I wouldn't dream of trading ES while backstopping each contract of my position with only $8k. ESPECIALLY with equities at all time highs and VIX at ridiculous lows.
IB is probably the most strict futures broker out there. They constantly change their margin requirements and autoliquidate margin calls in minutes sometimes. There are much less strict brokers out there that are better suited for smaller account sizes.
I personally don't understand this either. Everyone talks about the risk to IB, which is fine, but what is the risk? Each ES contract is $50 per point. That means that if you lose $1000, you have lost 20 points. Obviously during RTH, it takes a while to lose 20 points, even during major news breaks, etc. Overnight, clearly the biggest issue is the Friday close to Sunday open. If we look at historically what has been the gap, I think I'm hard pressed to see anything more than 100 points. I wasn't trading 9/11, but that is about the worst case scenario I can think of. I don't have access to those charts, but if anyone can help out, what is the gap from close to open of when the market was halted? A 100 point drop in the ES would represent a $5000 loss, so having a margin of 8k would cover them, but I guess this is getting close. Is a 100 point gap open realistic? Based on where ES is now, a 10% drop would be 230 points, and hence, a 5% drop would be only 115 points. I guess in a way, this is perhaps their risk, and a 5% gap down open is a possibility. The gap down open, if its more than 160 points, would equal a loss of $8k, which is exactly the minimum amount in your account. Anything more than this, and IB might have to be using their own money to cover your losses unless they can get it back from you.