Futures Trading Brokers

You will get the help from futures trading brokers for the purposes of maximizing your investments.  For the first time beginners of investors in the future contracts, it is very ideal to have opinion from the professionals as well as advice from the experienced brokers.  From this you can minimize the risk of losses and any questions asked by you, cannot be answered by them.

Some of the futures trading brokers will work for the companies but other brokers will work independently.  Each and every broker of trading works for commission basis.  That is the reason they do all the works given by you.  They will also get good returns from your investment.  In most of the cases the commission of brokers will not exceed more than ten percent from the total profit.  Other brokers selects flat rate as a professional fee.  From the investors earnings they will not take any part of their investment. 

Since futures trading contracts involve creation of contract for the purpose of buying in the specific time in the future.  It is very important to have future trading brokers who have very good reputation.  Everyone speaks only regarding the experience of the brokers.  In case if one person got loss through the help of a broker, he or she will not contact the same broker.  He or she will go to the other broker to contact. 

Before investing any of your investment, you have to check the portfolio of the broker initially.  You should know whether he or she is containing a reliable data or not.  In case if you get a fraud broker, you can give a complaint to the business bureau.  The best method to find out a good broker is that you have to check with the futures association. 

Sometimes futures trading brokers come into sight to be a good resource or tool for making decisions for your investment.  At the end, future trading brokers plays a major role and you can be successful while future trading with these brokers.

Moving From Paper Trading To Real Trading

Paper trading is widely discussed regarding its merits, and whether it is of value to a trader as they try to make the transition to real money trader. One viewpoint is that since paper trading is not real, the profits are meaningless, and are no indication of real money profitability.  An opposite viewpoint would state that paper trading is an important step in the trader’s learning progression, and regardless of whether it is real, if the trader cannot ‘properly’ paper trade, then they will not be able to real money trade.

I began trading in early 1995, with the intentions of becoming an options trader; my first trading education was through an oex options teaching service.  Besides options training, the service included ‘tape’ reading, trade management AND sp500 index futures trading – also included in the service was the prevalent attitude that paper trading was for ‘sissies’.

So I was a new trader, trying to learn and understand completely new concepts and ideas - what was called a trading method AND I was ‘practicing’ with real money – because paper trading was for ‘sissies’.  What did I accomplish, besides a big draw down in my account?  I quickly introduced to trading psychology and the related implications – something else I also knew nothing about.  Losing money and a trading psychology ‘wreck’, both from the losses and thoughts like I was too ‘stupid’ to ever learn how to trade, became a combination which took me out of futures trading, and then unfortunately carried over into my options trading which I had previously been doing well with.  I just couldn’t take it any more – I had to somehow start all over, or just quit for good.

Paper Trading Viewpoints

Consider:  simulator fill prices are not real and won’t be attainable with real money.  Even if this is correct, is it really an issue unless the trader intends to be a scalper, trading for very small profits, and thus each tick is critical?  Granted, but shouldn’t a beginning futures trader be very selective, focusing on learning their method and the ‘best’ setups that method provides?  This would be my viewpoint, and in this capacity paper trading fill prices are not an issue.

Consider:  the trades are being done with no risk.  No, there isn’t any financial risk in paper trading, but I actually haven’t met nearly as many profitable paper traders as one might expect.  Why would this be the case if being able to trade without risk was such an easy thing to do?  As well, what about self-esteem risk, and an attitude like - how can I be so bad that I can’t even paper trade?  The risk feelings like these are probably greater than that of financial risk, and if they are going to surface, you would want to encounter them before trading real money.  As well, even if the issue was only one of financial risk – wouldn’t you want to begin with the confidence of knowing that you were paper trading profitable?  It would be hard to imagine a losing paper trading being able to profitably trade real money.

Consider:  there is no emotion involved with paper trading.  I was in our chat room watching a paper trader post their trades in order for me to give them feedback, and I noticed that one of their specific plan setups wasn’t done.When I inquired why, the trader said that they were up for the day and didn’t want to risk those gains.  But the profits aren’t real – how can you not take a ‘base’ method setup when paper trading – isn’t that the point?  Would you be in agreement, that if paper trading profits could be viewed in this fashion, that it has the ability to become very real and thus emotional to the trader?  I would suggest that this is related to paper trading really not being ‘so easy’, and as mentioned above, self-esteem risk can be very emotional.

