Great info so far guys. I will be using the T4 initially and may continue with it as I get more comfortable. As I mentioned, I am not looking to scalp multiple trades daily, but rather take only quality trades (10 mins to multiple hours). You can trust I am not the type to blame my trade performance on the platform, the day or any factor other than myself. I have been setting up something for figuring scaling into the trade once the risk is mitigated, but am not finding that as attractive as it is with equities due to the fact that contracts do not cost average. I can still work it as a decent situation though, so I will digg into it further and see if I can figure out a way to set it up better. Still figuring out the basics here. The Futures trading is definitely becoming more interesting the more I look into it, but I wonder if it is any more worthwhile than merely trading equities. What makes them interesting overall is the opportunity to trade a funded account in tandem with my regular account and possibly develop an additional income stream. Also, by using it as a supplemental income there is no pressure to swing for the fences and hit a certain "goal" every month. I can focus more easily on consistency and take what comes with it. If the Futures trading intraday proves to be more lucrative than what I have been doing intraday with equities, then I would like to swing trade my equities while daytrading a futures market. If you had to rank futures markets on volatility and noise by the highest, the average and the lowest, which would be the three you would select? I ask so I can observe the three different environments and begin to gauge where I might be more comfortable and which one my plan will fit best with. ie: Craziest Market Volatility: ES Average Volatility: CL Lowest Volatility: XYZ Those are just random examples in order to show what info I am looking for, not what I believe to be the case. I have no idea, that's why I am asking. Thanks again, J.
Am I looking at this correctly and realistically? If so, that is a sh*t-ton more money than I can achieve with stocks! The chart is the ES from yesterday. I am looking at it from a short perspective with a entry on the blue line, the stop on the red line and the exit on the green line. The red "X" represents the zone that the position would be negative before hitting the stop. Pretty straight forward I think. In this case the exit would have been made based on the close of the session and not price or technicals. The calculator (I added a few things) is based on running a half position until a cushion is developed upon which time the position would doubled and the stop adjusted to lock in just over half the profits. The exit would be made all at once. So is this realistic? Not my trading ability, the numbers. Do the numbers line up in a way that is realistic to what a proficient trader could expect? Thanks guys, J.
I think you will have a better chance with the girl in the bottom left hand corner of the chart than to think this price action is normal. Post another 15 min. chart on Monday and see what you would have done.
That could be the case. As I said, I am not familiar with what "normal" price action is in the Futures markets. What I am looking for with that example is whether I am understanding the mechanics of how to trade the Futures markets and how it relates to what I am already familiar with in equities. I haven't even begun to look into platform execution or the differences in the markets themselves. I have to learn the basic mechanics and understand how to manipulate them before I can decide where and how to apply them. I'm starting from scratch here, lol. Anyways, lets say that is not normal price action and I could have normally only expected about 1/3 of the move on a good day. That would look like this: Let's not focus on "ability" to trade moves like that, but rather the mechanics of it. Is this realistic if one is proficient enough to trade in this manner? The actual trading a live market is a whole other animal...I know that. If this is realistic however, $3K for a single short term intraday trade is quite nice in my book. Thanks, J.
Hi jtrader, apols if you have already mentioned this but are you trading successfully now - on microlots, or paper trading? do you have a tested strategy to implement? if no, then would it be advisable to work on this before running hypothetical numbers etc? g/l in whatever you do.
Leverage is a double edged sword An amateur focuses on how much they can make A pro focuses on how much they could lose You can't even start to compare equities to futures if you have never traded futures. The speed will be mind boggling compared to what you are used to. If you lack discipline and don't trade with stop in equities now then futures will destroy you mentally and financially x 10. You will be wise to cut your teeth by paying patak for the combine instead of pissing away 5,10,15k of your own money. It would probably be wiser to download free simulators first before even risking any of your money in the combine.
1) The Non Farm Payroll only comes out once per month. 2) What will you do on the other ~21 market days per month? :eek:
#1: You can trust I am not the type to blame my trade performance on the platform, the day or any factor other than myself. #2: If you had to rank futures markets on volatility and noise by the highest, the average and the lowest, which would be the three you would select? ie: Craziest Market Volatility: CL Average Volatility: 6E & NQ Lowest Volatility: ES #2: For the past several months, ES has averaged daily ranges of 8 to 14 index points per session. That would equate to $400 - $700 per contract total distance covered. Much of that time offered one, maybe two directional pushes per day... rest of entire session was chop-range back and fill congestion. Yesterday was hands down the best lone trading session in several months for ES. You are looking at an outlier relative to this general period of time. CL is far & away most volatile of the popular symbols. 6E (euro) and NQ (Nasdaq 100) are pretty good for movement and methodical action. ES would be the most choppy and congestive by far. #1: The T4 platform is fine, if you aren't in a hurry and are used to its nuances. If you are trying to work a fast market and you make an order entry error, that might very well be during the lone, single price swing all day. Flub that and you missed the lone ride for that day. Now what? You sit and watch price continue on, running deep in favor of your intended trade that was inadvertantly booted, while you are flat and idle due to keystroke error and no other reasons. That's what.
Again guys, this is a start. Not a full fledged "Hey guys, I'm going Futures Trading"! Everyone starts somewhere. No one starts out with complete knowledge. Yes, I am looking into this with regard to the Patak backing. I am not throwing 5K-10K down the drain. In fact, I think if you go in with that little you are MUCH more likely to fail and might as well just give your cash to someone on the street. Still, no one has answered a question that would help me move forward on my plan building. What would be considered an average trading range for a given market. They are all different I know so please specify what market you are refering to. ie: "The ES usually produces a tradable range of about 20 ticks" Thanks guys! J. ---out for the day...back at it this evening