You CANNOT guarantee a 1 handle loss. Especially in a VIX > 40 environment. You can put all the stops you want out there, but guaranteed at some point in the day the market will gap right past them. If your funding level can't handle that, then the other poster is right, at the level you seem to be expecting to fund you might be blown out on your very first trade.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Starter Account Size for Emini S&P?
- Thread starter EminitraderDM
- Start date
You CANNOT guarantee a 1 handle loss. Especially in a VIX > 40 environment. You can put all the stops you want out there, but guaranteed at some point in the day the market will gap right past them. If your funding level can't handle that, then the other poster is right, at the level you seem to be expecting to fund you might be blown out on your very first trade.
Quote from EminitraderDM:
What size of an account should I start out with on the Emini S&P?
Is $5000 a good number and start with 1 contract to build your account from there?
Or is starting with $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000 a better approach?
**EDIT** Also, after my last post about scalping I did a little more research and decided that short term position trading was a better approach to be more efficient and manage capital. I attached a chart for yesterday that I marked up a bit with some Entries and Exits that I noticed, along with the reasons why...
Am I on the right track here?
A couple of considerations. And by the way, I haven't read the thread...too many pages.
First, it's not clear to me what "short term position trading" is. To me this means you may be holding a position overnight. If this is the case, you have to have at least initial margin. Right now that's $6188.
Second, at some brokers (Interactive Brokers for example), you will need overnight margin just to daytrade. Again, that's $6188.
So if you're an overnight trader, OR, if you have an account at IB, you need a minimum of $6188, plus whatever amount you want to cover losses.
But here's another issue: some brokers are out there that may well let you trade with less intraday margin. So in the first few posts I see guys talking about taking $100 risk. To me, this is bull. This is a very volatile market right now. $100 per contract on the ES is only 2 points. I think using a stop like that is just asking to get yourself chopped up.
If all you got is $5K....forget about trading ES. You need more. I wouldn't do it with less than $10K, and frankly, I would advise you that you really need to start with more...maybe $20K. $20K does a couple of things for you: it gives you some room to set a reasonable stop given today's volatility. And it also gives you some room to take the inevitable losses and still have ample margin to continue.
OldTrader
Im going to say this again. There are many discount futures firms that will alow you to trade 10+ contracts with 5k. That is not the point. Simulator world is a lot different from the real world. I personally hate the mini SP. I am sure it is no better or worse than say the the mini nq or ym. Just my preference with the other 2 if I am doing the US markets. I say go ahead find one of the discounts and open an account. 5k is great for 1 contract but if you have more great. Be conservative and gauge your real world performance.
Quote from CollegeTrader:
Im about to be 100 % honest with you. Im not trying to be mean so understand this. The odds are against you tremendously. I have been reading your responses and i can tell your not ready. Please stay on sim. What you have to understand is being a trader you are independent. Your going against the top pros everyday. You are not a pro. I have blown up before and it was the greatest thing that has happened to me. why? i was just like you. my head was in the clouds. i though i was a 19 year old prodogy going to kick everyones ass. After my blow up it crushed my ego and i did something about it. I said this is something i love and want to become a professional at. I eat breath and sleep this stuff. I take trading with the upmost seriousness because when you let your guard down you lose. Ask yourself this. How does a professional athlete make it to the pros? He works his ass off all day everyday, harder than anyone he knows. when he meets someone better than him he will bust his ass even harder. Now ask yourself how do you take trading. are you up until the wee hours of the night studying your charts. Are you coming up with a game plan the day before. Are you training yourself mentally? This business is going to show your true colors. when you get kicked in the balls are you going to get back up and wear a cup next time? Only you can make yourself successful. From what i have read your not ready to go head to head with any of the sucessful traders on this board. These guys will pray on you like they did me. You got to get cruhed before you can learn to walk again. Please dont take anything personal. i wish you the best of success. But until you devote yourself like a true professional that light at the end of that dark tunnel is a train.
It is definatley a business that im interested in. It takes a great deal of commitment to dedicate that much time to a particular part of your life and I do understand what you mean.
Its the same for any successful business person no matter what business your in. This business has such shitty stats for the amount of winners to losers because any joe blow at all can fund an account and hit the markets. That isnt what im going to do in anyway.
sorry for any typos in advance, im on my blackberry.
Quote from veggen:
That is the most stupidest thing I have ever heard!!
5 k under normal circumstances should do just fine, however nowdays many of the brokers require more margin than usually because of the extreme volatility. Check that out with your broker what they require for margin these days. But I strongly doubt you have to put up more than 3 k for margin, so 5 k should be just fine!
Good luck
All about the risk. You're leveraged 10:1 with just $5k. Too stupid for words. 2 points on es is 0.21%, and on your account is 2% lost. about 10:1 leverage. A stupid amount for someone so inexperienced.
No one need listen to me. I'm only half way through the cfa curriculum.