Besides examples like this, emotions can be added to the paper trading process.  Throw away your simulator, and then go into a chat room and post all of your trades – no ‘youknowwhating’ around where you wait to see if the trade was profitable before you post it, like a number of traders that I have seen.  What’s the point, and when you consider the underlying implications of ‘needing’ to do this – the issue certainly isn’t about whether paper trading is of value or not, but certainly best to find out before trading real money.You need to post instantly and without delay, providing your direction and entry price, alongside with subsequent posts of any partial profits, and of course your exit, which ultimately is the determinant of whether the trade was profitable.  There is no need to make any comments, or answer any questions regarding your trades – simply post the particulars as fast and real time as possible AND see if you feel any emotions doing this in front of the rest of the room while you go through a series of losses.  Do you want to add even more emotions?  Go through the same posting process, but do so where the rest of the room actually knows the method that you are trading, and what the trades ‘should’ be.  You will quickly find out just how emotional paper trading can be – actually a very valuable exercise for the paper trader to do.

Paper Trading And Making It Further Beneficial

I have two predominant problems with paper trading, but this is with the trader’s approach, and not with paper trading by definition:  (1) the trader does ‘things’ paper trading that they would-could not do with real money (2) the trader views paper trading profitability, instead of paper trading proficiency, as the guideline of whether they are ready to begin trading real money.

I have witnessed too many demo traders, incessantly and knowingly, over trade ‘non-plan’ trades, with trading size that is larger than they could have the funds for the margin for in a real account – let alone take the risk of loss, while also holding trades for risk amounts that they would not accept with real funds.  Viewing paper futures trading as a ‘step’ in the learning progression and transition to real money trading, it is critical that the paper trader only trades exactly what, and how they would trade with real money.  Don’t allow yourself to turn paper trading into a game, supposedly because there is no risk – the risk of making bad habits that you can’t correct is tremendous, and will circumvent any attempt to trade real money.  This is the time to learn YOUR basic trading setups, and make necessary adjustments to them and your entry-exit timing, in order to then make money trading them – this is NOT the time to turn your simulator into a pinball machine flipping at any ball that comes near you.

There is a problem with focusing on trading profitability -vs- trading proficiency.  To begin with, profitability places the focus on money instead of on plan.  And what is profitability – if you take 10 trades and make $75 are you profitable?  Technically, if you are net ahead you are profitable, but what if those same 10 trades had a potential of $1,500, and you only made $75 – are you really profitable?  This is what I am referring to when I think of trading proficiency.  Instead of focusing on the common metrics, such as win:loss or win size:loss size ratios, I am most concerned with the win size:potential win size ratio, and want to maximize this percentage to the extent that is possible.  For instance, when a trader asks about adding trading size, taking the attitude that if they can make $100 trading 3 contracts, then they can make $1,000 by trading 30 contracts, the first thing I ask them is what is their proficiency ratio – why increase contract size and the corresponding trading risk, if you ‘should’ be able to make more money from smaller size?  This is especially important for the paper trader, where they should not regard simple profitability as an indication of readiness to trade real money, but consider proficiency – for instance, begin trading real money when you are 60-70 percent proficient with your paper trades.

So What Is Your Viewpoint Regarding Paper Trading?

I never thought that I would ever make a dime trading, let alone be able to trade for a living or become involved with trying to teach others to trade – was this simply a function of starting over and paper trading?  Granted that is too simplistic, however, I do know that it would have certainly changed the beginnings that I had, while very much shortening my learning curve, and reducing a lot of pain.

Clearly, I am on the ‘side’ that believes that paper trading is not only beneficial, but that paper trading is also necessary – however the value received will be dependant upon the trader’s approach and attitude.  Needless to say, paper trading as described is something that I have always strongly recommended.

