to RiceRocket...what would you suggest in your account to trade only 1 ES contract and then for example 1 ER2 contract?...again, suggest a reasonable amount...
Trading e-minis with $1k starting capital
- Thread starter IndexScalper
- Start date
to AustinP...when it was at $1,000...what type of stops did you use and not get 'stopped out'...was it mental or hard?Quote from austinp:
<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
To IndexScalper...I looked for what you had wrote but could not find it...while trading the ER2 with about $1,200.00...what type of stop are you using?...is it a 'hard-preset' stop or simply a 'mental one' that you use when you see your p&L going south, south...hey, the best to you...we are pulling for you!!
25,000 minimum I would recommend for daytrading ES. This allows you to have wider stops and let your winners ride.
Today I got triggered long at the double top today, based on my system. When I hit my stop of 5 points my system gave me a short signal. So I went short. then my short retraced, but never hit my stop of 5 points, I let my short trade ride, and added another contract once I was in the money. Then I started to scale out at the end of the day. End result, Profit!
What im trying to say here is that I made only 3 trades, came out on profit and let my winners ride. Kept my commissions down. Thats the way I like to trade. And having a pretty respectable account size allows me to do that.
I wish the OP the best, however, I personally wouldn't recommend scalping with such a small account. It just adds pressure to trade and might cloud judgment.
Today I got triggered long at the double top today, based on my system. When I hit my stop of 5 points my system gave me a short signal. So I went short. then my short retraced, but never hit my stop of 5 points, I let my short trade ride, and added another contract once I was in the money. Then I started to scale out at the end of the day. End result, Profit!
What im trying to say here is that I made only 3 trades, came out on profit and let my winners ride. Kept my commissions down. Thats the way I like to trade. And having a pretty respectable account size allows me to do that.
I wish the OP the best, however, I personally wouldn't recommend scalping with such a small account. It just adds pressure to trade and might cloud judgment.
With 5K I think you could trade YM.
ES and ER2 you need 10 grand. The current volatility is just too big to be able to successfully weather the leverage.
this is such a great point...the more 'cushion' between your account value and the position of margin for the contract you are holding---the more relaxed you trade...AND...keeps you from exiting trades to soon for concern of major loss...great point...PS-I love Tokyo Narita airport
Actually, if he knew how to trade all he would need would be 1k to 1.2k for the NQ or YM and 2k+ for the ES.
If you can't make money on a huge trend day or the expected range bound contraction which ususually happens after such huge range extension while overtrading to the tune of averaging 70-80 round turns per day your strategy is seriously flawed and you should seek a new one.
You must definitely will never be able to scale-up to any real size which would make this type of effort worth it.
I was using mental stops. I no longer trade the ER2. I made the change based on recommendations from several posters in the beginning of this thread.
I was thinking the same thing. How would you like to be his broker. I bet they have made 1k in the last two weeks.