estrader

I am not fully proficient with C# programming and was hoping to get some help. Is there a way of getting TOTALVOLUME for a contract without having to subscribe to the OnPriceChanged event? I'd like to be able to get a value like TotalVolume whenever I request it, rather than waiting for the event. I would appreciate any help with this in a "C# for dummies kind of way"

Just to add to Richards post, when you say "currently traded" I think you mean "Front Month".

An inexperienced trader (less than 5 years) should only use hard stops without question and never, ever move them in a direction that increases risk. It will take years (5+) before you are proficient enough to use mental stops.

I wasn't confusing anything................. I called I.B and got the answer Moderated Message: Removed some text - prior poster was trying to help and spent a lot of time trying

Ok. Imagine you work in IB Customer service; I call you up and ask the following: I would like to trade the ES contract but I’m a little confused by your Initial Margins. The CME specifies $5625- but you have two different initial margins, an intraday initial margin of $2813 and an overnight initial margin of $5625. How can your initial intraday margin be lower than the one mandated by the CME? Does this mean I can open 1 position with only $3000 in my account? If so, what hours of trading does the ‘Intraday margin’ apply to and how low will you allow the balance of my account go before closing out my position? Now, answer these questions in a way that a new trader would understand....please

Explain how this works in practical terms, from the perspective of a trader who wants to open a position. CME does not specifiy two different Initial Margins. Actually forget answering my question. After reading what you wrote again it's clear you must be confused. Why would IB flip this value over to the "Intraday Initial' under certain volatile conditions? Margins go UP under volatile conditions not down.

Exactly, this says it all. You know the risks but I'm expected to believe that futures brokers would completely ignore the risks and arbitrarily set their own margins that are below the ones set by the exchange..c'mon!!

I will contact CME group myself and find out if this is fact or opinion because it is something I've never heard before. I can't find anything in the contract specs which specify two different initial margins. Do you trade more than one contract intra-day and do you have less than $10K in your account?

OK, so basically we are none the wiser after half a dozen posts. Brokers set their own day trading margins and the exchange sets the initial margin that ALL brokers must abide by. Therefore, it is impossible to open more than one contract with only $10K in the account.

Before anyone else posts their opinion, make sure you know the difference between a Day Trading margin an Initial Margin and Maintenance Margin.

I repeat: My broker gives me a $500 DAY TRADING MARGIN. This is different to the initial margin set by the exchange.

There is a big difference between taking a loss and putting up potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars or even $Millions of your own capital every single day as margin for your clients. I can understand a $500 day trading margin because that gives approx $5100 headroom from the initial margin for unexpected volatility. What I can't understand is an Intraday Initial Margin of $2813. Why have two different 'Initial Margins' anyway? This means that if you are a swing trader you can be more aggressive/risky if you open your trades during the day even if you intend holding for more than one day? Doesn't make sense to me.

You could be right, but I find it too hard to believe that any broker would take on the risk of initial margin requirements on behalf of their client. If my broker did that I would trade with another broker because they will become insolvent in no time. My broker has a $500 day trading margin but I cannot open a contract unless I have the minimum initial margin set by the exchange- $5650. From the I.B Website: Performance Bond/Margin Rates The CME which is the exchange that the ES is listed on quotes an initial margin of $5,625 The CME may have an 'Intra-day' margin of $2813 but I can't find it on their site even though I.B lists it. However, it is clear even from I.B that it is the Exchange which sets the Initial Margin.

I would doubt that anyone who claims that their broker 'lets' them trade more than 1 contract with only $10K is actually a real trader. The margins are set by the exchange and for very good reasons. The exchange increased the initial margin around 2007-08 when the markets became extremely volatile and this would have been a pointless exercise if brokers could arbitrarily determine the margin requirements for their clients. Before we get to discussing whether or not it is insane we should first consider if it is even possible to trade more than 1 contract with only $10k. I say that it is impossible. If anyone says it is possible then please provide the name and contact number of your broker so that I can confirm it for myself.

