I'm personally not a fan of sim/paper trading accounts. Maybe do a little imaginary trading and studying and following the markets in your head loosely...but you ultimately have to jump in for better or worse No amount of playing war computer games can prepare you for the real thing -- they are completely different arenas; Mentally, phsyically, spiritually, etc etc etc
I agree they are two different animals sim vs. live but I think you can learn good routine and habits from sim trading!
I don't have the funds to test strategies with real money. So if they work on paper. Then I move forward with real money. Currently I have a strategy that works, but I have not the funds yet.
So I just read parts of this thread, you're talking about starting with 1k and going for 500K from April 2016 to when exactly in 2017? Which broker are you using? I don't know a single broker that has an Initial Margin of under 1K on the ES. If you are referring to AMP, the "daytrade margin" that they provide on their website is not the initial margin to open a trade in the first place. Initial margin for AMP is the same as Maintainance, so 4200 USD at the moment.
I started with 1K & ended with 1 cent. AMP that's right. You can open 1 ES contract with as little as 400$. However it doesn't hold for every platform. And overnight holdin's not allowed. http://www.ampclearing.com/margins_req.html
Ok now I'm interested - the platform that you chose made the difference? Which one did you take? MultiCharts?
I use X_Trader. But Multicharts should also allows you to trade 1 ES for 400$. The only exception I know to this rule is TTnet. The online version of X_Trader.
16.09 1 000 16.10 2 000 16.11 3 000 16.12 4 500 17.01 6 750 17.02 10 125 17.03 15 188 17.04 22 781 17.05 34 172 17.06 51 258 17.07 76 887 17.08 115 330 17.09 172 995 17.10 259 493 17.11 389 239 17.12 583 859 Currently I have 1K. So Goal for September is met. If I don't find more money off markets till 16.09, Then I'll start to trade 16.10.01 to double it on the market. I'd like to be able to start trading with at least 2K on November. Let's see.
LOL. I'm confused about certain months. 17.08,17.09,17.10,17.11,17.12. You think you can trade with 115,000$ and double it in a month? Try that. LMAO. Okay, jokes aside. Let me help you. The only instruments you must trade are ZF, GE ,ES ,NG ,ZB ,NQ ,ZN ,CL ,ZC ,ZS in the descending order. They have a lot of volatility so your million dollar plus (with margin) trade wont disturb the market even if you enter in a single trade. Always use a lot of leverage. A lot. Source: I did the same thing and made over 1M in a year. I did it by trading a single market, which has reached multi year low. IT'S POSSIBLE,MAN. Trust me. Let me give you a tip. Before trading, watch/read something that inspires you everyday. It makes your mind to control emotions and follow your system. Don't let the losses disturb you emotionally. And MAINTAIN A STRICT EVERYDAY ROUTINE. Let me tell you why. You brain only has limited decision making capacity everyday (Thank you Steve Jobs). If you fill it with a lot of chaos(like deciding what you eat, wear) then chances of loosing your emotional control when you trade is 100%. If you think I'm wrong then try it for a month. You can doubt me all you want. I'll leave it to you. I'm not looking for any approval or to boast. I just wanted to help a fellow trader with big goals.
I actually never experienced it. It's not doubling but 50% every month. I trade ES only. IMHO The best trade off btw Volatility & Liquidity. I have set 2K margin per contract but I'll may widen it. ES absorbs easily 100 contracts during the open, Which would represent 200K for me. So up to 17.10 .. Should be Ok. Plus I use limit orders a lot. Well done That's big goals. True. I've already blown up this journal. But here is my second tentative. I've done it several time in demo ... So my only barriers seem to be psychological ! Your advices are welcome. I agree that the brain is limited. Got to focus on what I can control & what truly matters. No need to waste energy elsewhere. Automate the process. For now I only trade the open and I know what to look for. Just need to keep calm, don't fight the tape, uncertainty. Avoid any expectations, hope, fear & Co. Relaxxxx & Stay aware Thx