Go to local book store and read up! http://www.cme.com Check out the Getting Started Section http://www.cme.com/products/index/esp500.cfm Information about ES http://www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/ Tutorials Good Luck!
abenyukh: An excellent way to start learning about trading ES (or NQ) would be to sign up for a simulated trading account with a brokerage firm and just experiment! I think they start you off with $50,000 in play money and you can see how you perform after a day, a week, a month, etc. That should give you plenty of feedback on what your strengths and weaknesses are and what you need to work on. Kermit
Actually you could trade 5 on an intraday basis. Trading anything more than one without extensive knowledge of the market would be pretty quick suicide. I agree with others that you may wish to start trading ETF's as you will lose money slower. Jay
More like 25 points intraday.. it has been quiet lately. Yes you could "potentially do OK." Paper trade the ES in real time for a week and you'll see there is lots of noise which will grind you down quickly. The movie "Fargo" comes to mind. 100% is all you "stand to lose," yes. IMHO, SPX or OEX options are better than ES for swing trading, since you have comparable leverage with absolute risk control. ES options are not so liquid.. ES (futures) are better for intraday since they are more liquid. Intraday there is more noise, though. Also, SPX/OEX options are cash settled, while ES options settle in ES contracts.