EXACTLY - EXACTLY - EXACTLY !!!!! SOMEONE GETS IT, THANK GOD intelligence ON ET DOES EXIST - I AM NOT ALONE... i can stop yelling now that i have found life on the planet i geuss. also note its not the d@mm money its the passion - passion makes money doing anything!
Pork.... You (I don't believe) haven't stated any type of trading method. If it's quick in and out stuff of scalping, well, recognize that it's the HARDEST of all trading to accomplish, especially when you're just starting out. Not saying you can't do it, but it's damn tough, especially if you're trying to teach yourself by trial and error. One thing you should do (if you're not scalping), is stop trading the emini as a single contract and trade 100 shares of the same ETF. Watch the charts of the emini for your entries but actually trade 100 (or hell, 10) shares of the ETF (Not ES but SPY - not NQ but QQQQ etc.). That'll help with the losses. They aren't exact of course, but in learning mode right now, you do need to have real skin in, but the lightest amount of skin is the best.
I wanted to thank everybody that contributed to this forum, and more importantly to those that contacted me privately. I think its time for me to move on. I will hold my head high. Good luck to all, Porkchop
How can you expect to trade the real thing well if you can't even trade it well on paper without any risk? something to think about. If you want to keep learning with real money, moving from the ES to the SPY might do you some good. You have a long ways to go, there are no short cuts in this game.
Why are you trading futures? Stocks are 100x easier. There are hundreds of liquid markets that move each day, why compete with the best traders in the world in sif's when you can just compete with all the other wannabe's watching cnbc for trading ideas.
This is because smart people tend to be more inclined than dumb people to want to pursue higher education, thus it's natural that if you take 10 people who only graduated highschool and 10 people who have college diplomas, the college graduates will be less superstitious and irrational and more capable of "outside the box" reasoning, if you will. It's not college that gives people that capability. While there are very real correlations between educatation level and income and education level and intelligence, correlation is not causation. Smart people will tend to go to college, but for some people it truly isn't necessary. Obviosuly if one has issues with grey areas and cannot be logical and rational or see outside his belief system, going to college might help him learn some of those skills. I think trading has given me a better education than college could have, because it has taught me humility, discipline, patience, and self sufficiency. It forces me to really understand and be comfortable with emotions, and be aware of behavioral patterns that might cause me to make decisions that aren't in my own best interest. Trading encourages the development of emotional intelligence skills, which, while some people naturally "have" more than others, most people lack... college graduates and highschool dropouts alike.
Albert Einstein: self-taught physicist; formulated both relativity theories and won 1921 nobel prize. At age 15, Einstein dropped out of school, but he eventually earned a Ph. D. in physics. He took - and failed - the college entrance exam. After some remedial nonscientific study, he passed the exam. Once in college, he seldom attended class. Instead he studied the works of the masters on his own. Hence, he largely was self taught. He agreed with the wit who said, âEducation is that which remains, if one has forgotten everything he learned in school.â Einstein also said, âThe only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.â
Okay, Yes, I maybe a little stubborn (stupid or crazy) but in my temporary moment of weakness I reconsidered my direction and stayed in making changes to my strategies and getting advice where I could. I am still here, and the losses have been lessened making for some progression. Granted not black, but progression is progression and I am taking this slow. Any step towards profitability is a good step. This will be my life, one way or another! Porkchop
Listen to blumartian. Forget the futures. The stocks are much easier where at least you have a chance. You probably have to learn this stuff on your own like the rest of us did.