ZOSO

Haven't tried them all so I don't know the best. I have accounts with Mirus for NT/Zen and AMP for NT/TT and am happy with both, albeit Mirus is more expensive because of Zen and I, for one, don't see any added value. If you held a gun to my head and made me pick one, it would be AMP with NT/TT.

Two words: STAY AWAY.

OP, I really like TS for data and charting, but not for trading futures, so I pay the $100/month or whatever it is for TS and then use a dedicated futures broker with a professional feed such as NinjaTrader with Zenfire and TradingTechnologies. Good luck and be careful out there.

Since someone here mentioned what "professionals" are watching, I want to add a comment that applies to that group who daytrade futures directionally. The vast majority are scalpers who trade size. They make their money asap and then stop trading for the day. This is how they make their living. Trade 50+ ES cars for 2-4 ticks and see ya. All the talk of HH/LL/ABC/123, and indicators mean nothing to these traders as they are rarely around to watch these formations and patterns and nor do they care to. They watch the DOM and then pounce when the probabilities are in their favor. I dare say none of those types are posters on TL.

The facts don't change and I believe most of these PA traders do no better than others--that is, 95% of them also lose money. If you believe that the elite 5% who extract the money out of the markets are predominatly PA traders, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I want to sell you.:rofl:

I think consistently trading profitably with PA is one of the toughest undertakings for a trader. Even if you have your eyes on a level of SR, you still have to analyze the PA trade-by-trade as price approaches those levels before you can make a decision and that requires a skill set that few can master. The alternative is to simply place your order where price SHOULD behave based on prior patterns, but you are taking a leap of faith. It is much harder to trade this way than using a systematic set of rules with indicators. Although I'm not enamored with indicators, I find they have value. What all traders need to get over is the desire to pick the top and bottom of a move and be happy getting a decent slice in between. Indicators in the proper configuration can work in this regard despite the inherent lag. Trading PA only has become sort of a club among its proponents who raise their noses and snub those "inferior" traders who haven't dropped their indicators and stepped up to the "superior" PA methods. There are many ways to trade profitably, don't lose sight of that, and don't let anyone tell you their method is better than yours if you are successful. Trading is like putting on a glove, it's not one size fits all.

The 95% number give or take a few hundred basis points, is correct. Again, my futures brokers have confirmed to me and they have no reason to lie. On the contrary, I behooves them to tell a rosier picture so more people get in the game and generate more commissions, but the ones I use are friends who have no hidden agenda. With like odds like that, you have to wonder so many are so intrigued and think they are smarter than the next guy. Human nature I suppose.

Thanks. I'll toy around with this in sim to see if this works with ES, but it's an academic excersise.

I agree and use the pivot high/low indicator to draw those lines.

If you want to use Ninja/TT get a quote from all who provide it, including brokers, and go with the lowest price assuming the people you're evaluating are all reputable. I use Mirus (Dorman), Ninja/Zen pay $4.20/contract and AMP (Velocity) Ninja/TT for $3.80/contract. I give the nod to AMP who clears through Velocity.

The 95% lose number is spot on according to every futures broker I have worked with and they should know since they have access to all the accounts. Don't know about stocks.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are H1 Lines? Also, if I plot a line on 00, 25, 50 and 75, there will be a line on each and every tick since the ES trades in quarters. I'll post a few charts soon, but please address these issues. Thank you.

I'm not selling it. My intent is to offer it to a few unsuccessful traders who I know and then take a cut of their profits if it works for them. If they fail, I get nothing. Frankly, I think the arrangement is quite fair to all parties. In fact, as brownsfan has pointed out, I'm the one who is at risk. You're entitled to your opinion, but let's be clear: I'm not selling anything except for the opportunity for a few others to turn a losing proposition into a winning one. Get it?

There are some technological differences like direct CME server access which may result in more favorable speed, but you're talking about micro-fractions of time. Nonetheless, I notice TT is faster and is the preferred frontend among professionals. I pay $3.80/rt will TT and $4.20/rt with Zenfire. That's a disconnect in my book.

I have accounts with AMP and Mirus using Ninja/TT and Ninja/Zenfire, respectively. I favor AMP for a slight edge in execution, customer support and commissions. I have an account with TradeStation for charting, data, and certain custom indicators--not for order execution.

I only trade the S&P e-mini. It has ample liquidity for intraday trading. It also has a great percentage of speculators vis-a-vis hedgers which makes it ideal for taking money from novices. It is also one of the toughest markets to trade due to price oscillation.

I never said I could make anyone a small fortune or a large one. I have a trading method that is discretionary and highly successful for me. Can others be successful using it? That is the big question and really depends if they have the discipline to take the trade when presented and not get all hot and bothered if the trade goes against them and trying to second guess and everything else a novice does that undermines their results. So, I'm looking to help traders who have overcome the mental demons, but simply haven't found a method that workd well enough to produce a consistent profit. My time is valuable and I won't give it away for free, but I am willing to be an equity partner if what I taught yields profits for the student within a reasonable time frame, say a year. After that, the profit is all theirs. So there you have it. Happy Thanksgiving to all sentient beings. Bump: Do I have to provide the lawnmower?:rofl:

OP, I don't know how large the audience here is for forex trading. I never traded it and probably won't because I'm not smart enough. I trade the S&P E-mini. Can you impart any of your knowledge on those of us who trade futures, whether it be a system, method or indicator? I tried your Fib SR on my ES charts and it wasn't helpful (seemed like each bar had a dot on it), but perhaps I'm not usng an appropriate timeframe. Can you help? Thank you.

I experimented with HMA and didn't find it very useful probably because I trade tick charts. Then again, I feel that way about most indicators except for heiken ashi.

Well, I don't want to get into the collection agency business, that's for sure. Yes, I get the acccount statements and then send a weekly bill to the student(s). I'm not planning on scaling this, so I can deal with a small number of people. If they are making money, that means I am also and I never have a problem paying taxes on earned income.

The first step must include getting daily statements from the broker. I suppose you'd need a form of a service agreement between the parties, but if someone wants to screw another, there's little that can be done to stop them. This is a deal that is basically done in good faith. Relying on legal agreements to get paid is a loser in the long run.

I was never a big fan of upfront fees. What do you think is a reasonable starting account balance for someone who will be trading the S&P e-mini only (that's all I trade).

I totally agree with your post.

Those are good choices and you're right, I am taking on the risk so I have to be extremely selective and make a judgment if ones failure is do to poor method, psychological hurdles or both. I'm inclined to go with option1 over a one year period. And although I'm not thrilled with taking any upfront money other than for out of pocket expenses, I'm interested to hear what you think the upfront fee should be for 2? Thanks.

I use Ninja/Zen and Ninja/TT and I think the latter is faster, but both are excellent.