TheDude

1 - Good question, but I don't think so. A market order to buy will be matched against the first offer (limit with price), and a market sell against the first limit bid. Although market orders generally have higher priority over limit orders, they cant be matched against each other because neither has a price specified. At what price would you match those orders? You cant determine that, as it would be unfair to one of the orders. Also, one of the market orders would be matched at the inside price which would again be unfair to the limit order users at that price as you would be queue jumping. 2 - Yes. Your understanding is correct.

So, if I just used it for charting or DOM view (what else if I cant trade?), would it still be free? no, because the exchanges would kill you for their market data revenue. So, rightly, you need to pass on exchange data fees if not trading on the data to the end user? What do you charge for data, or am I missing something?

Same here, but drink water or tea if anything. Like you imply, you gotta take a break. All markets have a slow period around lunch time of the time zone it trades in. No paper, no action, so no trades. May as well take time, have a nice lunch, think of other things and return refreshed. Just like the paper/my other side. You trade for the lifestyle and a glued screen monkey nibbling on nuts n bananas aint livin' in my books!! - unless scalping which tends to be a fools errand without v low costs You gotta take a break.

1/ If a 'Big Candle/WRB' occurs at the start of a breakout, or against trend, go with it. 2/ If a 'Big Candle/WRB' occurs during a trend, in the trends direction, get ready for sideways and then/or a reversal, or continuation later Not fool proof of course, but you need to take everything in cntext

The markets been feeding me a bunch of sh1t sandwiches recently which Ive been forced to eat.

To be honest, Ive only played poker once with a load of US marines in a bar in Germany. I walked off with 100x what I came to the table with. No joke. Obviously it was beginners luck!! I play black jack very rarely - just for laughs, and mostly lose. I can see there is skill in these games, I just don't have the time to devote - otherwise I'd just be gambling.

haha. Makes sense when you think about it. I guess like traders, the biggest and best dont want to go anywhere near the TV or media in general.

Can I wear sunglasses when I trade like those fat mugs who play poker on TV?

Id look at the inside bid/offer size and market depth when deciding if a market has enough liquidity. Thus, ES after RTH will, I guarantee, have enough liquidity for any retail trader at any time. I know of very few retail traders (ie those who trade 'after work', implying this isnt their main source of income) who trade more than a 50 lot in ES. In fact, we all know, they dont exist. Stop trading is my advise for the OP and most who have responded to this thread. If you dont know basics like what liquidity is, you have no business putting orders in any market. Harsh but true.

reverse the buy/sell signals by the sound of it. kiss.

Thanks, you may have something there. I think gold is done. Looking at a monthly chart, there is little left. Silver looks like it has room to catch up though. I'll keep my eye on this.... The spread between gold and silver should show the way in terms of timing.

Velocity offer help with a seat lease. Otherwise, OEC and IB may offer better RT's. OEC for sure. Who are you with currently?

I don't know about you folks, but at this time of year, I like to review my trading objectives for the year ahead and decide where to focus my longer term trades. I'm looking for markets to get into for the long term. These could be stocks, ETF's, FX pairs, commodities, you name it! Looking at the global/macro landscape for ideas, I see the gold train has left the station (still good for swing trades?), Energy a possibility, possibly short bonds. I'm going to take a look at ETF's around BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, maybe China), but am looking for more ideas. But enough of my thoughts. Where do you see the big opportunities for 2011 and ahead?

wheres the delete function gone?

Don't worry Urma, you're not alone. BTW, I have NEVER come across any feed that costs as much as this in the professional market. I don't know where you get your info, but I think someones trying to scare you with how big and powerful the bogey men are! At most, a direct feed from an exchange may cost towards a thousand PER MONTH for a small handful of users/licenses. Co-Lo is typically around 8-10k per 1/2 cage per month, and that's where the real money is for the exchange. Not the data. I hope that's useful info for you.