So You Want To Become A Futures Trader

You wake up one morning with a really BAD idea – you have decided to start making your living by becoming a futures day trader.  BUT how can this be such a bad idea, don’t people get rich day trading futures?  Where did that idea come from?  Did you see one of those ‘work’ for 10 minutes a day and make $4200, ‘get rich quick never lose’ hype system ads?  Or did you visit a chatroom, and the ‘resident guru’ made it all sound so easy?  Maybe, the title of this article should have been – How To Die A Painful Death Chasing A Carrot.

Get real.  IF systems like that really were available, or if day trading really was that easy, wouldn’t everyone be a rich day trader instead of being a statistic in the 90 percent of all day traders fail club?  IF you can’t be truly realistic regarding this, truly believing and understanding the odds against you THEN you do not have a chance.  You would really be best off ‘giving up’ on this idea about day trading, and save yourself a lot of pain and money.

Over the last nine years, I have known and worked with many traders, and over this time have seen the unrealistic expectations, and problems with their approach towards trading, where people who possibly had a chance to be successful were actually done before they started.  I have thought about writing a book about this.  The book would not be about how to day trade, but instead, it would be about how to learn how to day trade – the key word being learning NOT trade.

It Can’t Just Be About The Money

How can learning any new skill start with a total focus on the end result, instead of how you plan to achieve that result.  That would be no different than trying to put the roof on a house before you built the walls, or expecting to receive your college degree the day that you begin classes.  Talk about unrealistic expectations – these are impossibilities – as are any get rich quick trading schemes.   Yet many come into day trading as what I refer to as a job replacement ‘trader’, this is a ‘trader’ who tells me the following:  I know I need to spend the time making a trading plan and ‘properly’ paper trading it before I start trading real money, but I can’t, I just got laid off from my job and need to trade now to make some money.  There is another statistic for the 90 percent club.

When I meet a new trader who has some interest in what I am doing, this is probably the most frequently asked question:  how long is it going to take me to be profitable with your method?  This ‘trader’ has never traded real money yet, or has been losing at whatever ‘trading’ that they have done, yet what they want to know is how long will take to be profitable with a new method.  My answer to questions like these is to first ask my own question:  what are you planning to do to learn this method, how can you possibly become profitable with any method before you learn it?  I can remember one specific ‘trader’ that I talked to 2-3 times before joining our group.  In the conversations this trader told me how many thousands of dollars he had spent on trading systems, methods, and trading groups – it was almost like he was ‘bragging’ about it?  He never learned how to trade, and he had never traded profitably.  BUT once again the same question came up – how long is it going to take?  I told the ‘trader’ my thoughts regarding this, while also saying that if this was the major concern that they would probably never learn it, and they really shouldn’t join the group.  The ‘trader’ assured me that this time it would be different BUT it wasn’t – they never studied the training materials, but I would get an email every couple of days asking me when I thought they should start trading real money.  And there is another statistic for the 90 percent club.

Futures Trading just can’t be about the money, especially from the beginning, but really at any point in your trading career. Trading is about the process; that process being learning a method and the related trade setups, the creation of what I refer to as a base setup plan.  Does it seem logical, that you actually need ‘something’ to trade before you get rich trading it?  After this is done, start paper trading this plan in order to gain enough screen time and repetition that you can make adjustments – learning your mistakes and misreads that you make in real time execution.  Accomplish this, and then begin to keep profitability records of your paper trading, first trading for profitability, and then trading for proficiency where you concern yourself with the percentage of profit potential you are gaining, not simply whether you make a profit.

How long is this going to take to do?  Who knows, but there sure aren’t any shortcuts.  Actually, it probably won’t ever happen. Paper trading to a proficient level really is a very difficult thing to accomplish, as ‘traders’ aren’t willing to work hard enough, and with the necessary commitment, as there is no financial reward from paper trading.  Furthermore, since there is also no financial risk, paper trading is quite often turned into a game and becomes of a waste of time, and creation of bad habits that become to hard to change.  But skip the process altogether, because you want to start making all of that money that caused you to decide to become a day trader to begin with AND – another statistic for the 90 percent club.

