<i>"If you're able to find a mentor who's actually a successful trader, you're luckier than 99% of us. But that won't make you a successful trader.
I can't speak for anyone else, but personally, I learned to trade through trial and error, enduring lots of painful losses etc. I never paper traded before though, so I do not know how effective that is."</i>
I've never seen any other hobby or profession where everyone expects free mentoring as a realistic probability. Where are all the free mentors teaching poker, blackjack, sportsbetting or any traditional professions on earning money?
Free education set aside, mnay will point you toward various threads in this forum as resources. Here you are, might as well begin there. Three main points to keep in mind:
#1: Mindless, black & white mechanical systems do not work forever. Some never work at all, most only work for awhile. Living proof of that are myriad hedge funds dropping dead right now as their computer bots puke while the quants fondle their pocket protectors in hopeless confusion.
Long-term successful emini trading cannot be mechanized by most people. It can be readily learned by anyone and implemented by some. Learning to measure price action and determine probable direction next is not an art or talent, it is merely a learned skill.
#2: The learning curve is gradual, contains more steps = stages and will take longer than you wish or hope. This profession is not mastered easily, and no one can teach anyone else to "trade like a pro in hours". Give yourself time to learn, no self-imposed deadlines or expectations.
#3: Key to success is built on a profit / loss ratio that yields at least a +2 to -1 return over time. Losses bigger than wins will result in eventual ruin, period. Countless posters have passed thru here proclaiming otherwise, yet never show proof of success and soon disappear.
Scalping for tiny gains is also wasted effort. Focus your trading on capturing points = handles instead of ticks. That's where the easiest money awaits in a very challenging profession.