Recent content by trader312

John Joseph is an amazing systems developer and educator, and I would highly recommend his recent free webinars. There is one today (http://www.mirusfutures.com/futures_webinar_nextd_position_sizing.htm) but they are also recorded, so you can watch them on your own time. He does live seminars...

I would recommend Mirus Futures. They have a free demo, Zen-fire data feed (best), and terrific support staff.

www.mirusfutures.com - they have ninja/zenfire and excellent service.

You are looking for the "best front-end" but you mention ninjatrader zenfire. NinjaTrader is the front end, but zenfire is the back-end. Many brokers offer NinjaTrader, but only a select few offer Zen. Mirus has the best support, by far.

Emotions drive me (and every trader) crazy. There are ways to deal with those emotions without costing yourself money. Denise Shull did a great presentation at the CME Group yesterday... if it's not on the cme.com website yet, I'm sure it will be. Her website is traderpsyches.com. High quality...

Seriously, you need to move to a broker that is not ripping you off. That's big time robbery. IB, Tradestation will be cheaper but I use NinjaTrader with Zen-Fire and it's better than anything I used in the past.

Exchange sets the rules for "overnight margin", which is really only at the time of the market close. Otherwise, the brokerage firms have discretion for "day-trading margin". However, it isn't just for "day"... it is for all other times besides at the time of market close. My broker, Mirus...

I've traded stocks and futures for years, but while it's nice to have those accounts at the same place, I always got better service from separate firms. Futures firms do a better job servicing futures traders and stock firms do a better job with stock traders. Just my experience, but find a good...

books are a great way to go, but i would recommend listening/reading some of Denise Shull's stuff. She's excellent. Her website is www.traderpsyches.com... some stuff is free, other stuff you have to pay for, but even the free stuff is really useful.

John Joseph answers questions on the TradeStation forums, but is also hosting a workshop on building a system. his website is www.nextdsystems.com

especially with automated systems, make sure you choose a firm with some support as well. Commissions are important, but one problem can cost you a lot of money if there is not support. From what i read, Global Futures sounds cheapest, if comm is all you're concerned with, but i don't like...

I've had similar problems in the past, not with OEC, but other places. Mirus offers NinjaTrader with Zen-Fire and not only is it fast, but very reliable. They also have a trade desk that is always picked up on the first or second ring.

The IB doesn't hold your money, so if the clearing firm goes insolvent, the IB doesn't insure your money. Both FCM's that Mirus works with have been around for a long time, so it's not a big concern.

Those are good questions, I went through similar considerations about 6 months ago. Mirus spent the time to answer my questions upfront, but you can do your due diligence as well. For example, the NFA website allows you to use "BASIC" to search brokers for complaints or sanctions against them...