even day trading them is harder than futures IMO. If you are day trading then you are probably trading near dated options...that move extremely fast especially if the strike is near to ATM due to high gamma. Im sure people do it well, but the price volatility makes entries and exits difficult compared to futures.
Trading is trading, we all follow the Dow/SPX/ES, main broad, singular, market. One or the other is not easier or harder than the other. It's all about anticipating the future. Are you a Scalper, you sound kind of stressed and anal about the details and execution of the trades, spreads and time. Scalping is crazy, that's like being high on coffee, caffeine and being all jittery and crazy-eyed and paranoid. Be more calm, and patient, like an artist and philosopher by understanding the overall day movement expectations with just one trade. and yes, you have to trade ATM strikes.
I think this is where you are missing the differences in options and futures. In options you have all this greek stuff to figure out with theta decay the closer you get to expiry, ability to exercise if needed, etc. Futures have none of that shit unless you are doing condors and flys in futures, which is a whole other ball of wax, because spot and forward months all move in tandem at basically the same rate. There may be an arbing opportunity on the futures, but it would be minimal, because in and out the position is instant loss or gain on each leg. If you are talking just outright positions, which is what I was thinking of, then there is an immediate gain or loss on a roll, because of aforementioned tandem movement between contracts.
That sounds like what it would be like to try to trade without a toolbox of statted benchmarked setup/trigger Pairs that provide a GO / NOGO black and white GO = Buy or Sell To Enter on close of every candle. NoGo? Guess what. Where's the work? Up front benchmarking. Why do all that work? So when it gets to working that hard right edge ya beeze like all "calm, and patient" Know what I mean Vern, LOL. Vern hangs his big screen off the front end loader of his tractor and gots a mouse on that little table next to his trading chair. Calm and patient. Hey ZG, What are you watching these days? Is what you mention what TPT does? over here? Low Dollar Cheap Ass Trades Journal. Beer Cash 2022. https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/low-dollar-cheap-ass-trades-journal-beer-cash-2022.364094/
Then there is definitely something you do NOT want to do. You know how people like donuts with their coffee? Don't do this then with your morning coffee...
watching gold and oil mainly. Working just about all day every day on shorter term trading. Yea that journal is exactly what I described above. It can be done but I have no interest in options at this time.
That's a hell of a place to start. Some would put forth the proposition that the gold market is orchestrated. She can be a bipolar beatch bud. If you can make it there... Maybe put a copper HG chart alongside your gold chart same timeframe everything just the same and go look at the moves over the last month. Can you suss out how to extract any money from either one? Which one shed more cashola into your statistical wallet? Did either one provide you with anything? Do you make your buy and sell to enter decisions from Daily and ten minute charts? or what? Break a leg!
Takes about 30 minutes... What'd you find out? https://www.tradingsetupsreview.com/10-pullback-trading-strategies/