Disclaimer

RISK DISCLAIMER: All information on this service is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advice. Any statement about profits or income, does not represent a guarantee. 

This is not a 'copy trades' service, you must make your own decisions and trade at your own risk.

No representation is being made that any information you receive will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed on this service. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results.

You get a limited, revocable access to use this service for your own personal use. This service does not include any selling, sharing or derivative use of contents, labels, alerts, scripts or similar. 

I offer private twitter service only. Anything else is a scam.

Your use of this educational service indicates your acceptance of these disclaimers. In addition, you agree to hold harmless the publisher for any losses of capital. 

RISKS OF FUTURES TRADING: Futures trading is not suitable for all investors. Such transactions should be entered into only by persons who understand the nature and extent of their rights and obligations under futures contracts and the risks involved in the transactions covered by those contracts.

A futures contract is a legally binding agreement between two parties to buy or sell in the future, on a designated exchange, a specific quantity of a commodity at a specific price. Because of the volatile nature of the commodities markets and the use of leverage, trading in futures involves a high degree of risk.

All forms of trading carry a high level of risk so you should only speculate with money you can afford to lose. You can lose more than your initial deposit and stake. Please ensure your chosen method matches your investment objectives, familiarize yourself with the risks involved and if necessary seek independent advice.

U.S. Government Required Disclaimer - Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Trading financial instruments of any kind including options, futures and securities have large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the options, futures and stock markets. Don't trade with money you can't afford to lose.

NFA and CTFC Required Disclaimers: Trading Futures is a challenging opportunity where above average returns are available for educated and experienced investors who are willing to take above average risk. However, before deciding to participate in Futures trading, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. Do not invest money you cannot afford to lose.

EARNINGS DISCLAIMER: THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL EARN ANY MONEY USING THE TECHNIQUES, IDEAS OR PRODUCTS PRESENTED ON THIS WEBSITE. EXAMPLES ON THIS WEBSITE ARE NOT TO BE INTERPRETED AS A PROMISE OR GUARANTEE OF EARNINGS.

CFTC RULE 4.41 - HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY.

SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAN ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.

The Open Outcry

Open Outcry is a fascinating look at the high-speed, high-power trading floor of Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Director Jon Else explores a hectic, noisy, seemingly chaotic workplace with his signature style and eschewing narration in favor of real-time shots that bring the viewer right into the action of the trading floor.

The show paints a compelling picture of sudden wealth, sudden disaster, and grace under pressure as traders exchange billions of dollars in futures and options contracts. It is also a portrait of an endangered environment, as digital revolution has eliminated the open outcry system at many of the world's financial exchanges.

This film portrays understandably nervous young clerks learning the open outcry trading system, with its seemingly senseless language and hand signals, hoping to one day make a fortune. The film captures this roller coaster rocketing through billions a day that makes the Merc one of the most fascinating spots on the global financial map.

Best Brokerage

There are lots of brokers options on the market. It’s important to look for one that offers all the tools you need to make the best possible trades. These are three recommendations for day trading:

Schwab Trading combined the strengths of Schwab and Ameritrade to create a world-class trading experience. That means traders at Schwab now get the best in trading—award-winning platforms, tailored education, and specialized support—all from one of the most trusted brands in the industry. Trade brilliantly with this supercharged trading experience you won't find anywhere else.

TradeStation is a leader and innovator in its offering of a full-feature trade platform and high-power trade tools. Its appeal to active traders and professional investors is rivaled by only a select few. Tradestation is a broker designed specifically for the tech-hungry, seasoned trader who trades actively on futures markets.

Interactive Brokers offers a very competitive commissions schedule for low-cost trading, more than 50 different order types, staggering low margin rates, support for every investment imaginable, trading in more than 100 international markets and an adaptive trade platform suitable for any professional trader.

CME Floor Tour

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) 'the merc' is the largest futures exchange in the United States and second largest exchange in the world for the trading of futures and options on futures based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 and originally, the exchange was a non-profit organization.

