I will definetly look into the back testing. My only problem with back testing is it doesn't really account for changes in the current market environment such as volatility, market sentiment, etc. So what happened then my be completely irrelevant in todays market. But it is a good start and definetly worth a look. I like the sim because I can get a feel for the ES, current price action and the sentiment that drives that price action. My sim trading is exactly what I will be doing in live trading as far as size and RM so I don't think the transition to live will be that difficult. Besides I have taken far greater risk trading options then 1 lot of the ES so from a physcological perspective I should be fine. Right now I am trying to get a guage on how many points out my stop should be after the morning rush and absent any events(data). I think 1 or 2 is too close. Right now I am somewhere between 3 and 4. If I average in it would be around 2.5 -3 pts and a total stop at 4 which would give me about 5 to 5.5 pt loss. Nothing is in stone yet. I have a lot more observing to do. I won't be trading at the open for a awhile. I will let the market settle in first. I completely agree with your thoughts on earning your trade sizes. Too many people try to hit a homerun out of the gate (like myself back in the day) or try to average down and get blown out of the water. My thoughts on trading are: 1.)RM is key. There's always another day and another trade. You want to be around for it. Don't try and be a market leader. Follow. When the markets charge, you charge, when the markets retreat , you retreat. This was my biggest problem early on. When I knew I was right and the market was wrong I would stick with my position.. Even when the market figured out they were wrong and changed course , it was often already too late. So in the end, I was wrong.