I've got mucho guys doing that all the time (so they tell me, I don't get their actual account statements but they'll send me spreadsheets) trading exclusively intramarket futures flys and condors. If you get a sexy Eurodollar or Euribor entry you're going to sit with it for six months. Oil...
I'm not sure how this even made Bloomberg. In the 90's Richie (prop trading for Ray Cahnman at TransMarket) made like $20M one year scaling into a monster Fives vs Tens futures trade - never made the "formal news".
Seriously, I had some clients get royally fucked by Man and PFG Best. Ever since I have recommended minimalist account sizing (according to the size of your penis swing) because if your FCM wants additional capital you can wire it to them in an hour. I used to keep a T-Bill in my account.
Yes, we set both a profit target AND a stop-loss at the time of trade entry. Quite important. We have a historical trading range-based system to determine those levels. I teach a complete system.
Also, Spread Construction is a really really big deal. That's where you find the opportunities.
I've had dozens of clients go live with $15K-$25K accounts. This is practical because futures spreads are much easier to margin than flat price, and the year or more that clients spend training with me before they go live tilts the balance heavily in their favor. Also, we are swing trading and...
Not enough capital for futures or mini-contracts IMHO. Trade SPY and when you become consistent, lever SPY.
Develop consistency and the trading world will be your playground.
It wouldn't be hard to overlay your historic trading signals with economic news releases. The end state is to develop a TA system that is devoid of discretion on your part. That last price print is the distillation of all known information about that particular instrument.
Yep, spread trading can be quite profitable. From my experience, I've seen more of these types of trades and in larger size in the futures. Link below:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-03/trader-said-to-net-20-million-profit-on-hawkish-fed-options-bet
1. Packs and Bundles are way more expensive to margin than a butterfly or condor.
2. There are thousands of exchange supported futures spread combinations at CME. Packs and Bundles are just a very limited segment of the total population. Like minuscule. CTS-4 and TT execution platforms will...
Turning an outright flat price loser into a "hedged position" never works out from my experience. In fact, it usually makes things much worse - plus, you'll not only have to margin the original stinker, you'll have to margin the "hedge".
I had a client send me this link today from Bloomberg News about an individual trader who put on a Eurodollar Spread to very good effect. Like FU money good effect:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-03/trader-said-to-net-20-million-profit-on-hawkish-fed-options-bet
I have absolutely no experience in this topic, but from what I've heard tax attorneys don't work on recovery percentages like a tort litigation attorney. In other words, the taxpayer is paying the legal fees up front. And most attorneys are at least a couple hundred dollars per hour and...
Over the years, the traders that I see do really well are very level-headed from an emotional standpoint. You get there by starting out taking very low risk, and giving yourself enough time to perfect your craft and become consistent. A very good trading system helps with the consistent part...
As much as I despise the use of generalizations and trading, in terms of my client work there is one very notable tenet - that clients who diligently paper trade under my doting tutelage for a protracted period of time (say 12-14 months) always seem to do well in the live markets. The key point...
If you have a "real job" aka a "day job", then IMHO swing trading is the only way to go.
Paper trade first whilst developing your trading system. Don't get terribly excited about back tested results. Use back testing as a screen to identify viable trading models. That's just my own 2 cents...