Again I wouldn't expect you to know. You don't have either the experience or sufficient knowledge. While futures markets in themselves are zero sum games day by day, they are not so for the activities of the participants. Hedgers or arbitragers in a futures market don't require a profit in that market if the equivalent is otherwise saved on the physical commodity or in another market. This is not to say that funds for example don't take some big hits when they get it wrong. But immense gains are lifted from commodities markets through investment bank trading; you don't know that is your answer. However I've always considered it possible for the 'start-out' amateur with careful thought and with the needed qualities to become very successful. But good luck with whatever you are trying to do.
This is the ultimate scam propagated by collage professors. Absolutely agree. You have made the right choice.
Why are you constantly advising aspiring traders to trade "CL"? That is terrible advice for anyone without years of experience. I really wonder what the motive of some posts on this site are.
Larson, please. That is uncalled for. Cheese has contributed posts of value here for seven years, totalling almost 1700 posts. If you take the time to read them all you will notice a certain consistency. Firstly, the posts are polite and helpful. Secondly, they are clearly the thoughts of a very very advanced market participant. That may not be obvious to everyone, but it is obvious to some of us. Without any fluffing or ego, Cheese points out helpful avenues for newbies to explore. Pick one market (eg CL) - formerly YM was suggested. Specialise. Analyse the movements. Then trade each leg / wave / gyration, buying at bottoms and turning around at tops. I think it would be more valid to question the motives of someone who posts here several times per day, repeating the same textbook generalities and giving advice to others when it is clear to any reasonably intelligent and experienced market professional that these people cannot be anything like successful independent traders. Now to ask Cheese a question regarding a piece of advice he offered or a comment he made is one thing. Questioning his motives, nay, implying that he may be giving deliberately dangerous advice is most unkind. It is all the worse because the successful in this business can spot at a glance the various motives behind "advice" to newbies, which serves to keep them imprisoned and dependent, incapable of their own thought and therefore ultimately unable and unwilling to succeed. So a doubly vicious accusation to someone who has done the work. Terrible advice? Really? Do you need years of experience to take consistent profits from a market? Does this depend on the market selected by the trader? Should a trader be trading any market if he cannot make the correct decisions in the traded instrument? Are spread, commissions, liquidity, average daily range, volatility, and number of typical gyrations not important aspects when seeking to extract as many points as possible from a market?
"Why do people believe day trading will get them rich quick? for the same reasons they think they can beat 3 card monte dealers.
I just started browsing around here a couple of days ago. This is what I told a young Jedi trader: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showt...=217179&perpage=6&highlight=jedi&pagenumber=2 Last entry on bottom of page. I think he busted out after less than a week.
Well, those people are right, day trading can make a good money, but after one spends a few years and a lot of money deliberately learning how to do that, not before.
How on earth do you have FX compatibility with a ToS "papermoney" account? I thought ToS restricted FX trading to live customers.