CL may not be the most appropriate instrument for learning, between spread, slippage and volatility.... quite a difficult instrument to master... CL has an ATR of ~ $2.70 -- trading CL with Penny targets and stops... will be a death of a thousand cuts... Also due to contract size, as a beginner, you may be better served in an instrument you can trade multiple units, allowing you to gradually increase size, average up, scale out, add back i.e. NQ, eurusd, or ES even Much easier to trade 2 NQ then 3, then 4 as opposed to 1, 2, 3, 4 CL Trading one contract limits your options... Trading a highly leveraged instrument tends to build bad habits due to fear... Sim trading, should reflect your real life trading... or it is pointless... Just an FYI
Deleted this by accident playing around with the post controls that youre allowed here on ET: Wow.. today was absolutely wild. Price was also over the place. I paper-traded at work (literally wrote on paper) : 8:25 82.92 Short (Got entry after I got to work based on my signals so this one was after the fact -- but this was the down move I was looking for earlier in the AM) 9:45 82.38 Cover +.54 10:15 Long 82.9 10:50 83.6 +.7 12:05 83.1 Short 12:25 82.88 Cover +.22 3:25 83.38 Long 3:45 83.28 Cover -.1 4:05 82.95 Short 4:45 82.48 Cover +.47 Total: + $1.90 Entries/ Exits/ Times are approximated b/c I'm looking at charts of 10-15 minute old data in candlesticks at work, not tick charts. I choose my positions on the candles to give myself bad entries per candle that I enter/exit on though.
I didn't mean scale in linearly, I was referring to initial position size... Assuming one is profitable - re investing the profits, earning the right to trade larger position size. Instead of initially trading 1 ea. contract, initial position size is 2 cars [to provide flexibility and basic MM] Example: Using ES with conservative leverage Recommended Minimum acct balance = $10K min per contract ES - max risk 2% is relatively safe... [ofc with experience one can press the leverage, but this is a noobie thread - and just providing a base line] account balance is $25K= 2 ea. contracts initial position size account grows to $30K = 3 ea. Contracts initial position size account grows to $40K = 4 ea. Contracts initial position size account shrinks to $35K = 3 ea. Contracts initial position size, etc... The Money management employed is a completely different discussion and very personal: [all in/all out, scaling in/out, reducing/adding back, exit/re-entry, etc...] there is a plethora of effective methods all of which are very personal and each trader must adapt to fit his/her psyche] What is important is providing some flexibility, never exceeding max risk, not over leveraging, NOT averaging down, and growing as a trader... That should clarify my post, thank you for pointing it out Trade well
I wrote down my paper trades again today: 8:10 AM Short 82.62, covered 830 at 82.4 +.22 (posted this one live before work) 8:40 long 82.75 covered 9:10 at 82.95 +.2 9:25 short 82.75 covered 9:45 82.6 +.15 11:00 long 82.99 coevered 11:45 83.3 +.31 12:35 long 83.42 covered 12:50 833.85 +.43 1:20 short 83.5 covered 1:25 83.55 -.05 2:15 and 2:35 in and out at 83.7, break-even 3:00 long 83.9 covered 3:15 84.1 +.2 Total: +1.46 So.. obviously I'm doing a lot of trades. Question to people who have traded real $$ before: How much would slippage be effecting my executions per trade?