Find the volatility index for the future, and when its really low, most likely you get a slow market. For instance, when Vix is < 13 ES/NQ/YM are like watching paint dry until you hit earnings season or Fed days. I on the other hand, prefer extreme volatility, the higher the better, sadly those times are very limited, and precious.
Well maybe you are good on algos, or ultra fast. But I can tell you, I cant win them just cliking with my mouse and my low capital (in example the ES) and not informed while working orders for myself.
Emini ES futures not suitable to trade if you're undercapitalized. Also, not suitable to trade if you're not well informed (not sure what that means to you) and not suitable to trade if you don't understand when its slow (low volatility) versus fast (high volatility). Simply, stop trading it and keep learning and use that time to backtest your trade method for current market conditions to go along with your backtest of historical markets at least going back a few years. Last of all, don't even try to scalp the Emini futures unless you're getting special commission rates and you're automated. Trying to manually scalp the Emini ES futures for consistent profits...extremely difficult to do.
Ok thanks for advises. Informed for me means same for a maket maker... I know is not for me I dont trade them long ago (almost a year) I was just studing microstructure on markets on sim (that included ES) that why I asked.
I don't believe it's possible to successfully scalp the ES... too much noise to "risk a couple of tics" to capture a point or two. IMV... you need to be risking 2-6 or more points with the expectation of a successful trade making at least 2:1 gain vs. your risk.
There are several traders with seats on the exchange doing such successfully for many years now. Thats' my point, they have special commission rates and they're automated...one is actually using an algorithm. I know one of them is not risking 2 - 6 points because that ain't scalping. Had you said ticks (not points)...that's scalping. Yet, I do understand that new traders (those in the past 5 years) think scalping involves points and not ticks if you didn't mean to say points. Seriously, you said 2:1 gain versus risk while risking 2 - 6 points. That's 4 - 12 points gain versus 2 - 6 points risk. I have been with Emini ES futures since its birth and I've never met anyone that scalps like that but I have met many with those same numbers via ticks...a few of them profitable but they ain't manual scalpers. Thus, traders looking for points like that...they are just simple day traders...not scalpers.
Yes, I meant to say "points". I wouldn't consider "risking 2-6 points with the expectation of making 4-12 points as "scalping". (But... I don't know anyone with an exchange seat who successfully scalps the ES, automated or otherwise. Shoot... I'm far enough out from town I sometimes think I'm fortunate just to have electricity!)