It is always good to NOT trade when DISTRACTED, SICK, TIRED and FRUSTRATED in my opinion. Today, as I started my journey towards a funded account with Earn2Trade I found myself stepping away from the computer three different times due to frustration. Anyhow, I am glad to say, that I ended the day positive.
For others out there, I disagree. 1 micro per $10,000 in the account. The volatility is just too great.
Even the worst trader will not let the S&P run 2000 points against him. I mean there may be one idiot out there who refuses to set a reasonable stop and take the hit. Exchange margins are fine for the micro, especially for day trading.
@sstheo thanks for this advice which is solid. Really appreciate it. I have two problems: 1. My broker here in the United Kingdom does not offer paper trading and has very high commissions for trading CME futures. I am looking at USA brokers and opened an account with Tasty Works. Also looking at AMO Global. 2. My main problem is devising a strategy that works. Hence your advice to trader sim is good. Where can I find simpler strategies for futures beginners to use and build upon? Many thanks.
AMP Global clearing ( bottom of this page) is used by many. You can fund account in the USA via SEPA ( via Barclays Bank in London) which is cheaper. https://www.ampfutures.com/client-portal/funding-instructions/ Myself, I am trying Trade Station whom you can fund via the bank they use in Dorset ( Sending GBP), both brokers let you use Tradingview charting if required.
"University of YouTube" has THOUSANDS of beginning trading suggestions. WARNING: Learning to trade manually ("discretionary trading") is a long uphill battle fighting the twin demons of fear and greed, and you need to prepare to be terribly frustrated for an extremely long time. When everyone else is selling, you need to be thinking about buying - but making sure you are really near a "bottom." When everyone else is buying, you need to be looking for a top. But not too soon! And then there are the times when you just need to join the crowd in the trends. Now, how do you know which is which? It takes a lot of TIME. And still over 95% of traders never earn more than minimum wage for the hundreds and thousands of hours they invest - and the hundreds or thousands of dollars they invest in education and blown accounts. Or you can just buy an algorithm that gives you signals to follow. But I have not gone down that path and have no idea where to send you. DECISION POINT? Or you can just save your time and money and frustration: Just walk away. No one in this forum will think any less of you if you do. Yes, if you still have hair, you could save much of it at this point! Just walk away? The good traders I know have all spent about 10 years getting to where they are today. Just saying...
I made about $40 today. The whippiness of the market was awesome today, and I should have had $400, but I will take the $40. My real estate business is starting to pick up again. Lest you think I can live on $40, I can't. But I did close on a deal today that has been in the works for 5 months now.
Here is my new table and chart. I am barely hanging on to 1% per day, but again between the holiday and the storm and the real estate deals, I am satisfied. Let's see what the next few days brings.
Done for the day. Commissions have to be taken out still, but I am pretty sure I crossed the $100 mark for the day. Finished in one hour, and now I can move on with the rest of life and work. While my rules allow me up to 5 micros per trade right now, the heightened volatility is keeping me at 1 or 2.