favorite futures for day-trading quants

Discussion in 'Trading' started by stevenpaul, Nov 5, 2009.

  1. all markets offer the proper risk reward

    ( some however do not have proper size for small specs
    and are meant for whales )

    all bots chase each other in all markets

    like this * note the smooth order flow *

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8yGGtVKrD8

    :cool:
     
    #11     Nov 9, 2009
  2. NoDoji

    NoDoji

    I've been sim trading CL for weeks now, using a 5 min chart, long HL's, short LH's. I'm amazed at how easy it is to trade and how gratifying those quick moves are. However, I haven't started trading it in the live account yet because of how quick those moves are :D

    Tom, what time frame do you trade CL and how much wiggle room do you allow with your stops?
     
    #12     Nov 9, 2009
  3. pt199

    pt199

    someone please enlighten me on the EMD. What futs market handles this and how much per tick?And what kinda daily vol. are we looking at? Thnx
     
    #13     Nov 10, 2009
  4. i trade it every day

    i don't give dam what asset it is i am trading and never bothered finding out
    only trade 1 or 2 lots 10$ per tick


    some rare times i traded 4 if things look really good
    it is most slimier to the old ER2

    i would say that for small timers it is absurd to think about your size your fills will be at least as good as the ym or nq


    daily vol is about 40 k
    so it is not good for the high rollers
    i trade it because i find it to be the smoothest - by far. it is so much less difficult then the es
    i think for some traders it can be the difference between making it or not
    if you are struggling with the big contracts you owe it to your self to give it a try
     
    #14     Nov 10, 2009
  5. sorry, what is EMD ?
     
    #15     Nov 10, 2009
  6. NQ, DAX, CL in that order.
     
    #16     Nov 10, 2009
  7. emdz09 out of the cme
     
    #17     Nov 10, 2009
  8. I trade fairly short timeframes. 500-1000 ticks on the ES and 200-400 ticks on the CL, depending upon volitility and trend. I also watch a chart at 3-5 times higher time-frame for context. I trail 2.5 ATR stops in both markets. I could probably use a closer stop on the CL because there is very little backwash compared to ES.


     
    #18     Nov 10, 2009
  9. NoDoji

    NoDoji

    Thanks, Tom. "Backwash", I like that, ha! I think that's why I've found CL so easy to trade.
     
    #19     Nov 10, 2009
  10. I have a love/hate relationship with the ES. When it's trending, it can be traded rather well but when you get caught up in the games that are played at S/R levels it can be downright awful. I tend to find the ES just a bit much for me unless I'm trading a slower chart and it's a nicely trending day.

    As for the other indicies, I traded YM for a short time but wasn't a fan. It was pretty slow and didn't seem to have the quality of moves like other contracts. NQ typically doesn't even get a second look; the ES and YM are enough as-is.

    My preference, though, are the grains (ZC, ZS, ZW). I love the quality of moves and predictability of S/R and there is ample volume in at least one of them every day to make it far more worthwhile than being part of the games on the ES. With the amount of news constantly released and weather thrown in to help move up/down, it's a no-brainer.

    I think what I also like most about it is that they're physical products and the laws of supply/demand are a lot easier to understand/apply. Rain wipes out the crops, you now have lower supply and the same demand, therefore your prices are going up. Higher yield corn crop this year and there's already an overabundance of corn in elevators, price goes down. It's just a lot simpler to trade, for me at least. YMMV...

    bmills
     
    #20     Nov 10, 2009