2015 Pictures of Your Trading Stations

[J_Smith]

Scalping single stocks using options. Also trading futures.

I do not have a multimonitor layout to post, as have not had one in a while now, and what I am doing now is just concentrating on AAPL, SPY and VXX - stock and options - best movers with best spreads.

What I have found is that having too much to look at can really distract you from what you really need to look at - but as I had 12 monitors myself some years ago, I know what its is like to get something setup when you have your mind set on it - I would not listen to anyone at the time and told everyone to mind their own business

My opinion, after trying lots of screens for daytrading, is that 4 x 19/21" dvi monitors are adequate for any market that you want to trade - although I have experimented recently with a 24" widescreen on it's side for using booktrader with TWS, as I find this very helpful when trading fast movers as mentioned.

Anyway, I do not mean to detract from your thread, as it is mostly about multi monitor setup, but sometimes less can be more - I remember years ago starting out on one of these forums and someone said the same thing to me, and I got mad and told him to F.OFF - but after many years of trying lots of different things, all I can say is that he was right - the whole point of the exercise is to make money, not to try and be like the big banks and hedge fund gangs, for we must remember that they do not trade their own money and they get paid big bucks win or lose!

I am curious to know why the chaps in the office blew up - it can only be due to them not knowing what they were doing (and risking too much per trade), or maybe they were just looking/trading too much stuff and could not manage their trades effectively?

J_S

 

[romik]

 

[J_Smith]

View attachment 157939

Yes, but you have to be realistic and know your odds are good bit less when you can not see the big picture as quickly as you can with laptop / + a few monitors - so if using your portable desk it is wise to keep your risk small and not be greedy

J_S

Taken some days ago - just in case some think you are kidding!

My last post as I do not want to distract thread from topic.

 

[J_Smith]

Chris, just one last word that might be of benefit. If you are daytrading then I think what really matters is what you have up on your screens, not how many screens you have.

Back in 2011, I had the following screen which I found to be very helpful - I can't remember if I had the 5 up or just 1, but if trading 5 stocks then you would need the 5 up together.

This is a bid/trade/ask plot layout that I could not get with any software i was using - so I decided to create my own using Excel - I still have the file somewhere and plan to dig it out when I get back to using a few monitors.

Again, the point I am trying to make is - make sure you use your monitors to help you act and react quickly, for if you find they slow you down then you haven't got the right info in front of your eyes - and if you can't find what you need, then do it yourself

Some final thoughts - your layout should be logical and in the correct order - i.e. larger timeframes on left monitors with reducing timeframes to the right - your order entry screen should be directly in front of you, not to the right or left. Any stock you follow should have the % change from open showing and sorted accordingly, not the % change from yesterday. You should also have your ADR ranges (OL,OH,LH) in a list on one screen - over or under your order entry screen - so that you don't have to look too far when opening/closing a trade.

4 to 6 x 19/21" dvi monitors should be adequate to daytrade following 30 stocks.

Hope this is of some help?

J_S

 

[rolando87]

We trade futures not stocks and we get to choose our platform, currently use Xtrader pro.

Hi rolando, what do you guys trade, as I visited a very similar office to what you have shown some years back, each guy was only allowed 4 monitors max due to limited space and were only allowed trade NYSE stocks! I assume the guys that blew up had to put up about $5k or more before they were left start?

Do ye have to use the broker/platform provided, or have ye got a choice?

J_S

 

[FCXoptions]

View attachment 157939

That's where about 99% of my trade exits take place from and about 75% of my entries. So convenient when on the go.

 

[lawrence-lugar]

My trading station is just one basic personal Windows 7 home PC
(i always kind of laugh/roll my eyes at those people/traders with alot of monitors -- no offense to anyone)

 

[k p]

(i always kind of laugh/roll my eyes at those people/traders with alot of monitors -- no offense to anyone)

Just like we have a metric to identify "value" in a company, EPS, I would like to see EPM (earnings per monitor.... LOL). Some guys maybe make 1k per day using 4 monitors, hence a EPM value of 0.25, where as others maybe make 5k per day using 1 monitor, and hence an EPM value of 5.

 

[xandman]

Be careful not to commit to specific layout, different applications have different space requirements.

ie. Chartbooks And DOMs seem to look better on tilted monitors and is an efficient use of space. Option chains need vertical space if you want to display greeks along the chain and may require vertical stacking. Desktop expansion via a new monitor is very impractical. Professional traders have those because they have a fixed workflow and layout.

Try to go as big as you can with less monitors. There are desktop management software available. Check out the interesting review from a programmer.

 

[rolando87]

I am curious to know why the chaps in the office blew up - it can only be due to them not knowing what they were doing (and risking too much per trade), or maybe they were just looking/trading too much stuff and could not manage their trades effectively?

J_S

They left because of many reasons, some didn't respect the risks, some were ballsy then ended up being afraid after the market taught them a lesson, some didn't adapt well enough. And keep in mind that most didn't "blow up" in a massive loss of capital, more so gradual declines in profitability and not enough to sustain their overhead (we each pay thousands a month). But that being said our office track record overall is still good.

To address the multiscreen setup argument, I would agree it's completely not necessary to make money in the markets but it depends on your style of trading. Longer term traders probably need just one screen but I'm predominantly a day trader and xtrader just lends itself to easily having more ladders. I found that (for myself) the more ladders you see the more likely you are to put on a trade in one of those ladders out of instinct. Meaning I saw my profits rise as I put more, and now I'm pretty much at the limit so will have to make do. But not everyone is like me. And I by no means think everyone would benefit of a multiscreen setup but definitely some people do.

Also the left half are just for when I "switch" to doing research and programming and I use separate computers for that, I have 3 for simulations and testing and others for charts and coding algos. Making the physical switch of workspace actually does help change your work mode I've found.