carcanaques

All of TTM TradeStation plug-ins suck. It's amazing that anyone would pay anything for them, but John Carter is the consumate salesman in the futures business.

I also trade ES pre-market from 7:00 a.m EST. Some days it's dead and others it's moving. I'm only looking to get 2-3 points per contract and shut the platform down which is doable most of the time, especially after a market moving report is released at 8:30.

I started my speculative career in sports betting where one can get rich winning 60% of his wagers, but most win less than 53%--the amount to break even after vigorish assuming ALL your wagers are the same amount. I don't know what you do for a living nor what your favorite hobby might be, but chances are there is something at which you are very, very good. Maybe you're an excellent chess player, or horseshoe pitcher, or furniture salesman, carpenter, upholsterer, cook...whatever. There is something at which you have become very skilled...Right? Right. ...And chances are, if a stranger tells you he is also very good at your special thing, it will take you....oh....about a minute and a half to figure out whether he's lying ...Right? Right. How can you do that? You can do it by listening to the guy. If he's claiming to be a good chess player and says something like, "The knights are more valuable to me than the rooks," you'll know you've got yourself a ringer. If you're a good cook, and this guy says he bakes biscuits at 200 degrees, you know this guy doesn't know biscuits from baloney. Sooner or later, phonies always give themselves away. And it's no different with trading. Professional traders can spot a non-expert very quickly. The most obvious giveaway is that phonies tend to make outrageous claims. If an ES futures trader or "educational service" tells you it wins 70+% of its trades (defined as a one point profit before a 1-1.25 stopout) offer to lay 11 to his 10 that it won't win 70+% of his next 20, or 50, or 500--or whatever--trades. In fact, call your banker and mortgage the ranch to back that bet! That's the closest you'll ever come to getting a 'lock' bet. (Better have an honest third party hold the money, though.) :haha:

With all due respect James, if you're not prepared to back up your statements, why bother. You just go into the same category as the others. Anyone can post things like that and then hide behind a self imposed gag order. You made a strong remark and you should support it. If not, don't make it. Talk about a tease! How do you think this protects ET members anyway? All the other forums have run these types of threads on and off for years. It's really old news (or rumour I should say). Since I'm not a principal to this matter, I'll bow out. I've made my point whether or not anyone else agrees. Maybe a few of the TL people who were alleged to have joined the Zoo will come forward and share their feelings--those that sent $6000, not the jaded or jilted.

Don't believe any of these bashers. They have no first hand knowledge. Through all the ranting and raving from the likes of brownsfan and others, the fact remains that not one single longstanding member as ever publicly voiced anything negative about it. Newbietrader--have your friend come here and tell us directly about his experience. brownsfan--you have a long documented history of zoo hating which only got worse when a few emails in which Soultrader told the Zoo he wasn't pleased with you Zoo bashing here started to float around the forums. I happened to see a few and there's no doubrt about the dialogue between James and them. That must have stung a bit, hey? There was a zoo member who sent his trading statements to some joker named pitbulltrader on ET who became conspicuously silent after he received them. I don't know much about the Zoo, but until a few people who spent their money come forward and explain why it's a scam or junk--and submit themselves to scrutiny by other members to validate their claims (no bash shills) I am not going to believe one word by the naysayers that smear them. So, it looks as though James has allowed this crap to creep back into his forum or he's taking a vacation. In any case, let's hope he deletes this garbage OR allows members to openly express their opinions about vendors without censorship. I vote for the former. Vendor chit chat is not helpful to the learning experience especially when the posters deal in innuendo and heresay instead of facts from first hand knowledge.

Walter, There is no free lunch. Tradeoffs work in both directions. The ES is the blessed mother of eminis and home of the professionals. Great liquidity. Less noise? Perhaps, but not a place for novices. More like the Texas Hold Em of trading. Caveat emptor.

Your question is redundant. A tick chart by definition is a small time frame. What are you trying to accomplish?

I don't recall complaining about it. I just think it is silly and could mislead novices to think that people with high "IQ" actually know any more than the person with a low one. There are members here who didn't post anything much more substantial than "sounds cool" or "gee, thanks" a hundred times and they win the honor of having a the label "Guru" next to their name. That may float your boat, but not mine. p.s. Sorry to continue in an off topic mode.

Isn't there a policy here that vendors are not allowed to promote their services? I don't see JPJ posting here or any other vendor for that matter. Does that preclude members to start threads and ask about these vendors? Maybe the owner (no mods, please) will clarify what the policy is. In my opinion, a far greater risk is using this forum for so-called "experienced traders" who claim success (but don't prove it) to promulgate their trading methods regardless how bizarre they appear to the uneducated. The rating system here is also a bit absurd. Member's trading accumen is scored based on the number of posts they make (Traders IQ), not real trading knowledge. So many "Guru" and "Master" traders. Reminds me of my kids star system that used in kindergarten.

If you're using candlesticks and "reading" them ala Nisson with all those names for every possible configuration, than they are defacto indicators. I use candles simply because they are easier on my eyes than barcharts, but you should be able to understand price action even without looking at volume per bar. Just zero in on the time & sales or the "print" in real time. And remember, it's not about support and resistance, trendlines, or pivots. It's all about supply and demand, period. That's what moves markets. It couldn't any simpler. Why people make it complicated is perplexing. Probably has to do with tweaking and modifying this that and the other thing to find the Grail. My experience with traders is they pay great lip service to acknowledge there is no Grail and then proceed to tweak all knid of systems, methods, and indicators to find it. And that's why forums like this exist. The input on this forum should be 80% on psychology and 20% on setups, not the other way around, imho.

Bookmaking is illegal in the US except in jurisdictions where it is legal and operated by a licensed casino. Most of those outfits charge 11 to 10 on all bets that involve a pointspread; for example, football, basketball. Moneyline wagers (betting on the winner straightup) have set odds for payouts, much like the horses and the bookmakers cut is built in to those odds and payouts.

Never read that book as I stayed for away from horses. As far as trading goes, my money management is garden variety. I won't risk more than 2% of my capital on any trade and no more than 4% per day, which is to say, if I have two stoputs in a row, I quit for the day and live to trade another.

Suite yourself. For the record, I offered a peace pipe to Reaver in a PM and it was rejected. Apparently, he thinks he owns the place. Oh well, that's between him and James.

Thank you James for the clarification. I am enjoying my time here, however, if you feel I have overstayed my welcome and/or violated your rules, please let me know and I will depart with dispatch.

How dare you call me a clown! I resent that and demand an apology. I have been nothing but courteous and professional here. Doesn't every new member come out of the blue? Is this a private country club or an open forum? And who are you to tell me what to do here? If James has a problem with my posts, I'm sure he'll let me know.