I agree. It does seem a bit of a waste attending all those seminars and asking for a refund when the attendee didn't grasp/listen to the basic premise of what was being taught. As for the indicators that have been developed since, I can't help feel that the amount of thought and time that it inevitably took to develop them would have been better spent 'in the zone' focusing on the market at how it behaves at key reference points. I'd rather rely on my intuition than a binary indicator. In my opinion, the brain can understand context way better than a multitude of indicators (or 'intelligent agents' if you prefer). Of course, we're all different and we must respect that. Interesting approach.

Dont want to change the subject too much, but it looks like good money can also be made in the S&P/TSX contract that trades on Montreal/TMX. The futures are not as liquid as say ES, but the underlying is very liquid which means the futures get out of line easily, so easy money is made as arbs come in. This is going to be my focus for next year I think (something new....)

Adding to what Silverpuma said, research (Teweles: The Futures Game) has shown that another major factor for so many losing is transaction costs. Given the wider spreads you will pay with a SB, AND that any quote is likely to be a few cents/ticks against you as the SB knows your position/next move, SB account holders are on a hiding to nothing. Add up all those extra spreads, slippage, anti-quotes, etc and I bet you will be surprised at how much they add up to over time. They will probably be the difference between a winning and losing month for most newbies even if they are just starting to turn the corner - even if swing trading. The last thing any new and probably underfunded trader needs to do is handicap him/her self even further with a SB account. I'd rather make a good profit and pay tax on it, than a loss. Simple!

Elder = author NOT a trader. PTJ = PROVEN trader.

Hi, I've been looking at the put call ratio of several commodity futures through December to see if they lend themselves in anyway to a leading indicator for the underlying which I primarily trade (typing this I feel as though I'm using them as a predictive tool which goes against my belief of managing 'now' rather than predicting futures - a fools errand IMO but another topic...) Here's what I've been doing.... - Every week, looking at Friday's settle. - Taking the ATM strike, then adding Open Interest for the two strikes above and below the ATM strike for both calls and puts. - I then calculate the difference between the calls and puts, logging it as either a + or - percentage Therefore, if I have a negative percentage, it means the put OI is stronger than the call OI and perhaps the underlying will fall? Two of the commodities are yet to expire (Euro FX & ES), but an eyeball look at the results don't look too promising if I'm honest. Does anyone have any experience of put/call ratios, if/where they are are useful? Many thanks, Dude. PS the markets I've been following are Bonds, EuroFX, ES, Corn, Gold, Eurodollar red Perhaps I'm long financials, but I understand commercial players typically act differently in Eurodollars where they tend to be short, rather than long as in other markets - can't say this shows in my results to date)

Probably because its OTM at a good price. Given the long dated expiry they hope there is good chance of this moving ITM over time perhaps? Given the dirt cheap price, whats to lose? Defined risk and unlimited upside sometime between now and Jan 2012. Fill yer boots!!! Probably Taleb holding the OI

I think a lot of people confuse risk management and money management. (For me: ) Money Management - how I look after and allocate my margin/money, where I keep it etc. e.g. my broker doesnt pay interest on balances, so I only keep enough in there to trade my maximum position. Risk Management dictates (commonly) how much I'm willing to commit to a position and how, and stop management (I dont really like the idea of stops, but thats a different topic) Given my money management, it would make no sense for me to risk only 2% (which is what everyone seems to do) of my account in my risk management plan. Generally, I will trade as large a position as I feel at ease with. Thats my risk management - if I feel uneasy, reduce size or get out!

Thats like asking 'What's the worst injury you've had stepping out in front of a moving truck?' Generally it's bad practise so best avoided.

LOL Aren't their rules about stock brokers trading their own accounts? Either way, if a broker can trade his own account, he wouldn't need a chart because he could just position himself against his clients given that 80% lose.

Thanks Jonny. Kind of get a feel for what you look for. I understand there is a ratio to convert 10yrs to an equivalent in a 30 yr, based on the idea that x 10yr should give the same yield as y 30 yr which is what is used to spread the 10 over the 30 given they both have the same time remaining before expiry - correct me if I'm wrong. Therefore I always assumed that you guys were buying and selling as one of the markets went too far out of that ratio with an autospreader. This seemed too easy though, so thought there was something else to it.