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I am not the one to advise you with this. Under the Traders Hideout tab you can go read through the category: Emini and Emicro Index Futures Trading. There is a lot of info on different platforms, fees and comparisons of commission rates that might be helpful to you. Form what I have seen, there is no simple answer because a lot depends on what is most important to you. Some aren't tied to a brokerage firm and you have to have a separate broker. I'm using Infinity Futures with really high r/t commissions but the customer service is really good and I don't have to pay for a platform fee if I make 10 r/t trades a month. Also from what I have seen, different brokers have different margin requirements (some for the micros are only $50 per contract for day trading). Most places don't put all the info out there either so it makes it very difficult for new traders to just get started. Do your research (which for me is ongoing), pick one and at least get your feet wet. Wish I could be of more help. Good luck!
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
So just an update and maybe a word of encouragement for new traders to the Micro ES. I really struggled going from killing it in paper trading to the reality of real money on the line. I lost $1000 in 4 1/2 months. Twice I have called my broker and told him to cancel my account (he talked me out of it). I really do think 90% of trading is getting over the mental barrier. Still have a long way to go but I FINALLY have had two positive weeks in a row.
Some things that helped me:
-I realized I cannot do scalping with micros, I just could not do it with fees included.
-I began using what I call One Shot One Lot where I trade only ONE lot at the open of the market and once I am out I have to FORCE myself to log out of live so I am not tempted to trade again. and then I do usually log into my simulator. This method of only trading one lot a day really helps me see the times I am effective entering and exiting trades.
-For a while I would be killing it and not exit the trade because I thought it would go further, only to watch that trade reverse and lose it all. I started using the tpo profiles to give me an idea of the strong price areas and tighten up my stop when I get past 16 ticks. I have stopped trying to do runners but if I'm thinking that down the road I can try to do one runner at the end of several successful days.
-For market analysis I use daily and 4 hour trend to give me an idea of direction sentiment, TPO profile, watch for news announcements, and use fractal points on TOS. Even though I might have an idea of where the market will go for the day, I watch price action for the first 2-3 minutes or so to confirm it before entering the trade.
-I noticed I traded best at the open of the market so when I get confirmation of the market heading in the direction of a strong tpo area I enter one contract with a 5 point stop (20 ticks). Once price begins to move solidly in my favor I pull my stop up to break even +2. My target is set for 25 ticks but depending on where the top profile ranges are and the intensity of the moves, sometimes I will extend or shorten my target.
Hope this helps some other new trader. One thing I've learned is there are a million different ways to trade and you just have to find the one that works for you. I'm still finding mine but finally feel like I might finally be on the right path.
I did the exact same thing when I first started trading so what you are going through is probably quite common . Learn to stick to your trading plan and let the trade come to you . If you just try to out smart the market you will usually lose . I hope you are not trying to scalp the MES or ES as a new trader , it can take years to master that , especially the ES . Don't give up as it will come with lots of patience .
I was sim trading the MES and happy with the results but then when I queried the broker on commissions, I was faced with a huge problem. The commissions were chewing up the majority of my profits. The fee was $1.37 per side per contract. Unless you manage to get really good runners, it'd be a losing proposition to be using this to scalp. The round trip on a standard emini ES contract for example is usually no more than $5.00. But if you want to match that with the equivalent MES 10 contracts, the fees are ridiculous. Work it out -- $1.37 + $1.37 times 10.
This is too bad because the MES is a great way to get into the market but unfortunately it appears you're not going to get much out of it. Novice traders generall haven't yet figured out how to get runners, unless by sheer luck, usually.
So I've moved to the ES in my sim trading as that's what I'm going to have to trade when I go live if I hope to make anything.
As a Canadian, I'm very limited in choice of brokers, so I can't shop around for better commission rates on the micros. Unless somebody has a suggestion, I'm feeling stuck.
Thanks for that. I was with AMP and unfortunately like a few others I've read about, they sent me an email one afternoon informing me that I was being booted out and couldn't trade with them anymore. They informed me in the email that there was no way I could respond or appeal as the decision was final and there was no room to negotiate. If I wanted to know why, they weren't going to tell me. Other traders have written about exactly the same thing happening to them.
I had cancer for five years and was undergoing treatment, 9 months in hospital, and several bouts of chemo, as well as three episode of sepsis. So I wasn't trading for five years, untilI was finally declared in remission. I was advised by the oncologist not to trade if it was stressful in any way. I came back on sim with AMP, had a technical glitch, which probably put me on their radar. So they probably cut me off because I hadn't been using them at all, although they continued to send me statements, and oddly enough, still do. But I can't trade through them.
For a Canadian, that means little other choice as the Canadian government doesn't allow futures brokers to serve us if they don't have some kind of presence in Canada. I've looked at IB but their platform is a dog's breakfast in terms of user friendliness. But maybe I'll take another look. Anyway, ironically, the day AMP gave me the boot, I was just about to press the send button to wire $5,000 in my account so I could get trading again.
Eventually, I hooked up with Global, who had arranged my account with AMP to begin with. So they've hooked me up with Ironbridge. Terrific serrvice, but the commissions for the micros is insane. OK for the minis but not the micros. So I've decided it's minis I'll be trading and not micros.
If anybody has any suggestions, I'd be happy to consider them. I've read where others have been advised to call AMP and take up my issue with them. Some have and got nowhere. Pretty draconian approach to customer service, although the broker I was hooked up with was great. Others have advised me to simply move on, business is business, and so on.
