prosentti

It does $15 usd in and out. Think a situation where the spread is 1.5 but the market does not move at all. Then you buy and immediately sell -> you lose the spread not spread x 2. Take into account also how the price is calculated is it middle price ([ask+buy]/2), bid, ask or what. But maybe you included 1.5 pip slippage additionaly to the spread giving you that $30... IB spread is guite tight 0.5 pip + 0.4 pip round trip commission = 0.9 pip total btw. In your 50/50 RR 2.0 scenario the expectancy is $5/trade (20 x 50% - 10 x 50%) in the case you enter and exit by the limit orders (no slippage or spread effect).

You guys should read these messages few times more so you do not miss the point. My point was that people should think this from the perspective of the used risk. This was my substance only. btw. Time is not relevant. If you trade once per year then your 7% day limit is only a simple stoploss. It is all about your freguency. This is why this should be seen as a position risk. Risk settings of course must be based on the system as I said. In the case of me it means I calculate the win%, RR, max-DD and Ulcer (per instrument and used system) to see how it has been working and how to adjust my position risk when I know my pain limits. I do not do this too often. There must be some room to live. The sample quantity is not an easy task. I would not say you have to wait 400 samples if you trade only once per year :rofl:

You calculate the smallest reasonable K needed to start the trading from the perspective of the Risk. How much you are willing to risk (%) your funds in one position. You have to be a scalper to trade futures with 5K. For example some kind of "safe" setting for your risk while scalping could be 0,5% (or lower) so that means max. $25/position. For example ES or 6E future is $12,5/pip so you have to put your stops as close as below 2 pips (commissions included). This kind of initial stoploss will need very VERY precise timing and it is very VERY hard to achieve. Not a newbie stuff at all. Lets say that for the beginners the reasonable closest place for stoploss in 6E (Euro Fx future) should not be closer than 10 pips. So putting your initial stoploss to the -10 pips and risking only 0,5% of your equity you will need $25K cash. But if you have to put your initial stoploss to the place of -50 pips then you can rise the risk a little a bit more because the trading frequency will be slower. In this case maybe 2% is okay. With the 2% Risk you will then need 31K. This is for simple all-in/out system. If you scale in/out your positions you may have to change these calculations accordingly. These values are not exact. The % is a result of yourself and your system. How much do you stand pain and what is your trading frequency. For example you trade 50 positions per day and you can easily have streak of 8 losing trades or 2 streaks close together producing for example -12R situation. With 2% risk are you able to lose 24% of your equity in one day (4 similar days and you are wiped out) ? Not Again these values are not something exact but I gave some numbers so you can see what the perspective of the risk means.

This thread is quite a bit missleading by saying that you can be successful only by using this or that technology. To be succesful in this business is nothing to do whose technology you use as long as they have the needed quality. This is because of every platform shows the same data. I am talking about the trading which goes through the exchange (OTC business is different). Today there is plenty of alternatives who have the needed quality. TT is only one of them. Also it is missleading to teach that by trading the depth data, order flow and volume is the only way to go. There is no right or wrong way to trade ("professionally" as you say). Only thing which counts is are you profitable and by what kind of risk. In the right hands everything is the right way. So "the secret to day trading futures" is not in technology or system/methods you use it is in "have you found the components which works for you". The main problem for the people is that they don't or do not want to understand how much time, work and experience it will take to find the right system. For most of us 2-3 years is definitely NOT enough. After all what you said about the TT it really is a good technology and for many traders trading the book/volume is profitable. But there is also a bunch of traders who are loosers and using these things.

06/2012: 56, 1.54, 6.2 Do you know yours and could you tell?

I think floor does not prove anything. Many floor traders cannot make it remote and vice versa. Trained by the very succesful trader is okay but does not prove either. Good and well known example was that Turtle thing. Big institutions have only few traders who really trade rest of them executes their customers orders or do statiscal/other research. And being in the institutions and trading with the big money is very different when you trade smaller (as the major audience here is doing) so it also may not prove anything. So I think there is no general recipe how to become a succesful trader. If I teach you my system and methods I am 99% sure you will not succeed because the system is for me and you are not me. So I do not care if somebody knows my setups. My setups can be seen here: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/wyckoff-forum/6459-then-there-were-three-breakouts-retracements-7.html I think that the purpose of these countless trading message boards is just to give you a trading ideas not full working systems. Trading is so much more than simple setups as we all may know. My opinion is that setup presents only 15-20% of the whole trading system. Everybody is searching a good setups but forgot for example that all the money is made (or lost) in the exits. How do you exit is the key question? But every piece must be in fit until you can succeed: self control, money management, position management, exits, setups, correct timeframe which suits you etc. So you can shoot me but I proclaim that everything works in the right hands!

I forgot to attach a picture so here it is. NQ in 1 range bar charts.

I trade 1 pip range charts mainly CL and 6E. For me breakout is a key component of everything. I am talking about the breakouts which occurs at it's lowest possible level which is wave breakout. I follow wave breakouts and wave failures to catch intraday (micro) swings. Pure price with no indies or volume.