any former equity scalpers trying the eminis? if so would like to hear about your successes or failures. Former equity trader/scalper 13 years. been struggling last 4 years. considering trading the eminis because of the minimum ticks. don't have to contend with pennies. any thoughts?
i won't even pretend that i have been an equities scalper. i tried it but it was just driving me nuts. clearly, if you have been doing it for 13 years it has treated you very well. that's awesome - kudos to you! e-minis just fit my personality better. i never have to scan stocks or think about which stock i will be trading or any of that stuff. it's all just unnecessary overhead to me now. every morning i know i will be trading the ES. and i have really enjoyed the scalpability of the ES. i didn't really see what i was doing as scalping, but i've seen many posts indicating a scalp on an e-mini is anything less than 2-points. most my wins are between .5-pts and 4-pts so i guess i do scalp. well, it's very do-able with the e-minis and slippage doesn't (shouldn't) exist. it's still relatively new to me, so we are still in the courting stages of our relationship, but the fit is good. i suggest taking an e-mini for a spin for a while (if you haven't already). my guess is one of a few things will happen: 1. you'll find your new trading instrument 2. you'll decide it's not for you and go back to equities 3. you'll decide it's not for you and go back to equities and actually trade better no matter what happens, enjoy and trade well! omni
who do you clear through? how much per side do you pay? have you used many systems? if so which ones have you found to be the best bang for your buck?
i use www.openecry.com and they are awesome. they have very competitive rates, especially since they don't have any platform fees. i pay 6.25rt, and that is all inclusive. i know there are lower 'rates' but many platform fees range from $100 to $600 monthly. plus, i like the OEC platform. the guys at OEC are great. they respond to emails almost instantly. if you call their 1-800 number, BAM! you'll get a real person (during regular hours). they also have a LivePerson chat type help feature available during regular hours. and guess what? it REALLY is a live person. the guy i chatted with is the same guy i ended up emailing and eventually talked to on the phone. high marks. if you trade in massive volume you might get a better 'deal' elsewhere, but they are (as close to) perfect for my needs as i could expect. in fact, i found out about OEC via this forum. as far as systems, i am certain you can successfully trade just about any system, as long as you stick to it. i've paid for trial or one-month subs to a variety of systems (all part of my tuition into this profession), but still ended up doing best on my own. even then i wasn't doing great when i went from paper to money trades. i'm still my biggest obstacle. i encourage people to try out different systems. sure, there may be some up-front cost, but if you find one that is pre-packaged and suits your trading personality and methodology, those early fees should pale in comparison to what you save in bad trades and what you should make in good trades. hope this helps. good luck and trade well! omni
when do you know to make an entry, and where do you place your stop on ES? and can you trade in evening, or only 9am-4pm eastern?
Omni, IB charges 4.80 R/T with lightning fast executions. Their site may not be as jazzy as openecry but its cheap and fast. Does openecry provide any additional value for the ES trader ? Thanks.
You can find a lot of your answers at the CME website for ES... http://www.cme.com If you have similar questions about YM... http://www.cbot.com As for entry...try doing (trade management) what you are already doing in your SUNW trades... http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=500081 Once you get a futures account and start trading the ES...keep using whatever trade management you've been applying to those trades in SUNW. If something doesn't work...make adjustments (adapting) to the ES market environment. Good luck. NihabaAshi
TB - thanks for the IB suggestion. i looked at them for trading equities, but i didn't reconsider them for the ES. as far as added value from OEC, i like their platform a lot and i like their responsiveness. i email, chat, instant message, and speak with one guy. also, their commission rate is a flat all-inclusive fee with no quota. whether i trade a single cotnrace once a month or 10 contracts 50 times a day i'll see the same rate. now, don't get me wrong, i will not heistate to go with another broker if i get a better deal. so again, thank you for the heads-up on IB. take care and trade well! omni p.s. you can always download a free fully-functional version of their platform and trade a simulated account to get a better feel for what OEC has to offer.