For weeks I have been thinking of giving up trading index futures and futures in general. I gave it a try and for months it bled me dry. Today was the final straw of being stopped out and in general, being right or wrong. I am down about $300 and changed IB data subscription so I won't even be tempted to trade this poison. Futures are addictive and like heroin, when stocks are like a Reefer buzz. I tried to trade long Gold today and it took $250 from me. I am done, smarter to keep on fighting to bleed even more. It is hard to trade a good swing when there is none. In tight ranges, I m up against algo bots who are better financed and in general less emotional and much FASTER.
Get a demo account and practice until you're consistent. Set stop-losses to put no more than 1% of your account at risk if its hit. Avoid very tight time-frames and fixed pip stops.
Probably a good idea. Not trying to be a troll. But Futures can be VERY tough. I did 6-7 years live (before sim worked any good), and broke even after commissions. That was moving about 150-250 mil notional per year. Now I am back at it, two years and counting (some live some paper) and last 6 months starting to make consistent gains month over month, ON PAPER. Once I do two contracts (6 months) where I hit my goals, I will turn back to live. If I were to list all the things I have done, it would be a TL;DR post. Stocks might be a better place to hone you skills. Making such a decision as you did, is a great sign of being realistic. Best of luck
Commodities trading was my dream for a long time. Both commodities and index futures are incredibly hard and can be nerve-wracking. But the ultimate goal is making money and not dying by a thousand cuts.
If you like this and you understand that there is speed in this game, why are you trying to play it slow ? I have met very few people who win this game consistently trading those intraday swings, with good R:R, tight stops, blabla... If you already have understood that there is plenty of action and speed in the game, why dont you try to adapt to it and play it... fast and with speed ? I scalp very shortterm action (usually just a few seconds entry to exit), and it is really no rocket science. Open a DOM of the NQ, and/or a 3 tick or 13 tick chart. Just check all the opportunities that you have, day by day, just in the first 60 minutes of the session. There are 30 opportunities or more, in this very short time, on an average day in the NQ. Why dont give it a try ? Maybe best start with a few days on SIM, then after you got used to the rhythm and speed, you could start with the MNQ. After a few months, when you know what you are doing and can show some consistency, switch to the NQ. You can make a living with the NQ with small clip size, 1-5 contracts are enough to earn some decent money. Just trying to help. If you want, give it a try, and tell me what you think. If you have more questions, just ask.
I have been there done that, it cost me $5000 in juice and another few bucks in losses. I do appreciate your post...
It would be a shame to lose a futures trader because they got some ass-kicking from GC. It is it's own animal and flails regularly. It's like trying to trade RB and HO when they are in an "active season." They are monsters. Just stay away from trying to intraday trade those beasts with any semblance of a normal stop. The index futures? Well, they have not been normal since Labor Day, and have had a few other times this year when they went awry from their "usual behavior". Take a break from them until Jan 2021, but don't give up on them completely. The commod markets have basically been the rabbit at the cave of Caerbannog. Wait until the holy hand-grenade of Antioch hath been cast at it early next year, after the inauguration.
Ok, I can tell you I have been doing this for years now, making my money this way. This shows it has nothing to do with "it cannot be done", or "it is impossible". It is all about the individual. Maybe you have a completly wrong understanding of how to scalp, or you just dont have enough practise, I dont know. It took me years to get my trading to the level where it is now. If you are sure that you have already tried everything you can, that you have given it all you got, then maybe it is really better to quit and stop trading.