Introduction To Trading Psychology

I would guess that most everyone has had experience with some kind of real time performance stress before.  Maybe it was a college final, or maybe it was related to athletics, maybe you had to give a speech, or maybe you were in a theatrical performance.  Whatever the case may be, for myself, as well as anyone else I remember talking to, nothing was even similar to the ‘feelings’ that were ‘brought on’ by day trading real money real time.  My background included athletics, and I can remember pitching in a state final baseball game, and I can remember last second free-throws in tournament basketball games – it was a piece of cake when compared to starting to trade real money.  Nothing can prepare you for risking your money on an unknown outcome, of which you have no physical control, while watching price bars that all of a sudden have seemed to start ‘ticking’ at the speed of light – with your heart racing and the inability to sit still and the dry mouth and the sweaty palms and the feeling like you are going to puke – etc etc etc.  Doesn’t that sound like fun – I will bet that get rich trading scheme didn’t mention any of this?

IF you are going to get through these emotions known as trading psychology, and all the different fears and forms that it can take on, it is going to be involved with your preparation, repetition, and understanding of that base setup plan, along with the knowledge that you have been able to paper trade it proficiently.  No, it’s not the same as real money, and you will still have to become used to executing real time BUT at least you do have the confidence in knowing that what you are going to trade does work, and on a level in excess of simple profitability.  It will take time for these emotions to leave you, and maybe some never will, but that is all right.  It is not necessary to eliminate all emotion to be able to profitably trade, it is necessary to control them, and being able to have the self trust that although you can’t ‘know’ what is going to happen, you can ‘know’ what you are doing and that you will act as closely as possible to the intended ‘plan’.  Does going through a learning process that includes paper trading still sound like a waste of time?  No problem – there is still plenty of room in the 90 percent club.

Work Ethic And The Fear Of Failure

Again I am thinking about that question – how long is it going to take to profitably trade your method?  I don’t know, are you really going to work your hardest?  The fear of failure can take on many manifestations.  What I have seen quite frequently, is how this fear is related to the ‘traders’ sense of self esteem and self worth – that failing at this, failing at anything, will make them ‘less’ of a person, and they can’t risk allowing this to happen.  Consequently, they never work their hardest at learning to trade.  They won’t put it all on the line, they always hold something back.  Why?  Because by doing this there will always be a ‘built in’ excuse for failing – IF I had really tried my hardest THEN I am sure that I could have done it.  The result is obviously the same, but at least they don’t have to blame themselves or take a ‘hit’ on that precious ego.  Is failing at learning to do something, and being a failure really the same thing?  In my way of thinking, trying your very hardest and not being able to do something is just the way it goes some times.  We aren’t going to be able to do everything we try, no matter how hard we work at it.  Failure on the other hand is what I described – failing because you didn’t ‘step up’ and try your hardest, instead you ‘held back’ trying to protect yourself.  You want to learn to day trade, check your ego at the door before you start – or you too can join the 90 percent club.

Do You Still Want To Make Your Living Day Trading?

Have I talked you out of becoming a futures trader – do you still think this is a great ‘get rich quick’ way of making your living?  Although it wasn’t my intentions to change anyone’s mind, if this is what has happened, then I am glad.  Yes, trading can be ‘lucrative’, and yes, you can get ‘rich’ trading, but you have such a long road to travel before this can occur.  Many people ‘say’ they know this, but they don’t really ‘believe’ it.  They think that they will be different, they think that they will be the one that ‘bucks’ these odds BUT then they won’t go about it differently.  If nothing else, it should be very clear, that if 90% of all day traders lose, then to have a chance at being successful, you obviously are going to have to approach this differently than the vast majority does.  Go for it BUT focus on the process, have reasonable expectations of what is really involved, and then do what is necessary to learn how to trade – that 90% club is far too big.

The Beginners Guide To Online Futures Trading

Futures trading, like any lucrative earning opportunity, involves high risks. Online futures trading is no different - its convenience tempts many people to treat trading like a Vegas casino instead of a legitimate investing opportunity. With this in mind, following are some pointers on succeeding in the online futures trading jungle:

Are you a long-term investor or a day trader? If you decide you’re a day trader, then keep up with your trading account on an hourly basis. If you decide you’re a long-term investor, then it is important that you resist the urge to check your account every hour or even every day, because short-term trends that are useless for your purposes may tempt you to trade when it is unnecessary or even harmful to your long-term interests.

