Trading e-minis with $1k starting capital

Wait one minute son. If you're going to be posting P&L we want screen shots.

Thursday was in an uptrend all day. 72 round turns shows me that you have no edge. Churn and burn that account. If a volatile move doesn't wipe you out, commissions will. And until you post screen shots of your true net, I don't believe you.
 
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO


and lastly don't foget: NO.
 
72 trades of 1 contract indicate a $5 per trade profit, on average, after commish. Less than 1 tick or either ES or ER2.

How can you be sure you have any edge whatsoever if the profit per trade is less than the instrument you are trading even ticks at?
 
You know, you only have to double 1,000 ten times in order tp arrive at a million. But why so many round turns. There is usually just 1-3 large interday trends. Why not restrict yourself to 1-3 trades per day.
 
Quote from IndexSwing:

You know, you only have to double 1,000 ten times in order tp arrive at a million. But why so many round turns. There is usually just 1-3 large interday trends. Why not restrict yourself to 1-3 trades per day.
More...

For the normal person this is true. For this guy, there is no way he can afford to do that. If in his first day he lost 200 dollars he would have been done. The current volatility would require him to have stops almost that large. It could have been one and done.

Now all of that being said, I think this is all bullshit. If it takes 72 trades to make a profit on a highly trending day, I can't imagine how many trades he will have to make during chop days.
 
Quote from IndexSwing:

...There is usually just 1-3 large interday trends. Why not restrict yourself to 1-3 trades per day.
More...

He is not able to do that.

His system is probably: buy or sell and close the trade as fast as possible with 1 tick difference. That's why the net profit is less than 1 tick. Pure gambling.

Has nothing to do with trading and is doomed do fail.

The fact that he trades with only 1K says all a professional needs to know.
 
<i>"Despite all odds I will attempt to prove that not only it is possible to trade successfully with only 1k but the profits when added over time will be nothing to scoff at. I am purposely not trying to make any projections but my analysis tells me that making $1000 - $2000 per month is possible."</i>

About a year ago I had $1,000 balance in an account and decided to see where it could be traded to using a specific approach in the ER2.

First day it went from $1,000 down to $800. Second day it went to $1,500+ and then stair-stepped higher from there. Before the end of second calendar month, account balance was $60,000+

#1) In this specific experiment, three more stop-outs of -$100 each (my usual stop size) on ER would have shut down that account until further funding. $500 is the cutoff, and I was three straight losses from done. That was the razor-edge difference between -$500 and +$59k as a result.

Obviously, luck & fate of how win/loss distribution played out was critical in the beginning. Once the account balance crests $5k, methodical skill takes over. Until then, tiny accounts are subject to whims of the market.

#2) You'll certainly make more money when you begin taking fewer turns and hold some of them for handles instead of ticks. There were several swings greater than +5pts up and down on Thursday, five or six of them on Wednesday.

Catching any one of those for a ride will net out far bigger gains than frenetic tick scalping. 5pt swings in the ER happen multiple times daily, every day. You needn't catch them all... just one or two (more days than not) will suffice.

#3) If and when your account balance reaches $10k, it no longer matters whether it was $1k or $5k to start. From there you can safely trade whatever reasonable size your win/loss, profit/loss scale dictates. Making $10k to $20k per month is possible in the end... getting to critical mass safely in account balance is your sole focus right now.

Equal measures of skill and luck will play a part between now and $10k balance. After that, it's all self-discipline and skill in that order of importance.

Best wishes in your quest :)
 
Whether you go on to trading 100 lots or blow up the account is irrelevant. Assuming you want to trade proffesionally it is incumbent upon you to do ALL things trading related in a reasonable fashion.

No general fights any unforced battle with insufficient resources. Give your new found "system" a fighting chance. Assume, as the rest have found, that every trader has drawdowns. Go hold up a few gas stations if you must but have at least the ability to stand a two or three thousand dollar drawdown.

I'm not expressing an opinion on whether you can win your way -- although I obviously have reservations -- I'm suggesting that there are ways to give yourself a greater chance to win.

Be smart not stubborn.
 
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