Does anyone "spread" daytrade the ES vs. NQ or YM vs. NQ etc.?

[oldtime]

wow, this is a very old thread revived

I fooled around with that es vs ym

it is a great place for beginners to start

you can put it on for peanuts

at 1:1 it gives you a micro ES

which with 10k in an account is what most beginners should be trading

don't see the point in daytrading it, since the beauty is you have some black swan protection

many of us conservative investors have eliminated our nq (QQQ) XLK nasdaq stocks, so the es vs nq is an interesting spread.

There's going to be some averaging down involved.

And that is where it can get you if you are not thoughtful about the whole process from beginning to end.

 

[bathrobe]

The proper ratio of ES to NQ is not 1:2, as per the CME when I was trading it is was 1 ES : 1.27 NQ, this takes in to account more than the point value.

 

[querry]

Quote from bathrobe:

The proper ratio of ES to NQ is not 1:2, as per the CME when I was trading it is was 1 ES : 1.27 NQ, this takes in to account more than the point value.

That's where it gets tricky for me. I don't know how to trade 1.27 contracts. Usually I buy them in whole numbers. How can I get more info on this?

 

[oldtime]

Quote from querry:

That's where it gets tricky for me. I don't know how to trade 1.27 contracts. Usually I buy them in whole numbers. How can I get more info on this?

yeah, that's where it gets tricky

if you are trying to put it on dollar neutral it can get really crazy

like when I was trading es vs ym, they had these internet sites run by college professors

it went up to something like 14 ym vs 11 es

generally speaking, most small retail traders are going to accept the small directional micro es, and trade accordingly

you have to take into account dividends and time

 

[bathrobe]

Quote from querry:

That's where it gets tricky for me. I don't know how to trade 1.27 contracts. Usually I buy them in whole numbers. How can I get more info on this?

I was trading 4ES Es to 5 nq. Without member rates 1 spread position is really expensive since it was 9 contracts.

 

[oldtime]

Quote from bathrobe:

I was trading 4ES Es to 5 nq. Without member rates 1 spread position is really expensive since it was 9 contracts.

you sure about that? The CME has it listed on their site. It is like at least an 85% discount.

No way 4 es to 5 nq you should be charged for 9 contracts

sounds like the problem there was with your broker

exchange minimum margin

 

[bathrobe]

Quote from oldtime:

you sure about that? The CME has it listed on their site. It is like at least an 85% discount.

No way 4 es to 5 nq you should be charged for 9 contracts

sounds like the problem there was with your broker
exchange minimum margin

Im sorry, I should have clarified I meant commissions.

 

[oldtime]

Quote from bathrobe:

Im sorry, I should have clarified I meant commissions.

yeah, no kidding, commissions and spreads can really add up

 

[querry]

Quote from bathrobe:

The proper ratio of ES to NQ is not 1:2, as per the CME when I was trading it is was 1 ES : 1.27 NQ, this takes in to account more than the point value.

Do you happen to know the ratio for ES to YM?

 

[oldtime]

Quote from querry:

Do you happen to know the ratio for ES to YM?

well, as it stands now, were at about 70k for an es and 66k for a ym.

If you really want to get dollar neutral, what would that be? About 7 ym to 6 es

you get a big discount on margin at just 1 to 1

whatever you do beyond that is up to you

just remember, you always have a micro es on