Articles

I was recently asked about stops and different types of market orders. They were good questions and they reiterated to me the fact that I work with people that range from seasoned trading professionals to those testing the futures trading waters for the first time. One thing I always like to point out to the less-experienced traders: There are no "dumb" questions and there is no shame in being inexperienced. Every single futures trader that ever walked the face of the earth has been inexperienced at one point. This section on types of market orders, including stops, may be a "refresher" feature for the more experienced traders, and will likely be a more valuable feature for the traders newer to this fascinating field. Market Order...

If you were to ask most retail day-traders what is the most important factor for them when trading, there would probably be many different answers given. For me the most important and overriding consideration is the ability to close an open trade. For most people this does not go beyond setting a stop loss whether fixed or trailing. However, there are many possible scenarios that could result in large losses being incurred if not catered for and in this article I will be discussing a number of these and how to overcome them. Issue 1 - Loss of Power A sudden loss of electrical power could cause a much bigger problem than you thought possible. If you are trading using a desktop computer and the power fails you could be in an open trade...

Through my years of trading, one thing I have found is that one strategy does not fit all. We all have different risk tolerances and monetary goals. One of my goals in each E-mini Futures class I teach is to show the students a strategy and have them take it home and use it as a foundational starting point for defining their own strategy. My style is to follow the trend and enter on pullbacks. You could call this style Intraday Swing trading. This works for me because it fits my personality, patience and discipline. I understand that trading is a business dealing in probabilities and that it takes a series of trades to make a trader, not just one or two trades. However, with that said, not everybody trades like me. Of course, that is a...

While traders constantly search for new and improved methods on their quest for the "holy grail" trading system, they often overlook the most significant element that dictates their success. This inherent element is pacing. Proper pacing means you flow with the market. When the market is running fast out of the gate, so should you. When the market slows to a crawl, so should you. In a nutshell, have you ever made nice profits in the first hour of the trading day only to give it all back gradually throughout the day? Uh huh. Before I delve too far into this, let's first start off understanding why pacing is overlooked. Traders tend to believe that a method should be working in all market conditions at all times. When the method doesn't...

In order to be a successful trader - and not fall into the trap of so many - it is important to take good advice and remember that, sometimes, others do know best! Here are the Top 10 tips for successful trading. Follow them closely (or at least to an extent) and you should stand a good chance of becoming an accomplished spread bettor. ALWAYS stay in control Winners are always in control; both mentally and emotionally. Losers aren't. Losers are sometimes guided by emotions - This will lead to you making bad decisions! 'Plan the trade, trade the plan'. Always stick to the original plan. Deviations will invariably lead to an error. Take responsibility for results Winners are can sometimes lose! But most of the time they win and...

In this article I will explain to you how to develop a profitable day trading system in five steps: Let's take a closer look at these steps. Step 1: Select a market and a timeframe Every market and every timeframe can be traded with a day trading system. But if you want to look at 50 different futures markets and 6 major timeframes (e.g. 5min, 10min, 15min, 30min, 60min and daily), then you need to evaluate 300 possible options. Here are some hints on how to limit your choices: Though you can trade every futures markets, we recommend that you stick to the electronic markets (e.g. e-mini S&P and other indices, Treasury Bonds and Notes, Currencies, etc). Usually these markets are very liquid, and you won't have a problem entering and...

The most important thing in any type of trading is to have a solid set of rules and then to have the self control to follow those rules. Day traders especially need to have rules to follow as emotion can and will have you buying and selling at the wrong time. Day Trading Rules: Only enter trades when price is at a support (demand) or resistance (supply) level, no matter what time of day or night. Two types of entries: Breakouts and first pullbacks (see below). Each day, identify one demand and supply level in each market, using a larger intra-day time frame. Always know where the market is in the larger picture with regard to supply and demand. Only trade opportunities that offer at least a 3:1 profit zone to the first target...

So you want to be a day trader huh?, really???, hmmm, well isn’t that special!!!! Think you have what it takes to make a living trading the Markets??? Do ya Bunkie???? I wouldn’t quit my day job pal. In fact unless you’ve done your homework first and foremost, don’t do this until you’ve at least tried it on a part time basis. Otherwise if you try to dive into the abyss without a net, you're doomed right from the get go! Doing it on a part time basis just for the feel of it is fine. Never would work otherwise. Oh and pardon me for asking, but what makes YOU think you're smart enough, stable enough, and mechanical enough to do this? You read about it in a book right? Seemed kinda easy to ya? Did it? You figured heck this doesn’t seem so...