Don’t gamble with grocery money. Decide how much money you are willing to put on the table in advance, and stick with this budget no matter how fast you lose it. If you don’t, online futures trading will become a vice that will put you on the street in no time. And if you’re a beginner, stay away from highly fluctuating markets - you might want to consider starting with emini futures.

Quit while you’re still ahead. Nobody likes to sell after a good run, but in this game you should sell off a good run as soon as you spy a negative trend. If you don’t then your new trading profits can grow wings and fly like a bird. Of course you run the risk of the “left behind blues” if your former acquisitions continue to appreciate. Getting out while you’re still ahead is particularly important for day traders. The long-term investor needs to be concerned with weekly and monthly trends, not short-term peaks and valleys (unless, for example, you’re trading coffee futures and there’s a coup d’etat in Brazil).

Keep a good attitude. If you’re a beginner, you will probably lose the futures trading game at first. Think of it as tuition.

What You Need To Know About Trading Soybean Futures

Soybeans are one of the most traded commodities on the Chicago Board of Trade because they are easily grown and serve a number a uses.

Initially, George Washington Carver saw that soybeans may be used as a substitute to cotton as the sole profit maker in the South, after which he discovered that they may be utilized to make plastic, paints, inks, varnishes, linoleum and even fuel. And you thought soybeans were only for making tofu and soy milk!

The increasing price of fuel products has made soybeans and their use as a fuel product more attractive to many investors. The potential for growth in the soybean futures and options industry is vast, especially with the discovery of new ways to make them useful complements to everyday things.

Bio diesel fuels are primarily made from soybean oils, and because more consumers are turning to alternative sources of energy nowadays, it won’t be surprise when soybeans finally make it to list of the most-coveted commodities in the world.

Businesses that depend on soybeans for their manufacturing needs are wary of price fluctuations in the soybean industry. Because global supply is greatly determined by production decisions made during springtime, as well as erratic weather conditions, there really is no guarantee that soybean supplies are always at their all-time highs.

However, it is important to note that while supplies rise and fall, demand does not typically falter and, in fact, even rises, thus influencing soybeans’ market price.

Soybean trading

Anyone can enter the soybean options and futures trading market, as long as there is interest in the commodity itself. If you’re a businessman whose venture is related to soybean production or acquisition, then engaging in soybean futures trading is right up your alley.

Contracts on soybean futures and options will help you better manage your trading tools and boost profitability. Even people who do not have direct participation in the agri business can profit by trading soybean options and futures.

Advantages

The Chicago Board of Trade bases its futures contracts on the South American soybean sector, where the most soybeans are produced. The advantages to trading soybean futures and options contracts include enhanced hedging efficiency, greater liquidity, transparency, the presence of a global benchmark, arbitrage opportunities and financial integrity (because it is backed by the CBOT).

In addition, trading soybean futures and options can also happen both in the traditional trading floor and online, for greater convenience.

For a more detailed look into the world of soybean trading, you might want to check out Tkfutures.com/soybeans.htm. Here you will find all the answers to questions on how soybeans are traded, their trading schedules, as well as the different kinds of contracts that are involved.

 

Basic Facts On Futures Trading

The first thing that you have to know about futures trading is that this is different from the trading that happens on the stock market. It is sort of speculating the future prices of the commodities that you will be trading.

The known locations where this kind of trading happens include the following.

1. New York Mercantile
2. Chicago Board of Trade
3. New York Cotton Exchange
4. Chicago Mercantile Exchange

As for the futures markets, here are some of the most popular that are being traded these days.

1. Currency trading.

This is widely known as the FOREX that stands for the foreign exchange. This involves the process of buying and selling whatever currency the trader chooses to bet on. The trader will study the movement of the economy of the countries where the currencies come from. This way, they will be able to strategize whether they are gambling on a good investment or if it will be better to wait for some time before trading in. Some of the well-known currencies that are being traded on for this purpose include the British Pound, Japanese Yen and the US Dollar.

