And once you figure out your opponents you are going to make a shitload of money. I am saying BULLSHIT. Once you figure out futures are zero-sum and stocks are not you are going to make shitload of money. Fucking BULLSHIT. Once upon a time I switched from SPY to stocks (after reading stupid thread like this one) thinking easy money. BULLSHIT I got my ass kicked out. It was just a really bad run, the point is, it's all the same shit. How the fuck stocks are easier then ES when ES is basically summary of certain stocks?There is only one difference LEVERAGE. Personally I read the market better then individual stock, no surprises in ES like in individual equities. P.S.I understand Don, he has got vested interest in stocks. But you RM really surprise me with the above opinion.
A stocktrader has two options. He can trade the market and he can trade stocks. When I say trade the market, I mean there are some days that the market moves are so strong, that you are really trading the collective market as much as you are trading the individual stock that you happen to be on. When for whatever reason the market moves a great deal, I look to ride my favorite longs or favorite shorts. These are stocks which tend to mimic the move and are more sensitive to the collective market. By doing that, I am riding the same wind that I could be riding if I were trading index futures. But on days the market is flat or conflicted, then I can trade individuals stocks which will probably tend to behave individually. The trading of stocks has a lot of angles to play in which to make money. I am just not smart enough to take advantage of much more than a few of these angles.
dunno, but i am really diggin' hard, yet can't find a real good reason to trade es, i mean, am obviously not a fun of futs but if u prefer 'em over equities trade somethin' that offers better r/r, like qm or sgx, bur esmini? how on earth can u find a decent edge there, it gotta be the worse product ever out there.
I've traded about everything possible in my life, and learned that all of them take my money easier than give any back (laugh) I settled on emini futures for many reasons. Leverage is one. Skilled emini traders can make a lot more money on much less working capital than stock traders can. Likewise, newbie emini traders can limit their leverage to one measly contract, risking -$50 on an ES stop per trade. Potential reward on that trade could easily be $200 = $400 per contract, tough to match in linear fashion with equal exposure to stocks. So... leverage can be exploited or tamed in equal fashion. * Each emini symbol offers profit opportunity almost every day. The same is not true of individual stocks... which is exactly why stock traders feel the need to work several different symbols at a time. A skilled emini trader can make their living with one symbol, period. The action of emini futures may be their one siren song. When traders watch normal price action "noise" (defined as price movement outside of method or system capture) they see all those $$$ signs flashing by and are compelled to chase them. In my opinion, it is a breakdown in self-discipline that kills most emini traders who fail. The breakdown comes from watching what appears to be easy money fly all around uncaptured, when in fact that is just part of the game. Learn to target specific segments of emini market's normal undulations while ignoring the rest, and it gets somewhat simple. Staying focused on those specific opportunities and waiting (im)patiently with discipline for the next similar setup is critical. Try chasing every wiggle & jiggle in the tape, attempt to curve-fit one's approach to hitting every turn and the road to ruin has officially been entered at full speed. The only real opponent we trade against can be found sitting in our very own chairs. No one else is relevant... success or failure lies squarely within. Hope this helps Austin
maybe you could become the first futures trader to post daily in the p&l thread and show those silly stock guys how its done.
futures are inherently more difficult i think and you're much more limited in the amount of vehicles you can trade than in equities
So true Austin. Wait up one night and try the HSI futures contract. More opportunities than a week on a stock and seductive as the sexiest Siren. But the key to profit is to define and trade your own setup; and let the rest of that wonderful profit flow past because its not for you.