I had some experience position trading hi tech stocks during the late 90's and took profits with the rising tide, but lost most of it with the falling tide in 2000 and decided to call it a day.
Last year I was introduced to a (for me) completely different type of trading by a friend who has been day trading futures successfully for several years after which I signed up for the OEC demo platform which I have used for just over 6 months now. Chose OEC because it was not expensive and the data comes for free - also I'm not familiar with, or knowledgeable about, the various other platforms available. Acting on my friendly trader's advice I have aimed for consistency and not raised my sights too high.
I have concentrated solely on the FDAX and set my target at 16 points a day with one contract. When my target is achieved I close down the computer for the day. I am now at the position where I feel confident using the platform with the DAX and can achieve my target on most days. I feel that I am now ready to open a live account with OEC.
I am not fooling myself into believing that what I can achieve with the demo I can also achieve live and I would be grateful for input and enlightenment from experienced traders which may forewarn me of what significant differences to expect. I think (hope) I can handle the emotional side of things but am more concerned about the speed of order fills and the reliability of the platform.
I am not using any indicators (except ema's) because things happen too quickly for them to help me. I use multiple slow ema's (a la Guppy) to get a feel of market direction but instead of the bunch of fast ones I use only ema5 and 13 tick bars. My trades average gains of 2 to 4 points per trade with durations ranging from a few seconds to one or two minutes. All orders are entered directly on my chart as bracket orders. The reliability of the ADSL at my location leaves much to be desired but I am assuming, and please correct me if I am wrong, that the bracket is on the OEC server so that in the event of internet failure, one or other side of the bracket will execute.
Well, now I'm at the point where I either continue with the demo or take the plunge, and any helpful advice or cautionary notes will be appreciated.
Kabe
Last year I was introduced to a (for me) completely different type of trading by a friend who has been day trading futures successfully for several years after which I signed up for the OEC demo platform which I have used for just over 6 months now. Chose OEC because it was not expensive and the data comes for free - also I'm not familiar with, or knowledgeable about, the various other platforms available. Acting on my friendly trader's advice I have aimed for consistency and not raised my sights too high.
I have concentrated solely on the FDAX and set my target at 16 points a day with one contract. When my target is achieved I close down the computer for the day. I am now at the position where I feel confident using the platform with the DAX and can achieve my target on most days. I feel that I am now ready to open a live account with OEC.
I am not fooling myself into believing that what I can achieve with the demo I can also achieve live and I would be grateful for input and enlightenment from experienced traders which may forewarn me of what significant differences to expect. I think (hope) I can handle the emotional side of things but am more concerned about the speed of order fills and the reliability of the platform.
I am not using any indicators (except ema's) because things happen too quickly for them to help me. I use multiple slow ema's (a la Guppy) to get a feel of market direction but instead of the bunch of fast ones I use only ema5 and 13 tick bars. My trades average gains of 2 to 4 points per trade with durations ranging from a few seconds to one or two minutes. All orders are entered directly on my chart as bracket orders. The reliability of the ADSL at my location leaves much to be desired but I am assuming, and please correct me if I am wrong, that the bracket is on the OEC server so that in the event of internet failure, one or other side of the bracket will execute.
Well, now I'm at the point where I either continue with the demo or take the plunge, and any helpful advice or cautionary notes will be appreciated.
Kabe