2. Agriculture.

This actually has a broad scope. This will all depend on the crops that the farmers grow and the people who are interested with such. For example in the case of wheat, a farmer will sell the futures of his crop if he thinks that its price will go down before he could even harvest it. But if a bread manufacturer thinks that the prices of wheat will rise before its harvest, he will decide in buying its futures.

And that is only an example. There are many crops and produce that this department can produce. Aside from wheat, the popular ones that are being traded in the markets include corn futures and soybean.

3. Energy Futures.

Just by hearing what this is called, you will know that this kind deals with the likes of gas and the oil futures. The market for this one has got to do with anything that fuels and lights up people’s lives.

4. Interest Rate.

This center of this type revolves not only with interest rates but also with bonds and other kinds of financial transactions.

5. Foods.

Were you surprised to hear that this can also be traded? The well-known in this arena are those commodities that have value and are popular to many such as sugar, coffee as well as orange juice.

6. Metals.

This is actually known and is becoming more and more popular through the years. The most common materials being traded for this sector include the kinds of metals like silver and gold.

Now that you have gained such insight, the next thing that you have to do is to continue researching about the kind of trade that you want to venture into. You must never tire out from educating yourself in this regard. This will be your ally as you go on in the process. You must never enter into any transactions without fully understanding the risks that you will be up to and how are you going to earn in the process.

Futures trading can be beneficial once you know how to move to the groove. It may be a rocky start. But once you find your strengths and your movement, you can then proceed with the more complex part of the matter. As you go along, continue learning through your own as well as other people’s experiences. This can result to success and improvement with regards to strategizing.

Understanding Future Prices

Futures Prices are the amount of  cost  that a commodity can be bought or sold to consumers and in future the price of commodities and services are likely to increase due market factors that can determine the prices in the market.The relationship between demand and supply can lead to the future prices increase or decrease in the prices.When the prices are high the supply is usually low but when the prices is too low the supply also becomes low this can determine our future prices in the market.

If traders are left to decide on prices ,they could collude and agree to fix them very low.They could also charge the cunsumers very high prices and this would mean the exploitation of the two groups of people.The govrnment therefore intervines from time to time and fixes  the minimum and maximum farm gate and consumer prices to get future fair prices

Futures prices can increase due to the higher cost of production which leads to the rise of prices of commodities at the market level.Another factor which can lead to the future prices increase is that nowdays,raw material that can be used for production are scarce.By this materials being scarce results to the cost of production being high thus causing  the prices of goods and services being high.

Labour and workforce in terms of production are highly increasing because of the increase in the cost of living,this is also causing the futures prices of commodities and services that should be provided to be high.Inflation rate is highly increasing in our markets,this is causing our future prices of commodities to be high because of the loosing value of our  normal curencies.

Transport cost of our products from industries is also increasing which may lead to the increase of the prices of goods and services to our markets.

How To Build A Trading Plan

Some traders find it helpful to ‘demo trade’ the futures market for a while. This involves taking ‘hypothetical’ positions in the market and then monitoring these to see what the outcome will be.

Before doing any physical futures trading at all, the first move is to start by paper trading. A trading plan must be able to be measured. E.g. “I’ll risk no more than 2% of my capital on any given trade”. It can’t say “I won’t use too much of my equity for margin.”

Traders whose systems are more technical in nature will ‘back test’ their system against historical market data to determine the success of the system in that particular market. A trading system can be as simple as a few rules or as complex as a Black box technical analysis package. The key is that the system matches your personal trading style. You can either create a system from scratch or buy a readymade package. Either way it is advisable to test the system with dummy trades before doing the real thing. Some experts recommend 10 years of back testing with historical data (black box systems) where as others recommend a shorter time span for the testing of a simpler system. It is very important to perform your own testing on any ‘off the shelf’ systems, and not rely purely on the seller’s recommendations.

While all of these techniques are beneficial, prospective traders need to be aware that simulated trading - no matter what its form, does have its pitfalls.

