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Trading: The one I'm creating in the present....Index Futures mini/micro, ZF
Posts: 2,311 since Nov 2011
Thanks Given: 7,341
Thanks Received: 4,518
Honestly I think there both horrible and pray on peoples (traders) dreams. But a deceitfully clever business model.
Ask them this question: How many traders currently earn a comfortable living solely from their (TST) program?
Then ask: How many traders have taken multiple combines as well as the next step right after the combine (whatever it's called).
It's as simple as this....if you don't have the number one advantage to play in the NBA, namely height (with very few exceptions <0.5%), you won't be in the NBA.
I think you would do better to just trade your own account.
Ron
...My calamity is My providence, outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy...
The steed of this Valley is pain; and if there be no pain this journey will never end.
Buy Low And Sell High (read left to right or right to left....lol)
I agree with both of you. Most of these "funded" type accounts are after beginners who believe they can make it in the markets. I have had other guys tell me it is "cheaper" to do a combine than blowing your own account. Which is true.. but a SIM account is free! So that logic doesnt make sense to me. And if you cant trade a SIM account you have no business trading a live one.
@Trader146 - if you are afraid to go live, you are trading too much volume. You need to be trading the "i dont care size" in order to remain objective and unemotional. Switch or start off in a forex market where you can risk pennies to dollars instead of a futures market where you are risking a minimum of $60-100. Every professional trader starts out small and works to build his position size within his comfort range.
@Blash - i like that Mark Douglas video, thanks for sharing! Interesting stuff. I personally believe the hardest part about trading is the psychological side. (which again goes back to trading a smaller position, if you truly do not care you can do what you have to do, which is follow the institutions)
I agree with whats been said. If you are uncomfortable live then its purely because you dont have faith in your edge. You can combat that in different ways, but a paid SIM account is a terrible idea imho. Id rather make a $6000 SIM account and try increasing it to 15k or more. Do that 5-10-20-whatever times until you really minimize fear and build trust and intuition. If you do it 20 times in a row without going bust, you're more than likely ready in terms that the system works and all you need to focus on is executing as you would on SIM. I have no idea how your approach is, whether its highly discretionary in any part or whether it might be possible to automate the management to cut out your emotional biases.
If big drawdowns are an issue, perhaps a daily loss limit could be useful - market conditions change, often intraday, but if youve been losing half the day it might be prudent to wait for the next day or until the market returns to a favourable mode. In fact researching optimal market conditions for any strategy can lead to amazing savings on days where the action is clearly not favorable..
If you've learned CL then i would be careful swapping markets, as they all have their own personalities and often seasonality. Its not that CL is constant (hell, look at january-feb this year vs last 30 days) but neither is anything else. It would be great if you had a CLmicro to trade but, hey.. (actually, i think ive seen brokers here offer oil derivatives that vary in terms of gearing). in fact, due to the seasonality, you may want to challenge yourself in terms of double/tripling the initial $6000 as many times as you can over X months (6-12, whatever timeframe you feel comfortable) instead of just doing it 10 times in 15 days(so, get a realistic sample(TIME) size).
Forex i usually dont recommend because there is no exchange. You cant track buys/sells correctly nor ensure you get favourable fills compared to the other guy using another broker. So the shorter your timeframe the less viable forex is. If you swingtrade and hold for days, forex can be a viable stepping stone. And even tho its a new market, if you master EURUSD, you can always upgrade to m6e and 6e futures later(or any other corresponding pairs).
@mastercraft29 - i like the idea of following the institutions, but how exactly would you recommend tracking them? Would the approach require scaling in and out of a fairly large position and holding overnight, or do you believe in tracking institutions on an intraday basis?
"Hey! I've got 10 fresh apples to sell, any hungry buyers out here today?!" "Maybe! Just let me check my moving average and RSI!"
Check out my journal to see how i follow the institutions. Short answer is price action, they cannot hide what they are doing. Your job as a trader is to mimic them. I trade a 5 min chart but it applies to every market and every time frame. I personally do not hold overnight, and I do scale in and out. But no you do not have to and i did not until recently. You should only scale in once you are seasoned and understand what the institutions are doing.
As for forex, there is absolutely nothing wrong with trading a forex market. I do it every day. In fact all beginners should start there because the cost of tuition is low. The goal is not to get rich, it is to develop the skills needed to become a professional trader without risking a lot of capital.
Unfortunately this behavior seems to be baked into our primordial stew, this revenge trading type behavior as that type of failure sets in (in the moment, it's tough). It's a difficult thing to change and I suspect even the best traders fail with this a certain times, but we catch ourselves and stop right then and there, shutdown the computer and start over the next day (at least that is what my mentor does and now what I do). I have never taken a trade that I thought was perfect, there has always been something that would have made it all the sweeter no doubt.
Ok so you've seem to have deciphered the cryptic Al brooks bar counting system to monitor institutional activities? I mostly see hindsight recaps of what happened in retrospect and a few claims about profitable trades. However i dont see any executions on majority of your charts. And the one i found seems to have a buy executed at a level that price never touched.. ?
Sorry to have to say, all my red flags got raised from the brief visit - but i hope its just me and that you genuinely do well. Perhaps if you post trades when they occur live and refrain from editing them it could encourage a little more trust to future readers (if that even matters to you).
Regardless, all the best in your trading adventure!
"Hey! I've got 10 fresh apples to sell, any hungry buyers out here today?!" "Maybe! Just let me check my moving average and RSI!"
