Quote from austinp:
<i>"I manage opm, as well as daytrade. (Well, attempt to daytrade ...)"</i>
the step(s) from attempting to successful day-trading include a significant amount of focus. In the past I traded index options that were held open for hours to days at a time. That allowed time for watching lots of stuff... once the trade was open, it went on autopilot because execution was slow & deliberate.
Day-trading emini futures is a completely different story. Your intraday attention is already partially divided towards mandatory tasks of opm. That leaves you with less than 100% focus and attention by necessity on the emini charts.
I strongly suggest you limit symbols and charts watched to fewest possible. For example, the ES and YM are synonymous. It's like trading SPX and OEX options together. There's no real point... might as well just trade one or the other and add size.
The ES and ER differ enough so that one will commonly be on a buy or sell signal while the other diverges or is in flux between signals. You might seriously consider just working one or the other, so fleeting signals aren't missed while attention is diverted.
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Most newbie traders get all twitterpated when they see a dozen screens all stacked up, running countless charts and workspaces. It gives the illusion of information, power and control over markets. Reality is, that type of visual clutter does nothing but sap your most critical resource: mental focus on the task at hand.
The really successful traders I know work from four screens max, and two screens are enough for individual trading with no other distractions. In a pinch, one laptop with one screen would suffice. At least that single-screen trading would be far more effective than eight monitors spewing currencies, commodities and stock market feeds to a scatter-brained, overloaded and overwhelmed mind.
You have a necessary need for several screens. My advice is to limit that visual real estate to fewest decision points possible for accomplishing that. You'll make far more money in the end with fewer screens watched.
I greatly the appreciate the advice! I have been thinking the same thing all week while on vacation with my Wife and Sons. I'm throwing my line out in the surf (no big fish to tell of. The crabs got most of the bait.
), and am thinking, "how in the hell am I going to try to focus ALL of my attention on trading the ES, and some options occasionally with 6-8 monitors running, and not be just completely overloaded with useless information taking my attention away from the trade?"
It was a "Duh!" moment you could say, where a week away from trading, and buried in data, paperwork, etc., may have "put some common sense back in me."
Would you all recommend a desktop set up with two 24" monitors where I can "split the screens" into four? Meaning I could have three charts up, and another for the dom/order entry, etc.,
If that cannot be done (I'm not a "computer guy,"
), then four monitors max.
I can run my RIA business through my laptop which is attached to a 21" monitor. It's always worked well, but is now starting to shut off without warning. I back up everything, but I can't have that going on with my Client's money. I don't trade actively at all in their accounts, as I'm a performance-based RIA (I get paid a % only when they make $ there are no commissions.) But, I think after replacing a hard drive once, and the shutting off it's time for a new one (it's four years old, and "been through it.")
Can you all recommend a good laptop? I like the toughbook T7
http://www.panasonic.com/business/Toughbook/business-rugged-computers.asp#
Again, I appreciate all of the comments, and advice!