Experienced traders will often say that there is no substitute for having real money in the market. Depending upon traders own discipline, the way they react in this circumstance could be very different compared to when the trade was purely hypothetical. In addition, while a market’s past performance can provide some general clues as to its price behavior, there is no guarantee that this will be repeated in the future.

Individuality

Futures Trading plans are individualistic, based on such factors as personal experience, education, risk capital and tolerance toward risk. For this reason, trading plans may differ greatly from one trader to another. A trading plan may work better with some people than others. Consequently, you must develop a trading plan that works best for you. Among other things, this requires patience, rigid adherence to the rules that you establish, meticulous record keeping of trading performance (which provides valuable feedback) and an open mind to try new methods. There are no guarantees of profitability in the world of futures investing, but the discipline of a trading plan goes a long way toward making you a successful futures trader.

Now let’s look at some of the
SAMPLE TRADING PLAN (GENERAL SUMMARY OF MARKET ACTION)

Trading Philosophy / Trading Psychology:

I believe that Financial Markets are 100% psychology driven.Price patterns are a reflection of the collective psychology of a large number of traders.Trading psychology also a major factor in my own trading. It is identified as my trading state. Fear and Greed are powerful enemies to profitable trading and I can overcome this by training my subconscious mind to be focused on following a defined trading plan versus focusing on wins and losses.I am a disciplined trader committed to trading only for profit strictly adhering too my trading rules, plan and standard operating procedures.My style of trading is aggressive with my preference to trade directional, and pattern set ups. I will trade full time as a day trader and also seek other trading opportunities especially dealing with Options.I will not have a bias as to where the market may or may not head, I will react to the price, patterns and my tools as they present themselves applying my trading rules.I trade what I see… Not what I think!I understand that I cannot control the market, I can control only myself. My trading state and mindset is the key to the success of trading. I must be rested, fit, healthy and mentally alert. Accepting the stress of trading by keeping focused, calm, disciplined and not distracted is essential for being a professional trader.Losses are acceptable, not desirable but I can minimize them with compliance to the rules, especially avoiding impulse trades and never being in a trade without a plan or a stop.Trading is a business and I am here for the profit.

Golden Trading Rules:
Check for Stops and targets resting in the Market then update or remove them.Look left for previous structure.Always Set a Stop Loss. Always!Maintain Discipline.Avoid impulse trading. Trade with a plan and stand by the rules.Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute (IPDE).Do not enter a market within 15 minutes after a news event.Get S.E.T. (Stop, Entry, Targets) before every trade. (Know where and how to Exit…)If I lose my ISP then call my Broker immediately and go flat, then work on the technical challenges to get back online.Keep it simple.

Money Management, Risk Reward and Financial Goals:
I will trade 4 contracts as a unit maximum for the S&P e-mini.I will trade 3 contracts as a unit maximum in the Russell e-mini.For every $5K that I add to my account I can add a contract to a unit. If I reduce my account by $2K then I will reduce the contract size.Commissions, fees, charting services, continuing education and other business related costs are considered essential to trading.Risk to Reward is preferred a 2 to 1 ratio, but waiting for the set up and trading the rules is paramount and given the opportunity this standard is a guideline. My goal is to successfully net 9 combined points per week in the market.My desire is to train for the FOREX so that I can diversify looking for the best opportunities as I see them.

Daily Routine
I will only trade on days when I am well rested, relaxed and not mentally distracted by matters that will divert my focus. I will spend at least 15 minutes relaxing to music or a form of meditation after a good nights rest before trading.Conduct a Pre-Market Analysis myself, perform a top-down review of the major markets and develop a plan of the day. The trading day is from 9:30 a.m. (EST) to 4:15 p.m. divided into a morning session, lunch and afternoon session.I do not trade for the first hour on Mondays.I do not enter any new trades the last half an hour of the market hours (1545 - 1615 EST).After I have met my goal or the market is closed I will log my journal and then spend quality time with my family.At some point before the end of the day I will revisit the S&P trading day and back test my plan and system.

