How do you know they did for sure? Did they post the brokerage statements as confirmation? Were they trying to sell a system also? Hmm. I'm not saying it is not possible but you need to understand this game is about probabilities not possibilities. I would agree with others that 1 ES contract is a maximum until you build up more capital. You are still taking much more risk than you should with 1 contract but I would agree you have to start somewhere and hope you get lucky out of the gate.
I think the point many of the replies are trying to make is that just because the broker offers to let you use a high leverage ratio doesn't mean that it's prudent to leverage yourself that high. With a $3800 account, taking a one-lot position in the ES would mean you are levered about 18 to 1 ($68,000 / $3,800 = approx 17.89). Experience will tell you the Maximum leverage you want to use at any point. But without experience where do you start? I have a simple rule: you need 2 times the initial overnight margin as your Maximum position. Therefore if you want to have a 1 lot position in the ES, you need a minimum of $9,000 ($4,500 x 2). That's is still over 7 to 1 leverage (68 / 9) and should be the MAXIMUM position you have. I have a $20K account and feel undercapitalized trading my 1 lot of ES. With $3800 you need a contract with an initital overnight margin of $1900 or less using my simple rule OR just wait until you have more money to start trading the ES.
let's also not forget that right off the bat, just by trading the ES you are leveraged in at 50-1 in relation to the cash index. That is what draws us in but just keep that in mind. All the extra leverage provided by low intra day margins is ON TOP of the built in 50-1.
Increasehow is not interested in answers that conflict for his need to do things his way. I dont understand the need to start threads, get honest replies, and then tell everyone they are "weird" answers. What do you really know newbie? You think people who have been trading for many years don't know what they are talking about?
it probably depends on the amount of risk you are taking + maximum drawdown you are likely to have, adding contracts is all mathematically i think, there shouldn't be a fixed dollar amount per contract for trading ES in general, it depends on how a person trades.
None. You are seriously under capitalized but I suspect you are just starting another stupid "can it really be done" thread.
It depends on your risk exposure. I would never risk more than 1% of my total account on a trade. Actually, 1% would be agressive for me... I risk a lot less than that. $3,800 would probably mean being able to trade 1 contract, if that. I'd say get at least $10k-$15k before starting.
Both of my brokers, (IB and OptionXpress) require $2,250 per contract DAYTRADING: $4,500 for overnight positions. (Which I never have). What broker allows you to trade more than one ES with $3,800?