It seems I am in a see-saw with the YM and ES. Up a couple of hundred and then down a couple hundred. I was doing fine on Friday and Monday, rest of the week was very chopping. Is this normal in futures land?
If you don't know if this is normal, then you haven't backtested your strategy. If that's the case, then you most definately shouldn't be trading it. You should know what to expect before you begin. -Raystonn
I've been net profitable since my first trade. Of course that's no guarantee of success. If you have a great strategy that makes money consistently, you're ahead of others.
I'd say *Normal* in futures was to lose most of your account. So hanging in there at even, ain't bad. Typical behavior, and damn hard for anyone to avoid imho, is to make a couple bucks, think you have a profitable system, then trade too big. Yep. You guessed it - destruction. Even if you do have a profitable system chances are you'll never know, if you trade too big. Negative account equity swings happen to everybody. Don't let them take you out of the game. Good luck.
Just was curious to see what others had been doing. Earning a a fair amount every day. Only one down day out of five. Still the first week, next week should be an interesting roller coaster.
Are you serious? Are you trading real money? (yes, it makes a huge difference). Most people blow an acct or two before becoming profitable, unless they were already making cash in equities, etc. The learning curve is harsh enough that usually people run out of money before they get consistent. Took me YEARS to get consistent. And I worked at it full time. You are WAY ahead of the curve. Jay
Been in equities since 96. Always wanted to do futures, but was always scared. The only reason why I had that losing day was because I hit the sell button instead of buy. Still getting used to the Trade Station system. What I do like about futures is the ability to get out of a position relatively fast. Still learning, but starting to get the hang of it. In January, I did use a simulator; but since Feb 1, I've been using real money. It is definitely a different experience when using real money. With a simulator, you just do not get the same feeling. Only trading one or two contracts. It will be a while before I go higher. There still is a possibility I could get nailed if I go long in the wrong way. Shorting seems to do better, but again, still very green. A completely different beast than stocks. I do find it enjoyable though.
Comptalk, Even though you've only traded for five trading days... Your doing good so far with only one losing trading day as long as you've been sticking to whatever trading plan you have. As someone already hinted...your ahead of most in similar like situation. Congrats. Also, if your asking if the market is normally choppy like this for the past week of trading. The answer is YES and your backtest or historical data analysis should have told you what the week was going to be like. It should have also told you what to expect with high probability when a major geopolitical event starts. Mark