Pre-Market Analysis

Understanding that 70% of the volatility occurs during the first 2 ½ hours of trading, this step is very important. The goal here is to recognize probable entry or exit points.
Check for - and note important reports, events, and or news releases. Include in the plan of the day candidates and times for probable heightened price volatility.Look at Daily chart with ATR, 60 min and 13 min charts. Was there expansion or contraction?Annotate the previous days high and close with a black line.Determine Market Bias. Where is the price relative to the Daily Pivot (Above the Daily Pivot is bullish bias, below the daily pivot is bearish bias)Note overnight support / resistance levels, double tops/bottoms and trends.Locate and note significant Swing Points.Where are the dynamics / stops?Calculate the previous days Average True Range (ATR).Review the cash, $OEX Globex and the DAX markets.Note the %ATR reached up until this point.Review the charts of the top 10 stocks in the S&P.Top down analysis - is underlying (Weekly) (Daily) trend up, down or sideways? Is current trend with the underlying trend, or against the underlying trend?Create a Plan of the Day (POD) and Trade what I see with the POD outlining probable entries and exits.

Dailly Record Keeping

Every trade made during the day should be entered on a “Daily Trade Ticket”.

This will allow ease in reviewing previous trades, noting errors that may have been made in entry or exit setups and an audit trail of winners and losers. The daily results will be tabulated each night, after market closure, and entered on the Weekly Summary Sheet.

Day Trading Futures

Day trading futures is definitely the way of selling and buying the future contracts within the same day. Day trading futures which includes the Interest Rate Futures, Foreign Currency, as well as E-mini Stock Index Futures.  These types of markets on a regular basis have significant volume and adequate everyday ranges, which result in consistent profit-making possibilities.   Day trading futures can certainly improve both small and big investment portfolios since the deep liquidity and also huge day-to-day volume of the actual products enable you to deal one hundred contracts as simply as 1 contract.

All of day trading futures strategies have 1 point in common: they don’t keep positions overnight.  This signifies that just before the end of the final bell in the daily session, every open position would be closed.  The end of the standard trading session (differs by market) is noticeable by the closing bell, and this usually takes place approximately 3:30pm Central time.

In many cases, day trading futures are scheduled for just few minutes or perhaps for the entire session.  To achieve success to be a futures day trader, you need to have good skills, self-discipline, as well as practical experience.  Every single day trading future marketplace possesses its own standards which describe market parameters including the symbol and tick size.  Future trading is an active trading marketplace, which means market price is incredibly high and trading quantity is also high.

On day trading futures, it’s very important look for those markets as well as time frames which best suit your individuality, your state of mind, and also your own financial resources. Understanding how to get better in this kind of trading isn’t as complicated as the majority of individuals believe it is, and maybe that’s what covering so well the bottom-line distinction between the very few successful day traders and the countless defeated ones.  Normally there is more in day trading futures rather than just chances, however, if you can learn and then apply the rule of chances, you will be good in the process to a prosperous day trading futures.

Futures Trading On The Internet

When I first stated in futures trading it was in the mid 1990s.  I think there was an internet (lol) but I had no idea what it was or how to use it. I would get my charts mailed to be, and use a popular financial newspaper to fill in the blanks.  I would call my orders in to what was known as a discount broker, but who still charged me $100 for a round turn trade, while treating me like crap in the process.  I would then have to wait a week or so for my statement and for confirmations to come through the mail.

Fast forward a few years, and I discovered the wonderful world of the internet.  It took my futures trading to the next level, and allowed me the speed and transparency I needed in order to make futures trading my business.    

There are no shortages of brokers that are specific for futures trading.  Just use the big G (Google) and search for futures brokers.  Read about them and delve deeper.  You can shop for low commissions and extra features such as charting, education, and newsletters with trade selections.  The best part?  It’s such a competitive business, that the brokers will all be super nice to you, as they fight for your business.  No more getting treated like crap because you are a small trader, and you will be privy to all the best modern technology that is offered.

The internet allows the futures trading professional the ability to get data in, processed and acted on very quickly.  No more waiting for your broker to get back to you, or putting you on hold in favor of a larger client.  Most of the best futures trading brokers have online help, and a chat feature, along with an 800 number.  this allows you to get the help you need in order for your futures trading business to grow without any hassles.

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