Hello all: I have been trading for a couple of months now and am stuck getting past about $500 a day. I usually make $1000-$1500 on a few trades within the hour before and hour after open and then lose much of it during the day and maybe recoup some near the close. My emphasis is on learning to trade rather than making money at the moment which is why I try and trade all day long and don't just quit while I am ahead in the am (after reading Pit Bull I almost feel that I have to put in the hours). I am trading mostly e-minis (es usually 5 contracts), 30 yr. bonds ( US 1 contract) and some stocks (mostly AMZN 2-5K). Right now I am trading a sort of simple system using 1 minute and 5 minute time frame with moving average crossover, stochacstics, MACD, and a little discretion. To say that it is rudimentary and unoptimized would be an understatement. Most of the time I lose money because I try and anticipate the signals. What I have going for me is that I cut losses very quickly and let profits run (I never look at my P&L when in a trade, only price). I have ton of reading left to do and am trying to figure out how wealth labs works so that I can do some back testing. Been reading "Candlestick charting explained" this weekend to see if I can incorporate Candlestick charts in to the mix. Ok, now to the actual question. I have a couple of the Joe Ross books and while I have read about Ross Hook and TTE I haven't internalized them enough to actually be able to use them to trade yet. I noticed that he has a 2 day seminar (the day trading one) and was wondering if anyone here has been to one and has found them to be useful? I am hoping that combined with the reading I am doing, trading, and trying to internalize what I am reading, I can step up to the next level and start to trade more size (and fewer trades, IB is making more money than I am off my efforts , part of which is down to a lack of discipline on my part to wait for the indicators I use to give me good signals ). Also would I be correct in thinking that the smaller ones account, the shorter the trading time frame one needs to focus on, in order to reap significant returns? The reason I assume this is that to trade a longer time frame (which frankly I would rather do) I would have to expose myself to bigger drawdowns that I can avoid when trading 1-5 minute time frames. Thanks for reading, veteran traders I hope my unsophisticated methods have given you a chuckle BTW I have been lurking on ET for quite a while and have learnt an incredible amount from the posters so thanks very much, you guys are an awesome resource.
I do not know much about Joe Ross. However, there seems to be considerable contreversy sorrounding the guy. For example, look at these: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=...=Google+Search&meta=group=misc.invest.futures I believe the latest futures magazine says that he is in Germany giving "training courses" there... nitro
Hey Nitro, I should have known I would get a fast reply from you. I have found your posting to be particularly insightful and as you are checking the boards at this hour on a saturday night I can see that your work ethic is well developed. Yes I had read the controversy and the posts by dottom but Ross does seem to have allot of proponents and I wanted to see if someone who had actually taken his course had found it instructive. According to his web site he is doing a 2 day in Chicago in August that I could get to (followed by a three day on his spread trading which I am not read for yet). BTW I know you live in Chicago (15 mins from merc), I used to live in one of the corn cobs about a decade ago when at NU (traded currencies with a friend at the Merc one summer and did great until I got cocky and blew up). My brother lives in Buckstown.
I happened to check the link that Nitro posted and did a little bit of searching and came up with this post. http://groups.google.com/groups?q=L...elm=01bce0c3$b36c6040$4eda9ad0@hiyield&rnum=1 It dates back to 1997 but I have a feeling is equally applicable to today. Won't help you on the question in hand but I've posted it as it struck me as being something that everyone should read who is considering giving their money to vendors - I'm sure there are reputable ones out there but please make sure you do your due diligence before handing over a cent. For what it's worth Smith's final paragraph is exactly how I feel about the matter. Best of luck.
I think I will give his seminar a miss (doubt it would give me what i am looking for anyway which is a way to accelerate the learning process, sometimes there is just no substitute for time and hand on experience). Getting overloaded with info as it is from all these books. Will keep plugging away and will basically reduce size after 1st hour of day to 1 contract and be more disciplined in terms of which trades to take during the day and hopefully over time will gain the confidence to start to ramp up size. Thanks for the info guys.
Mvic, I recently attended a Joe Ross Day Trading Seminar in Austin and found it to be very helpful for my trading. From what you said, re: being ahead and then seeing your gains eroded in the later part of the session, you would no doubt benefit from Joe's method of trading the Eminis. He recommends trading no more than the first 90 minutes of the session. His seminar presents a very solid method for day trading the Eminis, based on an study of why prices move where they do and the utilization of definable chart formations for entry. He also teaches the use of "time stops" to help retain profits and minimize loses. A significant amount of time is devoted to "personal development" in order to help his students trade at their best. Moreover, unlike other people giving seminars, he not only offers a guarantee on the cost of the seminar, but also allows attendees to repeat a seminar for up to two years for a very nominal fee. These are just a few of the reasons I think you would find Joe's Day Trading Seminar to be worthwhile. You might also be interested in his book "Trading is a Business". This book made a significant difference in my trading. Best of luck.
GregD, I never attended a Joe Ross seminar, but I know a few people who did. The feedback I got so far is all positive. Speaking for myself, I read a few of his books, with "Trading Spreads and Seasonals" my favorite one. I had been trading spreads for a while already, but with the help of this book, I was able to organize my trading a lot more systematically and structured. Not cheap at 150 USD, but worth every cent IMO. Best regards,
Andreas, I am glad to hear about the positive feed back on the Joe Ross Seminars. I have found that his books and seminars provide instruction which can establish a very sound basis for trading, both from the technical side as well as the mental and emotional aspects. Best Regards, Greg
There is a reason hear-say is not admissible in a court of law - it's not reliable. I whole-heartedly disagree with the above posts questioning the integrity of Joe Ross. My personal experience is that he is an honest trader and educator who will not sugar-coat the harsh realities of the futures market. I just finished attending both the Daytrading and Spread-Trading seminars. Coming from a not-so-successful stock-trading background, I have greatly benefited from Joe's methods and caution. My mistakes have been when I have not listened to the training he gives in his seminars. His website (http://www.tradingeducators.com) says it all - "Learn to trade futures the safe and easy way." Believe what you will, but if "money back guarantee" and "repeat the seminar for $100" doesn't work for you, then we might be speaking a different language. In all seriousness, Joe's methods have given me a firm foothold into futures trading. Both the Daytrading and Spread-Trading stuff is easy to grasp and easy to implement. You will still have losses. But the losses will be small compared to the winners you pick. Joe gave me the "how-to" on letting winners run and keeping losses small. I wish you all the best. BTodd