It's mentoring if he's walking you through your trades in person and you're able to see him trade in person in front of your own two eyes. I'm just not a believer that someone can mentor another trader via online because most trading problems can only be caught in person by someone sitting side by side next to you. Simply, ask your friend to visit you during trading sessions and use online as follow-up to whatever it is you've learned in person. By the way, there was a poll once taken several years back about the top 5 reasons for failure at day trading (about 1500 traders took the poll)...discipline problems, lack of trading plan, improper trade environment, improper trade instrument and money management problems. I think risk management was listed as a sub-group of money management. I was a little surprised that under-capitalized wasn't in the top 5 as a reason but your rule 1 contract per 20k for the Eminis is a good start for capitalization...enough to get your feet wet, experience a few small drawdowns and then hopefully right the ship. I don't think you should be concentrating on how much money you've determine you "can" make. Instead, concentrate on having a complete trading plan so that you can consistently execute your trade method. Concentrating on profits at this stage so soon is a red warning sign as a discretionary trader unless you're talking automation trading. If you do everything right and avoid the typical reasons for failure, the profits will soon follow and that's when you can then talk about profits.
I do want an LLC though, even if it will cost more, because I don't want to commingle my personal finances and investments with my business activities. Professional status will let me deduct my losses (if I choose to elect MTM accounting, but then I'd have give up the 60/40 tax treatment), commissions, exchange fees, NFA fees, Internet connection cost, and educational fees.
If your trading reversals / continuations via Heiki Ashie then YM or DAX are likely your best bet. This is how I trade pretty much, NQ and ES far to choppy, you need market that can and do go 50-100pts off of a 6SL say.
The TF-Russell 2000 trends best...That being said it can also be the most dangerous index to trade, not liquid in the overnight, violent, fast price swings and your going to have to use wider stops than the others but, probably the least amount of bots
How about you start trading 100 shares of SPY and prove yourself for a couple of months you can be consistently profitable? Then move on to the ES?