I can't believe it been forty years since I did my first trade, and no, don't wish I was younger, life too hard to have to relive it again, the costs been huge to learn how to trade decent. As I went to smaller and smaller timeframes, greater and greater amount of time necessary to get decent as far as first profits then a 180 to concentrate on drawdown and low losing percentages.
Limits in futures markets, most would contend there are no limits, but let's concern our self in terms of thinking first of what horrible things can occur first and then profits at end. People generally only "see" the money they can make and seldom think of losses. Many think one can trade tend of thousands of contracts in any market and that is not so. Say you developed the mother of all Palladium systems, maybe it wins 99% of the time, guess what, open interest is 36k over all the contract months. I don't recall what the exchanges consider the percentage of trying to monopolize any markets, but you can't just become 100% involved.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/energy-speculation-cftc-and-position-limits
https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/proposed-rule-limits-size-of-commodities-traders-positions/
This site goes into much more of limits. But you never want to look like you trying to control price and even if you doing 1% losses, this 1% can wipe you out especially if you controlling huge amount, and being like a Proud American, if I know someone is losing money- how can I pile on the grief and get some of that money.
But there are limits of safety, you want to be able to get in and out with ease and no one knows you were in those markets. Day trading, lets take Mini Russell, very nice run and go market for day trading, yesterday had under 16,000 contracts traded, WTF, that's it? If you think large traders coming in and doing 1,000 lots at a clip? If they did, only take once of horrible slippage for entry and then horrible stop fills for exists. So, there are limits in day trading and long term, but really there to remind you of greed gene and hopefully not wipe you out like the Hunt brothers.
https://priceonomics.com/how-the-hunt-brothers-cornered-the-silver-market/
How to go from multi-billionaires in 1960s to chump change by 1988 and filling bankruptcy. But there are limits for long term and day trading, and always expect the unexpected.
I love scalping, love designing those systems, ultimate rush when all programmed and doing what was paper traded, and I can do 365 days, does 24 hours a day and over 50 markets at same time. But I get a rush as well when a market completes 9 year cycle and am reversing after getting eventually 75% less jumps in contract rollovers of 9 years. Very very slow money, but long term allows much greater wealth accumulation through the years and can sleep during the night and never have to wake up early cause of reports. And there are safe limits in scalping/day trading, especially in middle of the night.
Wishing All Happy Holidays to be enjoyed with loved ones, even if it is this forum, and we love what we do.
