Yer GOD DAMNED RIGHT! I made nearly 500 bux on it yesterday. It's a pain in the ass because it is so financial heavy but alas. It is what it is, it has it's own personality.
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any views on Earn2trade's Gauntlet
- Thread starter padutrader
- Start date
Yer GOD DAMNED RIGHT! I made nearly 500 bux on it yesterday. It's a pain in the ass because it is so financial heavy but alas. It is what it is, it has it's own personality.
Anyone who can save up $10K CAN MAKE A LIVING IN THE FUTURES MARKET FOREVER TRADING ONLY MNQ OR MES OR EVEN M2K.
100% agreed. But until you are managing your own system perfectly, you need meaningful practice. Practicing MNQ will improve your setups but not your psychology and emotions. And meaningful practice on full contracts can be very expensive if you overestimate your abilities. One evaluation can cost $75-100, while one funded account can easily earn you several thousand in one shot, which covers lots more practice on evaluation and funded accounts with no risk to your own capital. Use the tools available and make decisions that are in your best interest.
100% agreed. But until you are managing your own system perfectly, you need meaningful practice. Practicing MNQ will improve your setups but not your psychology and emotions. And meaningful practice on full contracts can be very expensive if you overestimate your abilities. One evaluation can cost $75-100, while one funded account can easily earn you several thousand in one shot, which covers lots more practice on evaluation and funded accounts with no risk to your own capital. Use the tools available and make decisions that are in your best interest.
OK here are the parameters for the accounts:
1. $1500 drawdown, $3000 target profit
2. Minimum 9 trading days
3. Max 5 contracts
In order to reach the 1500 drawdown, you would have to lose 750 points on 1 MNQ. This pretty much makes you the worst trader in the world.
So assuming you are not the worst trader in the world, you now have to gain 1500 points on MNQ. Assuming you get 50 points trading 1 contract a day, which is eminently doable that takes you 30 trading days.
But, if you only add to winners, you can reduce that down by (say) 4 which is about 2 trading weeks.
This means that on a paper account, you would reset every 2 weeks until you knock your stupid habits out.
THEN AND ONLY THEN should you move to one of the gauntlets. But once you get there, if you have faith in yourself, just fund the account yourself.
The problem, of course, is that people take these small accounts and trade minis.
THEN AND ONLY THEN should you move to one of the gauntlets. But once you get there, if you have faith in yourself, just fund the account yourself.
The problem, of course, is that people take these small accounts and trade minis.
All correct and good advice - with one small problem. When you have faith in yourself, and fund your own account, but your faith was too early, you may cost yourself thousands to learn a lesson you can learn for $100 or $200. That's the main advantage here.
On paper, all your advice is right. You should not even spend a dollar while practicing, and treat your demos as real money and get your reps in that way. But in reality, as I and many others have found, it can sometimes be incredibly difficult to approach a paper trading system with the same discipline as even a small account with 1 MNQ on the line. I think Micros are the solution, rather than demo accounts, for traders who are struggling and can't give the full focus to paper trading. But I agree completely, ideally we should all be able to do it on demo accounts first. I just think it can be faster to learn with a small learning cost involved, so you don't brush aside mistakes as easily since they cost you nothing in paper trades.
All correct and good advice - with one small problem. When you have faith in yourself, and fund your own account, but your faith was too early, you may cost yourself thousands to learn a lesson you can learn for $100 or $200. That's the main advantage here.
Fair enough.
Use my template, you will succeed.
Fair enough.
Use my template, you will succeed.
No doubt it is a great template for anyone on that journey. I did a version of that in the past, but found more steady progress with micros and funded programs this year, and despite all I know, some of the discipline still took longer than expected. I am sure it takes many people much longer. Whatever gets them to the finish line I guess. We all have different personalities and demons in trading and sometimes need an unorthodox roundabout way to address them to truly defeat them.
No doubt it is a great template for anyone on that journey. I did a version of that in the past, but found more steady progress with micros and funded programs this year, and despite all I know, some of the discipline still took longer than expected. I am sure it takes many people much longer. Whatever gets them to the finish line I guess. We all have different personalities and demons in trading and sometimes need an unorthodox roundabout way to address them to truly defeat them.
I was speaking more about the template on how to actually beat the gauntlets. What did you do differently this time?
I was speaking more about the template on how to actually beat the gauntlets. What did you do differently this time?
Journaling in a different way was a huge breakthrough for me. I had issues with occasional impulsive trades that were almost always poor decisions, essentially abandoning the plan to wait for a particular setup and try to take advantage of a move that was in-between the setups. Or just chasing a sharp move that I predicted, but ultimately building a bad habit for myself even if it was making money. I struggled with small things like that a lot, and then got better gradually but still wasn't totally over it. But I started exploring journaling and I just experimented with it. I don't journal specific trades and analyze them like most might, but I do journal things like my thoughts, ideas, things I notice and might not even necessarily use in a trade. It's kind of like an active meditation throughout the trading day. I have changed a lot of habits the last 1-2 years so it's all adding up I'd say. No idea if it would work for others the same way but like I said, sometimes it can take a strange new method to unlock something in yourself.
I am curious, if you keep passing these trials, why in the world do you not just trade your own account? No profit split, no pro data fees, better tax treatment than getting a 1099 and having to report as income as opposed to 60/40 treatment.
This is the VERY HUGE difference with E2Trade. The 60/40 LT/ST tax rates are passed onto the trader. On the others you are a paid consultant and are taxed as an independent contractor status which means you pay ordinary income tax on ALL your gains plus 15.3% self employment tax. So, E2T is the only choice that makes financial sense.
One other advantage, for the underfunded or those of us to are adverse to huge risks, is that you are not risking your own funds. And, if you are successful you can go up the ladder in the number of contracts traded much more quickly than you would do with your own funds.
So, the bottom line is that you might make more with your 80% share at E2T than trading your own account because of additional size traded. Of course as you add contracts you need to leave a portion of your profits with E2T to absorb the higher drawdowns. But, that amount is less than you would risk with your own account.
For example if you have made $50,000 with E2T you would be more comfortable trading 10 contracts than you would be with a $50,000 account of your own.
E2T currently has a $99 special on their mini-Gauntlet on their $50,000 account. I am thinking about trying it. I took it a couple of months ago and failed even though my account was in profitable status and had been since the very first trade. Zero drawdown below the 50K. I was cutting the daily drawdown too close and went over by 1 tick. I protested because I was profitable but rules are rules.
Currently have the Covid but should be feeling fit enough to try it by the Dec 31 special deadline.
Currently have the Covid but should be feeling fit enough to try it by the Dec 31 special deadline.