It is strange that you say this because now you contradict yourself. Nothing should be considered useless when it comes to time and sales data. Do you think that 1000+ contracts traded outside/inside the spread isn't worth considering even if it happens <1% of the time?

1) Trades that occur inside the spread 2) Trades that occur above the best Ask 3) Trades that occur below best Bid. I think BlowFish is asking for the best Bid/Ask to note where the last trade was filled.

Am I the only one who understands (misunderstands?) what you are asking for? You don't want just ordinary tick data, you want price change data? I don't know of any company that provides this sort of information. You would have to capture it or figure it out for yourself, but I could be wrong. There may be some company that does this even though I think it's utterly useless data, although you must obviously have a need for it.

My broker allows a $500 day trading limit but that does not get around the $5,625 initial margin set by the exchange to open a contract. The $500 limit comes into effect after the contract has been opened. Simply put, it is impossible to open 4 contracts with $10,000 in the account. I would also add, I don't know why anyone would set a target of 1% profit/month. I wonder, if Bill Gates had set himself a profit target of $1 Billion whether we would all still be using DOS 6

With a $5,625 initial margin to open 1 contract I would think it's impossible.

Fine. This comment, like the rest of your 'argument' has been based on nothing but your ill-considered, ill-informed, ignorant opinion. No facts, just bluster. I'm not interested in what you have to say anymore. You can have the last word because it's clear to me that is the sort of "person" you are.

I don't know what your problem is Mighty Mouse. You are not a tape-reader, you couldn't figure it out, you failed at it and as a result you think anyone who practices it is just talking bullshit. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

I didn’t misunderstand your analogy. Taking away the Cheetah’s hearing is the equivalent to taking something away from time & sales that is needed, like price. You claim giving back the Cheetah’s hearing is giving it something extra that it wasn’t born with thereby giving it some sort of extra edge. You have absolutely no proof of this at all. How can you possibly say that I am at a disadvantage to another trader? On what basis do you make this claim? How do you know how much money tape-readers out there make? You are trying to assert your opinion as if it is fact. And there is the crux of your argument, you can’t do it so you don’t believe anyone else can either. Like I said earlier, if you had to ask, no answer would suffice. With the multitude of tools out there everyone should be a great carpenter, do you agree? I doubt a person is profitable if they feel they need lot’s of ‘bells and whistles’ to assist in the decision making process. If you really want to know, I do add something to time & sales which gives me an extra edge, but it isn’t something you will find in your trading platform. What is that extra something? Experience! Hard earned experience that gives me what you could call a 6th sense. I know that you will find it hard to believe, you want something tangible. Ok, I use a pencil and paper and make notes. So, I suppose I wasn’t completely honest, there are some things I add, experience and pencil and paper.

Well, you didn’t really answer my question. How much time and effort have you devoted to the art of tape reading? You have manipulated your analogy to suit your argument because I would say that the Cheetah already has everything it needs to catch its prey. You are talking about removing a sense, its hearing, and then giving it back and claiming you have added something to give it an extra edge in catching prey. That would be like taking price information away from time & sales and then giving it back and saying you have now added an extra edge. I suppose I can infer by the fact that you ask me why I don’t use a chart that you haven’t devoted anywhere near the time and effort that I have into practicing tape-reading. It reminds me of something someone once said, if you have to ask, then no answer will suffice. What would a chart tell me that time and sales doesn’t? How many people ‘use’ charts in their trading and still lose money?

I think it goes beyond that Kiwi. When the going gets tough many people give up and try something else so they never find out if they would have succeeded. I was very close to that point many times over the last 5 years but I believed so much in what I was doing that I persevered. I also trade with a very tight stop (5 ticks) even though I was told that this was utterly impossible. Would I, could I have achieved more with other methods...who knows and who cares!

Absolutely perhaps probably How much time and effort have you devoted to tape reading? I'm asking because I'd like to know what qualifies you to make such a statement. 'Heck of a lot more' is quite an assertion.