Help! Complete Newbie Needs Urgent Help!

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ProfitHunter85

Dear Traders,

My name is Bryan, from Singapore and I'm seriously looking at futures trading as a long-term lucrative career for myself.

That being said, I recognize the need to learn as much and practice as much as I can prior to starting to trade with real cash.

The problem is, with so much information out there, I'm lost. Completely lost.

At this moment, the only instrument I'm trading is penny stocks, and they are a whole lot different then futures.

I'm hoping one (or any) of you kind traders will be willing to help a complete newbie here with a list of questions that I have

1) Where exactly can I go to learn everything I can about futures trading? Are there any good, reputable online course, dvds, experts in this area, just like the stock trading arena?

2) Which is the BEST broker out there for futures trading? Currently, I'm looking at brokers like:

- TradeStation
- TD Ameritrade
- eTrade
- OptionsXpress
- INteractive Brokers
- Light Speed

How do I determine which is the best broker amongst these? i know for a fact commissions aren't the only deciding factor here.

3) What are the exchange fees payable if I were to trade the S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow minis? Do they differ trade by trade or are they of standard amounts?

4) What are the trading hours and days for index futures?

5) Considering I'm an intraday trader, do I necessarily have to close my positions before the closing bell or can I hold them overnight at times if/when required? Do I need to abide by any overnight margin requirements to do that?

6) Besides the futures Trading Platform given by the broker I open my account with, what other charting/data packages do I need? I've heard of people talking about Interactive Brokers and Sierra Charts, eSignal, Ninja Trader. What are all these? Don't these stuff already come in the brokers platform?

7) Is there any "authority" on Index Futures Trading that also has educational material on offer? I know for a fact that stocks trading has lots of "gurus" teaching stuff out there...what about futures trading?

Please help!

Many Thanks in Advance,
Bryan
 
1) Where exactly can I go to learn everything I can about futures trading? Are there any good, reputable online course, dvds, experts in this area, just like the stock trading arena?
The best place I know is LBR group headed by Linda Rashcke. It is expensive but you get a good education. Their trading methods are based on momentum, elliot waves, taylor method (book trading)
If you don't want to spend 400-500 a month for a year or two, you can start reading about these subjects. Also I recommend Lida's book "Street Smart" if you are a newbie.


4) What are the trading hours and days for index futures?
Day session: 9:30 AM to 16:00. Night session 16:00 to 16:15 and 16:30 to 9:30 weekdays. Sundays 18:00 to 9:30, all eastern US times.

5) Considering I'm an intraday trader, do I necessarily have to close my positions before the closing bell or can I hold them overnight at times if/when required? Do I need to abide by any overnight margin requirements to do that?
You need to have about $5600 in the account for each overnight contract.

6) Besides the futures Trading Platform given by the broker I open my account with, what other charting/data packages do I need? I've heard of people talking about Interactive Brokers and Sierra Charts, eSignal, Ninja Trader. What are all these? Don't these stuff already come in the brokers platform?
The brokers usually provide some some charting software. But the best charting is Trade Station. It exceeds capabilities of any charting software I know.
Also when looking at brokers, study various trading platforms as well.

7) Is there any "authority" on Index Futures Trading that also has educational material on offer? I know for a fact that stocks trading has lots of "gurus" teaching stuff out there...what about futures trading?
Look into LBR group but don't expect any "authority" transforms you to a successful trader. It is all your passion and your hard work.

Good luck
 
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