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I'd agree with this as well, the original learnings for me where before you do not double up on your paper account 3 times in a row, and show at least 6 months of consistency do not go anywhere near the real money. I've done that but than when i switched to real money, it was a bit of a disaster and very quicklly lost confidence. My issue was i was cutting profits short (playing 5 spot lots ) and letting loosers then run long and being stoped out. I had to go back then to minis and get my confidence back and logic in my head right.
I guess, having few hundred dollars of few grand in green in the beggining tends to play with the head. Where as if you play micro on mini on the begging losses are real to cause pain as well as profits and gets you in a swing of things but not disasterus.
Regs
Markets are logical and
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
I understand what you are saying about discipline, but new traders have to learn the logistics of trading before risking real money.
When I first started, I lost more money from operational mistakes than from discipline issues. But that's just me.
When I first started, I traded YM. It was $5 a tick and moved really slow. I didn't make much $ on it, but it was difficult to lose a lot of money on it.
I'm just a simple man trading a simple plan.
My daddy always said, "Every day above ground is a good day!"
Is the YG specifically easier to learn on / less risky than the ES? Is there a metric I can use to see for myself? Pure volatility?
Without trying to be argumentative, I know from my experience as a poker player that this isn't true for all people. Removing money from a game of poker leaves me with no interest - how can you value potential moves without some semblance of real value? How can you play against opponents who are also not grounded in reality.
Though I recognize trading is different from poker, I think the same idea applies. I definitely expect to learn the mechanics, and maybe practice reading price a little, but how will I learn money management, discipline, and savvy if I only care about whether I win or lose "on paper?"
I'm happy to hear I'm not the only one who thinks this way. What did you trade to start? For the ETF's, were you able to get around PDT?
2. Losing real money certainly could flatten the learning curve ... but then again... if you put on one of those shocking dog collars and have someone zap you every time you screw up.. it would probably work as well..most traders wouldn't do that... but then again... you are in San Francisco...
As with any instrument you consider trading, you have to become familiar with the behavior of the instrument. The only way to achieve that is face time with the instrument.
I'm just a simple man trading a simple plan.
My daddy always said, "Every day above ground is a good day!"
As a beginner, I would recommend against futures until you've got some proven methods in place and a firm grip on trading psychology. A better place to start is with swinging stocks (not day trading stocks, so no pattern day trader $25k minimum required). You can also trade forex currency pairs at $1/pip with some good brokers, instead of futures currency pairs @ $12.50/tick (12.5x less costly for a beginner).
It means you open a new position with a stock (NFLX, BAC, C, AAPL etc etc etc) and hold it for several days before selling. You can find some stock scanners that show you stocks with recent volatility, and you can also analyze sectors and find over or under performers and look to long or short individual stocks within a sector. You can even trade ETF's and end up trading something like crude oil (USO), or even ES (SPY) if you want, but you are better able to control risk for smaller accounts because you don't have to buy as much as you do with 1 future contract.
