Search results

Granted 10 pips per day on $10k is not very realistic (250% per year), but 10 pips on $100k isn't quite so far-fetched. Ten pips on $1mm is only 2.5% per year, and that doesn't sound too hard.

Not possible with any size funding?

Does it matter? If I am buying, the very best thing that could happen is for someone else to plow in behind me. The same if I am going short.

Reg T spelled out margin requirements for securities. For stocks it has been 4x intraday, and 2x overnight. Recently the SEC approved portfolio margining that bases the margin requirement on the riskiness of the portfolio (a bit like SPAN for futures). Portfolio margining is optional, and not...

http://www.opentick.com/

I don't recommend this. Market orders are not native on ES, so they are simulated on the broker's server. I have seen them chase the market for several seconds and several ticks trying to hit the best bid/offer. It's better to use a limit order with the price beyond the best bid/offer and...

You cannot live on $250k per year (50% on $500k) with NO overhead? Do you want us to pass the hat?

That's basically correct. "Margin" is a misnomer with regard to futures. It is actually a performance bond, meant to protect the broker from your position going bad. Stock margin represents a loan, entails an interest charge, and is disallowed for tax-advantaged accounts such as IRAs...

Maintenance margin of $3600 means that you can have a $900 per contract drawdown before you get a margin call. Some brokers (e.g. IB) don't issue margin calls. They just dump your position without consulting you. Their standard agreement allows them to do this. You did READ that agreement...

That is correct. Brokers are free to require more at any time, but they may not legally require less.

http://www.cme.com/html.wrap/wrappedpages/clearing/pbrates/PBISOutrightEQ.htm?h=2

Interactive Brokers has a free API, and there are freeware products being developed that access it.

I did too until recently. I don't believe that the problem has anything to do with two copies of the TWS on the same computer. But two copies pretty well rules out problem with the Internet connection, the operating system, or the computer hardware. The only difference between the two...

That's probably the problem in my case. I am running two copies of the TWS on the same computer to manage two accounts. My disconnects are always on the same account, never the other. It looks like the problem is probably the gateway. I requested that my problem account be moved, but...

This is a bit cynical perhaps, but it's also the policy I follow. Let me say that I am a happy IB customer for about 5 years now. Nobody uses technology as well as IB, but software quality (especially regression testing) has always been weak. At times, support has been poor also. But the...

That's what I would expect. The only thing I was surprised to hear is that SPX options are section 1256 also.

I recommend creating a suggestion in their "Features & Suggestions" site and posting a link to it so we can vote for it.

I tend to be a little suspicious of studies that set out to back up a claim. That said, it seems to me that a 95% failure rate is not all that much more than the failure rate for all small business startups. For a meaningful study, one needs to define "trading" and "day trading", and also...

It sounds like you were selling volatility. Lots of small gains and occasional big losses are very typical of a short volatility strategy. If as you say, you are an options trader, then you already know this. If you trade long enough, you can expect a spectacular blowup some day that will put...

I don't think spending loose time in the Caribbean (or having a life) is inconsistent with working hard. If you're talking about trading, hard work is much overrated. Working smart is far better. Do you really want to work for somebody who is looking to hire a drudge?