wsam29

man, just don't enter a limit order if you need to get in or out! But if you don't want a nasty fill, put in a limit. then again, they still have fast markets and when that is announced, all gloves are off, taht goes for all pit traded products. I don't miss those, it takes forever to get a reported fill, even a market order and you have no clue where you got out. That market gaps up and down alot, i think I mentioned it already, but trading meats is a totally different animal, no pun intended. the liquidity is poor for bellies. I don't suggest anyone start trading that product like I did when I first got into futures. if you're good at trading gaps, thats a market to be in. I'd say take a look, what else do you have to lose.

http://www.007airsoft.com/legality.htm Even though I'm licenced to purchase real firearms, just look at the BS concerning airsoft. :cry:

Any of you guys here into that sport? I'm hooked on it after my friend bought one from Canadian Tire the other night. The accuracy on that little pistol was unbelievable. I managed to high a lamp post from the distance of a side street with no breeze. I was looking into the harder core stuff like the M4A1. I've got the licence to purchase the real thing, but the firearms law in Canada is super strict. So these are the next best thing. http://www.007airsoft.com/main2.htm btw, if there are some people who play this. what is the point? I've played paintball and yes it's a sport. Airsoft??? What is determined a hit/elimination, etc.

Oh crap was it ever good. The only drawback I had after seeing it last night was being three rows away from the screen. I'm definately going back to see it again when it calms down and the theathre is more empty. I found it emotional from certain parts. They, just like the cartoon, give each Autobot a personality and they grow on you. Yes I'm a softy, but I almost cried! And yes, I won't go into any detail about the plot was it's definately worth the money to go see the film, and yes, its a long one. DVD anyone, the legal copy that is.

dude, things change, not everyone has the time to be up to date with all these changes. not like everyone should believe everything they read to begin with. Margin rates change, nothing stays the same. if people really wanted to find out, they would just go to the exchange website and LOOK for it themselves, but people are lazy and want to be TOLD what the information is.

Initially they were pit trade contracts when they first were introduced. This was before I read that link that the CBOT were gonna trade the mini ags on ecbot. http://cbot.com/cbot/pub/cont_detail/0,3206,1036+47000,00.html So up until that release, they WERE pit traded, trust me I looked into when they were introduced.

Pork bellies is pretty volatile. I have not looked at bellies in a long time, but when I did, I recall that market gapping up or down on any given day 1 or 2 full points.

man I am a dinosaur when it comes to keeping up with the times.

FYI, the mini-ags are pit traded. Not electronic. the spreads are wide and at times are the same in dollar risk compared to the full size contracts. My suggestion if one wants to get into the ags, start with corn. lots of volume and not as erratic as beans or wheat. Don't even bother with oats for day trading. You even got the bean complex to consider. Meal ($10/tick) and oil ($6/tick)

Unleashed, i'm from Toronto and I had no issues with opening an account with Tradestation. They are pretty quick in the turn around time and you should be able to send the forms overnight on them. IB charts are not very flexible, not to mention they don't have real time time and sale ie TAPE. If you do 10 trades each month with Tradestation, the platform feeis waived and you only pay for exchange fees. I myself have IB and TS. They both have good points and bad points. The product you trade should be irrelevant because you're trading against other people. Its learning and finding the right market to suit your personality.

Forgot to mention, don't just limit yourself to the stock index futures. There are plenty of electronic markets now, not like when I first started. September 1998. The electronic meats has fairly low volume, but you can use the pit data and enter limit orders on the electronic side and hope to get filled. From what I understand the NYBOT products now are also electronic as well. Coffee and cocoa, they spike and jump and come crashing down, really crazy market, technicals don't really work in that market. I've only traded cocoa a fee times. OJ, sugar, they are slow, not really day trading products, but once they move, they can trend for a long time. I still remember buying 5 OJ contracts around 65.00 right before the hurricane. Well lets just say, OJ at the time was near or at its lifetime low, all one had to do was hold it and let the market do the work. *sigh* Those are once in a lifetime type trades that make trader's famous if they make a killing. Sugar at one time was around 3 cents a pound. Just don't limit yourself to the popular products. Just remember, you're also trading against other people and well, lets just say, the moment you enter the trading arena, you are trading against seasoned veterans right off the bat and they will not feel bad about taking your money. Heck I've put a few of their kids through school for sure.

Start with a market that suits YOUR personality. They all act differently. Sit, watch and feel how each market moves. They are like women, no one are the same. Learn their behaviors and slowly trade 1 or 2 lots at a time. The tick value should be irrelevant because once you start adding contracts, they start to go up. This is part of the learning curve.

OK, my accounts are officially locked due to incorrect security pass code they just implemented. Not their fault, I'm the moron who had no clue how to enter a few digits. They are resolving the issue right now.

Its kinda hard to scalp the ES when the levels are 1000 lot thick at times and the range it too tight. Even when you scalp, you need to have a trading plan, don't shot from the hip because even if you're breaking even each trade, commissions will chew you apart and at the end of the day, all you have to show for is spent mental energy. In the e-minis, if your trade takes more than 30 minutes, from my experience and stats, tends to be a losing trade. All Trades /Winners/ Losers Total Number of Trades 17 /13/ 4 Time Averages Avg. Time in Trades 16 Mins 12 Mins 29 Mins avg. time for my winners, 12 minutes, 10-11 tick targets avg. time for my losers, 29 minutes, 20 tick stop. Every trader would like their trade entry to be winning the moment they enter, the shorter time you're in, you reduce your risk and that's the whole key to scalping in my opinion. Just like that line from "Rounder" "Get your money in when you have and hand and protect your chips when you don't."

