lose it quickly.