The Merc demutualized in November 2000, went public in December 2002, and merged with the Chicago Board of Trade in July 2007 to become a designated contract market of the CME Group Inc., which operates both markets. On August 18, 2008, shareholders approved a merger with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX.

The Merc, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX are now markets owned by the CME Group. The Visitors Center guides through history of CME as well as the development of futures industry and its affect on the economy.

After 167 years, the CME closed most of the Futures Pits at the CBOT on Monday July 6th 2015. S&P 500 futures pits will remain open.

You must know

To be a successful trader you need to make smarter trading decisions. You can't expect to open a $5,000 account and earn $1,000 a week. You need to set realistic goals for yourself. There is no holy grail. 

The holy grail is within you. You must create your own method so that you can fully understand it and so that you have complete confidence in it. It will take years to be a consistently profitable trader.

You'll spend a lot of time and money along the way, so you must be realistic about your future as a trader.

  "If you have great expectations about trading, throw them out" 

Don’t expect to make a lot of money. Don’t expect things to be easy. When things go bad, quit. You cannot allow trading to grind on you, to wear you down, because it can literally wear you out. 

Statistics are against you. 72% lose money annually. 40% quit first month. Only 13% remain after 3 years. 1% consistently profitable after 5 years. Please, take your time and think about that seriously. Warned...

Best Platforms

In addition to the best platform Thinkorswim, there are lots of software options on the market. It’s important to look for one that offers all the tools you need to make the best possible trades. These are three recommendations for day trading:

TradeStation allows users to design, test, optimize and automate their own trading strategies. Equity and Futures clients who trade with more than one platform logged in at one time may get fees.
This platform offers its own brokerage service through Tradestation.

NinjaTrader offers a feature-rich, end-to-end trading solution for active traders, considered one of the most comprehensive broker-independent trading systems available in the market today.
This platform offers its own brokerage service through NinjaTrader.

Quantower is a comprehensive solution for traders who need a powerful terminal that serves as an all-in-one trading platform. It can combine accounts and data from numerous brokerages, exchanges, and live market data feeds into one desktop. However, because of the complex nature of the platform, it might not be the best choice for beginners.

Best Readings

Everyone is looking for the Holy Grail in trading but very few realize that the Holy Grail is not some magical indicator but the ability to recognize a day type early on in the day and then adapt your trading accordingly. Mind Over Markets gives you this and James Dalton's explanation is the most comprehensive and makes this difficult concept much easier to grasp.

In Markets in Profile, Dalton has greatly expanded their scope, delving deeply into the ways in which the auction process reveals the actions of all investor time frames. They believe that by understanding timeframe behavior through developing market structure, it is possible to identify asymmetric opportunities that can ameliorate risk and help ensure financial dominance.

Trading in the Zone introduces a whole new mental dimension to getting an edge on the market. Use it to leverage the power of the 'zone' for unprecedented profit. Mark Douglas says: You need to ‘change your thinking’. The goal is to reach a ‘care-free state of mind’. There’s nothing to think about. Take the trade because you have an edge. Then odds, probability and your risk control mechanisms will take care of everything.

The Disciplined Trader can help any trader change the fear of losing into a winning attitude based on the step-by-step approach for learning the mental skills necessary for accumulating the wealth you desire on a consistent basis.

In the end, the key is to learn more about yourself. The most important lesson though is the importance of viewing every single trade as being part of a series of trades. No magic there, just plain and simple math and a bit of psychology to fight irrational fears. You only have to realize it is a game of probability. That's all.

If you read these books from Dalton and Douglas, you will have covered the most important aspects of trading: Method and Mindset. D+D=M+M

Paper Trading

There is a difference of opinion among traders on whether paper trading is useful or not. Some will say that it is not realistic since you don’t have any money at risk. And once your money is at risk, emotions cloud judgment, as fear and greed become your enemies.

You will begin to get a feel for how it all flows together and you will become accustomed to staring at the blinking numbers all day. Once you feel like you can effectively place and manage trades very quickly and you know what you are seeing on the screen, you should go live.