Anyone here using IB as their broker for executions? I've been locked out for the past couple of days. The login screen does not load, the web site account management does not load. I called them yesterday and they said they are working on the issue and is affecting many accounts and not just mine. They said 20 minutes and it would be up, that was on Monday 21 May 2007 at 1200h

OK too much too read, but this is what I have experienced from trading FX over the years. The Asian session, not much action. 0200h EST the FX markets start to pick up for the Euro session. Then the US session 0830h The FX market has dull moments and then shear terror from explosive moves which can move +/- 50 ticks/pips just like that. Mostly due to a report on a number, don't ask me which ones move what and when. Because the FX market is 24 hrs. you either catch the move or you don't since you can trade this market with the tape. If you do JC's "box" play, sometimes these stops are pretty huge and trading a CME Euro contract, your stops may be hundreds of dollars. Which to trade, spot FX or futures? I would say thats a traders choice, I have traded both spot and futures for the Euro. I prefer the futures because it is all settled in USD, with IB's spot FX, you trade the actually currency and it gets deposited into your account, if you suffer a lose, your account shows a debit for that currency, no idea how to settle it. CME Euro 1 tick = $12.50 (125,000 contract size) CME mini Euro 1 tick = $6.25 (62,500 contract size) IB FXPro? Euro 1 tick = $2.50 (25,000 minimum trade size) Be prepared to sit with a trade for hours if you enter during a quiet period or have it develop. My experience, the larger time frames have better signals than say a 5 or 15 minute chart. 60 minute chart minimum for my Euro trades.

over 2900 songs for my iPod/iTunes. Sometimes I put it on party shuffle and let it play what ever. There is not set routine for me, sometimes I have music on while trading, sometimes its' off during a trade. It's on when I'm not trading and off sometimes when I'm not trading as well. To name a few bands/artists: Linkin Park Toby Keith Green Day Finger Eleven Dolores O'riordan Coldplay Weezer Three Days Grace Sarah McLachlan Pretty much anything with a drum beat and guitars. But I love my music, could not get through a single day without hearing something.

malvado - sorry dude. What I was trying to explain from my observations, you know how some people say "X" market leads and "Y' market usually follows. Well today, the ER2 and NQ both had some of a gap fill while the YM and ES did not and could not break their 30 minute low. Its these little things that make the difference and this is to help newer traders who have heard of the "myth" that ER2 usually leads and the rest follows, etc. Just be aware of how all four are trading. That's all I was trying to say. It actually helps if you use TS to insert the symbols in one chart, that way you get a direct comparison. Here's another example with ES and $TICK on the same chart, notice the TICK lows and highs and how they correspond to ES lows and highs?

Been there done that! I'm content pocketing 10 ticks and calling it quits. It just takes time to make a killing picking up nickels and dimes along the way.

ES & YM moving in tandem. ER2 & NQ moving in tandem. No more taking your YM & ES trades off ER2 and NQ data for relationship for the time being. I noticed this a couple of days ago.

The technical term is "marked-to-market", no? Your P&L is calculated real-time by your broker and the exchange. Some brokers will even let you go full tilt for day trading as long as their is capital in your account to cover and loses. Sure way to go belly up for the novice trader.

2-8 lots eh? heck try 2-9, just add that 1 lot to your max, but it may mess with your exit ratios. :p

There is some truth to this money management method but it will only work if you truly accept it as a key method to riches from trading. I did exactly that when I made $10k trading 1 lot of SP, my exit plan was screwy, in fact did not have one back then, but the profit targets were from 2 ticks ($50)to 40 ticks($1000), 100% discretionary. Believe me, I practically shot from the hip back in those days. Trading more lots comes with time and the stomach to take those loses and wins when the occur. I remember reading an article from Stocks and Commodities and it illustrated just that, when you first start out, you can only stomach small loses, but as you gain more experience, your ability to take large loses increase. Only you know just how much pain you can take, not basing it off your strategy and its winning probabilities because in my opinion, if you have a 80% winning strategy, it only takes that 1 time when you take a big hit to totally lose confidence in it. Had that lose been kept small, well you get the idea. I SHOULD HAVE READ THE WHOLE INITIAL POST!!! Why do traders have a hard time walking away after they make their targets and points? What else are they gonna do for the rest of the day??? Heck people think to be a trader, one must always trade or be on the look out for a trade. People may be trading for the sake of trading and not about the money, but then they say to themselves, that contradicts what traders do, its not about the money. Heck it took me a long time to get over that. It is about the money, you need to have a total lack of disregard when you lose, but keep it when you gain it. Still a total contradiction if you ask me and makes no sense. There are many reasons in my mind why people cannot follow that, win or lose, call it a day mentality. Some people just like the action. Some what to make a point to themselves and to others that they know what the heck they are doing.

What are some things you guys do when on a hot streak? Psychologically, its normal to think what ever you touch turns to gold and that may and often does lead to disaster. I heard about it and witnessed it first hand. Having a huge winning day from a trade often does that to one as well. My definition of hot streak are consecutive winning days. My numbers are hardly exciting but 12 trades, 9 winners, 3 losers. There are many more factors and ratios I can post from Tradestation. Each day, only 1 trade was made, win or lose, I called it quits, but traded funds that are under my management.

Or they are liars!!!