tinyboy

Maelstrom- Nice thread, but I have NO idea how to follow your charts. I thought I understood what you were doing in the beginning but you lost me at about the 6th or 7th post Mike

Rule #1 always define your risk before you enter the trade I always follow this rule, but unfortunately, I don't stick to the initial risk I set all the time. So I guess a better rule would be STICK to your defined risk for every trade

I used to love paper trading. I bought paper houses, paper cars, and even a paper boat! when I first started trading (stocks) I paper traded for 30 days. I got to 85% winning trades, then funded, went live and lost 65% of my account in 8 days or so. I had to fight back with the remaining balance to get green. Of course, stock trading was much different back then. Paper or simulated trading is only good for learning the platform, as has been said in some of the comments above. Until you feel the butterflies in your stomach when real money is on the line, you will never be able to truly "simulate" trading. Thats why micro accounts are great. The smallest amount of risk possible with also the real feeling of money gained or lost. The real test then becomes when you ramp up form the micro account. Take it slow and stay with the micro account for a bit until you feel you have the consistency to move higher. My 2 cents at least tiny

Agree, the R2K can be too whippy for a starting contract I like your choice of Bonds and notes, as they trade with less volatility (most of the time). You might also want to check out the Euro Bund

You are not alone with your feelings, I've quit so many times I lost count! Sometimes 3 times in one day Scale back, take things smaller, and work through the challenges that are holding you back I think (thats a dangerous word!) it's going to be a boring summer so you will have plenty of time to take it nice and slow I know it's an overused saying, but it definitely applies: it's a marathon not a sprint

if you use a program like Market Delta that allows you to plot TPOs based on volume, then MP is not outdated by any means MP is one of the most basic ways to analyze a chart, and therein lies its power. With all the brand new be all end all indicators, black boxes and the like, it's often times easier to just go back to the basics, and just look at price and volume in their purest form, and thats what MP does. Auction Market Theory is still valid, and will continue to be so going forward.