What people often fail to see is that it’s another story when you’re sitting in a trade which is in your face and you know that every tick is costing you x amount of dollars and you’re second guessing your judgement and high on adrenaline.

These points are valid, but paper trading offers you the opportunity to get familiar with trading and to see if you are on the right track. It also allows you to make adjustments to your trading plan.

You should trade on a simulator for, at most, maybe a month. It is a good tool for learning how to use your platform. You definitely do not want to make mousing errors and have issues with placing and canceling orders or adjusting quantity, etc.

Many traders often go back to paper when they are struggling as a way to get back on track. Overall, it is not the complete experience, but it is an excellent tool before you put your money at risk.

Traders can go to Thinkorswim in order to get started. Once you've completed the sign-up process you will be able to try out the platform.

The Trading Plan

Trading is a business, so you have to treat it as such if you want to succeed. Reading some books, buying a charting program, opening a brokerage account and starting to trade are not a trading plan. A trading plan is a structure, or a set of guidelines, to define your trading activity. It can be an extremely useful tool to help you focus on planning and executing your trading strategy.

A trading plan is a complete set of rules that covers every aspect of your trading life. Many experts refer to the need to have an ‘edge’ which will tip the balance of probabilities of success in your favour. In itself, a plan is not an edge but, over time, the trader with a plan will fair a lot better than the trader without one. Many amateur traders do not have any sort of plan to trade by, and enter the markets with scant regard to their risk and profit objectives. Suffice to say, comprehensive risk and money management strategies lie at the heart of all good trading plans.

Traders with a plan have the ability to monitor their performance. They can evaluate their progress continually, day-by-day, in a way that is objective and comprehensive. This enables them to trade without emotion and with minimal stress. Trader without a plan tends to rely upon gut feeling, hunches and tips etc. Trading for them is a nail biting, emotional roller coaster that results in financial loss.

Obviously, a plan does not guarantee success; that would be too simple. However, a good plan that is adhered to strictly will help to minimise losses and enable you to stay in the game a lot longer than traders who do not have a plan. There is no absolute blueprint for the perfect trading plan, every trader is unique, and different styles suit different people but there are certain universally accepted elements to consider:

- Trading Goals
- Markets, Instruments and Timeframes
- Tools of the Trade
- Mental approach before Market Opens
- Trade Strategies, Setups and Entries
- Risk and Money Management
- Exit Strategy
- Review after Market Closes

- This is a quick summary of my trading plan. Just keeping it simple:

- I trade SP500 futures at RTH (9:30-11:30am/3:00-4:00pm ET).
- If I get decent winners in AM, trading PM is totally unnecessary.
- I keep in mind RTH timeline, Initial Balance, Europe, MOC close.
- The most profitable sequences are AM hours until Europe close.

- First, I watch the bigger picture to define the current auction range.
- Then I monitor the Globex chart to figure out bullish or bearish bias.
- Then I prepare daily plan based on previous day and overnight bias.
- I set 'Line in the Sand' and possible bullish/bearish magnets targets.

- I trade basic profile setups based on bullish or bearish imbalance.
- I trade setups on sequences based on average 2 win return on risk.
- A typical day for me would yield 3-4 trades (U.S. morning session).
- My plan is very specific. There are days when I don’t take a trade.

- One of the most important of a strategy is to get good entry price.
- My best entry is as close as possible to where trade idea is wrong.
- Retail traders focus on entries, professionals think about targets.
- Without a clear magnet target destination, I don't take any trade.

- If buy/sell pressure is not on my side, I’m cutting trades quickly.
- My win rate overall is about 60%. A good day, 3 trades 1 loser.
- If I get 3 losers in a row on a single day then I’ll stop trading.
- If I exceed my daily loss limit ($500/contract) I take a break.

- If the market is moving in one direction I never fade it.
- I never try to buy the low or sell the high of the day.
- I never try to guess the end of a directional move.
- If I lose a good entry, I never chase the market.