Question on trading E-mini

Originally posted by savage
One further question....based on my strategy of netting 1 pt per day, what would be an appropiate stop loss to place when I enter a position. I'm thinking maybe .5 to .75. Any opinions???
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My opinion, to close. I like 2 points. Trading that way, S&R etc.

That being said, I prefer the NQ because of the volitility. Will move 5 points often quicker than the ES will do 2. (Same money). and I give the NQ 5-7 points of room for stop.

It is possible to get more than one point. If you are looking for $50 on 1-4 trades, you better have good commissions!

One last point for the zero sum gamers - actually it is a minus sum game; NFA, clearing firms and brokers take right off the top! So what goes in does not come out. Easy to show. Two trades 1st +1; 2nd -1: net gain 0 account -20!
 
savage

personally i think the best stop loss would be to not open any trades if you are only looking to make a pt per day - but i look forward to any scalpers opinions
 
stevet,

I can see your point if only trading 1 contract. That opens up the question is it easier to get 10 pts on 1 contract or 1 pt on 10 contracts. My theory being that I would lean towards taking 1 point out of a 14 pt intraday range on 10 contracts eventually. That's why I want to consistently make 1 pt/day on 1 contract and then gradually increase # of contracts to 8-10. I am not saying that I will put in limit orders for only a point move. I will gladly take 2-10 points if the trend is there. I only use 1 point as a goal toward increasing the number of contracts that will hopefully result in $500/day average profit on 8-10 contracts.
 
This is the same argument most traders use prior to trading the mini's...you are assuming a positive rate of return on the 1 pt per day, which is akin to saying you are expecting to have a positive return off of "noise" everyday...A 1 pt profit target will work against you in a number of ways...First, on a number of occasions you will enter and instantly get 1 pt but perhaps give up 3-5 more in the process...By the same token, you will often enter and immediately have a 1 pt loss...Unless you figure out a way to max out your positions via multiple contracts, you will frustrate yourself with trading alot of noise...

You also have to factor in your contingency plan as to what you will do if you are down say 3 pts at the end of the day...Taking that a step further what happens if u trade the 10 lot and lose 3 pts per contract, now you are done 30...Do you increase your profit expectancy to make it back...

Lots of people enter the minis with these expectations...I am noticing more and more people drawn to this market...By the naive remarks, I only imagine few have ever traded this market day in day out...
 
savage

trading is all about trading experience and you get that by trying out different methods - and one method leads to another until you find what works for you

but just to protect yourself, whenever you take a trade, set a stop loss and every time you dont keep to it - hit yourself over the head with a hammer - you will become a great trader real quick by following this advice
 
savage, I predict this strategy will play out as follows:
a couple +1 point trades on 10 contracts
bam! -3 on 10 contracts
-1 on 10 contracts
+1
+1
-1
bam! -4 on 10 contracts

and so it will go. IMHO
 
vulture,

I'm sorry but I don't see the "noise". Here is the 3-min chart from today. Trended the whole day until stuck in range from 2 - 4pm. Lots of opportunities if you traded with the trend or traded S/R in range.
 

Attachments

Yes, I understand I traded the es today...

Did you? You are not going to know ur strategy until you actually trade the markets...
 
savage

if it just went up or down in a linear line - you would be right - but it has a nasty habit of making little up moves and then little down moves on its way to its destination - and some of those down moves are part of an upmove and some of the up moves are part of a down move - try entering a few trades - its amazing how much will become clear

but you're right about one thing - there are lots of opportunities for people who know what they are doing - you just need a methodology which works - if you are sure you have one that works - trade it tomorrow and let us know how you get on
 
yep, exactly, most people look at a chart at the end of the day and say stuff like, "look at how easy this was"...It always is after the fact...this 10 contract stuff just tells me he has never traded the ES...you cannot make a comparison between 1 to 10 contracts...that is very naive
 
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