Basic Setup

S

stephenszpak

Hi All

I was wondering if I could poll you all about what I
should consider regarding a basic setup for trading
the E-mini S&P 500 futures:

Trading: intraday trading

various X minute charts,
tick charts needed,
at least the ability
to place a simple moving average on the chart.
Ability to color code price bars according to a
slightly complex set of parameters is a plus.

Brokerage that would place my order to exit
my trade by phone
(if my internet connection is lost). I don't know
if this is common or not.

Basically: software, data, brokerage

Maybe more??? Anything here would help. Here all day
Saturday August 6.

Horror stories good too, if you think a should consider
avoiding certain companies.

Thanks as always,

Stephen Szpak
 
I've been looking at Technical Analysis of Stocks and
Commodities Magazine 2005 Bonus Issue. They list
their reader's choice awards there. S. Szpak
 
Get a internet highly recommended broker,
Get quotetracker,
Get a cable modem/DSL.
Get a simulating software (ninja,zero,button),
Get lots of books,
Get Pen and paper for journal


Thats it
 
Quote from coolweb:

Get a internet highly recommended broker,
Get quotetracker,
Get a cable modem/DSL.
Get a simulating software (ninja,zero,button),
Get lots of books,
Get Pen and paper for journal


Thats it
More...

CoolWeb

Thanks for the reply ( the only ).

I have looked at the reviews here on the brokerages.
Most people have Interactive Brokers but I have found
positive posts about Velocity Futures, Advanced Futures,
and Open E Cry.

I'm not positive what a quotetracker is. I find that I need to
see a chart. Perhaps you are refering to software that takes
market data and displays it (????????) Anyway I have been
using FutureSource:

http://www.walshtrading.com/index.php?p=quotes_charts

I'm not
new to technical analysis. I just can't lock onto it. On the plus
side, I may have actually found something I can use (recently).

As for actual, useful, market data, I assume CQG is the best.
But hardly anyone uses it because of the cost. Most people
seem to use eSignal and complain. Any suggestions here?

For taking the data and messing with it, perhaps MetaStock?

I'm not big on programming, so I would think TradeStation
and Wealth-Lab are out.

That's enough for now,

Regards,

Stephen Szpak
 
If you become successful you'll end up changing just about everything over time so the best advice is to just experiment with every possible combination and then conclude yourself what you think works and not rely on others opinions.
 
Quote from theplumber:

If you become successful you'll end up changing just about everything over time so the best advice is to just experiment with every possible combination and then conclude yourself what you think works and not rely on others opinions.
More...

Sorry, every possible combination of what exactly?

Stephen Szpak
 
Quote from stephenszpak:

Hi All

I was wondering if I could poll you all about what I
should consider regarding a basic setup for trading
the E-mini S&P 500 futures:
...
Stephen Szpak
More...

Stephen,

I can't help thinking that you're putting the cart before the horse. The first thing is, do you have a trading strategy for the ES? Once you do, then you'll know what you need to follow it.

If you don't have a strategy, then I think you'll need to develop one. On your way to doing this, it would probably be useful to see what other people have done so you might want to purchase a couple or so (that are reasonably priced). In this regard, I have to say that I've yet to find a book with a workable trading strategy.

The most useful thing to have is some good backtesting software which you can use to verify the efficacy of purchased strategies and to test out your own ideas.

I hope this helps.
Richard
 
Quote from rickty:

Stephen,

I can't help thinking that you're putting the cart before the horse. The first thing is, do you have a trading strategy for the ES? Once you do, then you'll know what you need to follow it.

If you don't have a strategy, then I think you'll need to develop one. On your way to doing this, it would probably be useful to see what other people have done so you might want to purchase a couple or so (that are reasonably priced). In this regard, I have to say that I've yet to find a book with a workable trading strategy.

The most useful thing to have is some good backtesting software which you can use to verify the efficacy of purchased strategies and to test out your own ideas.

I hope this helps.
Richard
More...

Thanks. I do have a strategy that recently came to me.
I would need realible data to actually test it out. I have gotten
some suggestions about simulators. I guess my question now
would be: "What simulator would display tick data in real-time,
and allow me to execute pretend trades?"

I don't do backtesting. I know I'll take some heat for that, but
programming is something that is just beyond my abilities.

Thanks Richard,

Stephen Szpak
 
Quote from bladerunner:

BE WATER MY FRIEND, BE WATER.
PS, DON'T EVER USE IB FOR TRADING ES UNLESS YOU WANT TO LOSE YOUR SHIRTS/TROUSERS.
More...

Bladerunner

What do you recommend?

Stephen Szpak
 
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