I just openned an IB account and deposited USD 3,215 as initial capital. I will post all my trades real time to see how it goes. I will try to trade every product available on IB. But since my intial capital is very small I will confine myself to U.S. stocks and Forex in the beginning. When I grow above 10,000 I will also trade futures. Pooh
I am not a day trader and try to follow the trends in mid and long-term. My current opinion is oil is still on the rising and we are likely to see it over $100 sometime this year. But due to restrictions of my capital I won't buy oil futures. Related I think USD is likely to depreciate another 20% in the next several months, so my plan is to short USD. I will try to gradually build my position with $25,000 lots, which is the minimum on IB, each $25000 with use up margin of $500. I will buy either CAD or EUR. I won't be able to use my fund until Tuesday, let's see what happens then. Pooh
Why not just go ahead and begin with futures. Give the low start up you could at least start with a couple of YM contracts anyway. Probably get a little more bang for your buck. 4re
Even one mini-contract is too risky for me, I can't rule out the scenario of touching $65 at some point. However, CAD has an almost 0.8 correlation with oil.
No offense intended, but I think you will be dearly departed with your cash very soon. Need I say you were long OIL and then traded currencies. Let me say this. When I started, I was very much like you. I quickly lost $5,000. I started with good intentions, buying solid stocks, etc. Then I lost a few, and then resorted to high risk OTCBB stocks. BOING...stuckholder.... I tried again after swearing off the game, and lost $17,000 to the big boys. What the gentleman said earlier was to trade the S&P E-Mini or even the YM futures. I think this is a brilliant idea. At $12.50 per tick, its a reasonable risk/reward for such a small amount of capital. As I write, I realize you have barely enough cash to trade ONE contract maybe 2 (mini) (with margin). But, still- if you put up a few winning trades, you will not only gain confidence, but cash for future trading set-ups. If you choose the wrong direction, you are out 2 or three TICKS and down under $100. The KEYWORD is "confidence". This is a game of probabilites or odds. Think like a casino. FACT: You will DEFINITELY lose at least 50% of the time, if not much more. It's about money management. You were able to exit your currency trade break even, bravo to you. You expressed reserve and cut your loss (or you got the shat scared out of yourself, and got lucky) whichever the case, you are still in this game. Don't be a SHEEP....THINK. Currency trading is super high risk. They will give you 100 times buy power, but in a few ticks, your cash is gone. My suggestion: Think small for the moment. Work at getting into the zone. Learn to lose a few and to win a few, and learn to FEEL how you FEEL at each of these monents. No sweaty hands allowed. Once you have your pluse under control, you know you can step it up. Good luck, Monaco
Manaco11 Thanks a lot for your insightful advices. I got out of the CAD trade not due to the loss or scared, I am still bullish on CAD but I felt I didn't choose the right entry point after I did the trade. That's why I got out. I will try to build a position later after observing it for some time. Pooh