ES vs. NQ

[llIHeroic]

@Handle123 and @s0mmi ,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond. The information you guys both gave will be very helpful to me for some future considerations. I'm convinced beyond doubt I have a really strong intra-day edge; at least when volatility is half decent. A few more refinements are coming along here and then but at long last I think I have something I'm quite happy with and feeling less and less of a desire to research and dream of different strategies / variations, less and less desire to continue to modify and tinker with the mechanics of my current trading.

Just working on reinforcing habits of discipline, getting to the point where execution is completely routine, knowing all the details completely automatic, and getting emotions, especially euphoria at rapid profits, to keep becoming less and less. Next I might need to learn like Handle said how to stay away from days that make for bad performance, but as long as the opening range ends up being at least $200-$300 worth of points on either NQ or ES there's not too much drag on my system. So haven't had to worry about sidelining in a while recently.

Maybe some people are affected less by psychology, but at this point it seems to be the current area I need to work through separating me from significant profits, having to become desensitized to quickly earning money, and re-work some expectations I grew up with of myself and finance. Things are going pretty well though, just trying to be patient and feeling like I'm moving in a positive direction with all these things.

I have found a lot of satisfaction lately in all things trading related after working so long with my head down, and finally getting to see some substantial breakthroughs and a lot of the things I've worked on start to integrate together in my mind. I'm sure there will be more setbacks and more work to do like there always is on this journey but it's been a good time lately. Thanks for sharing some of your thoughts.

 

[Handle123]

These three observations, in particular, mostly confirm my overall impressions of these markets (as a former long-time Euro trader, now mostly an NQ trader, doing ok with it and finding ES often "too slow"/range-bound, intraday).

I know it's slightly off-topic for this thread, but I'd be very interested to hear more of your overall impression of CL, as compared mostly with NQ, according to these parameters ... to try to gage what you think are the overall prospects for successful intraday NQ traders trying to trade CL a little more, at times when NQ doesn't suit our trading style.

Some will say makes no difference, but knowing you don't live in USA, we think in much different ways, hussle and bussle of living in USA, we unfortunately live like an animal just escaped from the zoo and run fast, but cause many of population are sheep, they return to the zoo for food, that is trading style of many. Sounds like USA citizens are dumb and sheep, but it is true, most don't appreciate what they have, they want more "stuff" then neighbor and they see small profits waste of time. People before 1970s use to get dressed up when they went on an airplane, my family never locked the door and I lived in Chicago, didn't need much in form of lawyers, handshake was a contract. Now you need steel doors for the home welded doorjams, more lawyers than... So you either learn that America is messed up people and many will try to come to the marketplace with sheep mind, and why they are labeled "bait".

What does all that have to do with trading? Plenty in MY MIND, people here want the most money as in points or ticks, they want first to say they make 100 ticks in crude oil and money comes in second, homeruns-they think less in terms of making better lives for family and more for selfish reasons, but they most likely be gone by end of a year. In ways, trading gets little easier cause I understand people better, longer I trade, more numb I become to people in general. And why so many fail? Back in sixties it take like ten days to send a letter in mail and get reply back, now on Internet in second, so people don't study for months/years on trading, they expect instant money...HAHAHA, most are extremely lazy, they won't read, study, learn to program, brainstorm.

Enclosed is homework, now automated homework as I want it in an instant, LOL, but I do study in evening for about an hour of internals of ES, interest rates, spreads, overnight markets, and what I am seeking is market might be jumpier on open, can't scalp when it occurs and I check what I can expect for ticks next day in ES, CL and QEC.

By chopping up five minute timeframes, you learn how much is possible and it is re-occurring whether it is in ES, NQ, QEC, CL or whatever, if you don't see re-occurring anything, it not a good market to scalp and more of a run and gun market like Crude Oil and NQ. I don't trade CL or QEC when most of America is awake, they will ruin what I do, like many other parts of life. So scalping before ES opens is fine with me. But when day open starts, can expect Crude to have many false move to upside and much less going down(hanging sheep).

I think for consistency NQ is better cause there are more Indexes but when you trade Crude Oil, it is either that or Brent, I don't know of many who day trade NG, HO, UNG, great markets to spread or long term. So overall more stable trends as Indexes all tied to stock market. Reason NQ moves as it does is lack of volume, if someone tosses 200 lots when there isn't enough for three levels, it will triggers stops and away you go and it snowballs into 2.5 to 3 point wave by hitting more stops, so long as most don't do many, most younger traders can't hurt themselves much. Where the problems comes in and most never study, how much is too much, just cause you can get in, can you safely get out?

Markets I really love to trade are ones America won't cause there is no action, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Eurodollar-Financial Instrument, it is a turtle, heaviest market on the planet, spreaders love it, then I love the BUND, slow but can day trade for longer duration and ES cause in small amount of time I can make ticks and be done. Make $80 net based on one lots time 25 lots times 240 trading days=almost half a mil.

You don't have to make a lot to do well, but be consistent. And what I post IS MY OPINIONS. If you all or part don't like me or what I post, I don't care, don't read it, I don't have a blogs, stop sending me PMs asking me for advise then tell me something negative towards me, you are wasting your time.

Starbucks time.