joseph000

As for May 6th, I was fortunate to already have been short. Although my algo advised me to scale out a good portion of my contracts due to the over-sold condition. I have had some 'slippage' with stop loss orders usually with stocks and lightly-traded futures. At the most with ES, I have experienced about .25 point max. There are ways to protect your stop-loss orders from erratic market conditions. Check with your broker. I won't mention my broker so this reply won't be viewed as a sales-pitch, but most legit brokers have options easily enabled to ensure that your stop-loss isn't the first to get filled at an extreme level and etc. You can leave these options always enabled or you could monitor the VIX and when the level exceeds 29.9 you could enable. I hope this helps.

Interactive Brokers: http://www.interactivebrokers.com I trade primarily ES. IB has several platforms for traders (their Trader Workstation is most popular). Their competitively priced for futures and better than most for stocks and mm interest rates; their financial position is very strong and you can hold high-balances with confidence. The best is that I can stream their data into 3rd party software solutions for advanced analysis (i.e. Ensign). I hope that this helps. Take care.

I take regular breaks throughout the trading day. A routine is helpful i.e. 11:30 check out trader chat rooms; 11:55 lunch and etc... Two important items to always keep me connected even while on break: 1. Audible alarms: I have alerts that will signal me when a trade set-up is within range. This signal tells me to "get back to work". I may be in the next room or even shooting a game of pool to relax. But, when I hear that signal, I will literally run as if it were fire drill! Laughing at yourself is great way to ease the nerves and back into the market. 2. Stop watch: if I need to take a 5-minute break or pit stop I will literally use a stopwatch to time me- the watch hangs around my neck. This keeps me honest and to avoid distractions. I hope that this helps!