Most ES can do is 2,000 contracts "per" entry if you have platform that accepts that, BUT you or automation can be hitting that puppy in rapid order till ???
https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/equity.../faq-e-mini-equity-index-futures.pdf
Since Asia has exchanges, traders there have gone from trading USA markets to Asia markets. Even Europe and Latin America is trading more than in USA, so our exchanges are flattening out and some markets are declining.
http://marketvoicemag.org/?q=content/2015-annual-survey-global-derivatives-volume
This is bit older but never the less interesting.
http://emini-watch.com/emini-trading/emini-futures/
You can see where Volume is declining over past 7 years.
If you have to depend on "Trading for a Living", compounding is extremely hard to do, unless your spouse is working, you have to be taking money out each month to exist including health insurance and every 3 months to pay quarterly taxes. 250 contracts on 100k account? I don't know of any broker willing to take that risk, broker would be risking over one million bucks on your 250 contracts if another 911 happened, I think most are willing to risk 5-10k on smaller accounts as it is easier to get it out of individual account holders, but getting over one million from one guy who might have to file bankruptcy would cause brokerage to do the same? That be a lifetime of paying back through commissions. But if you had like one million of T-Bills with broker or another form of currency on deposit for backing up ES, I would think most likely.
Unless you have smaller accounts, making 20% each month, it possible, you have one hell of a good system for being a trader with small account and taking out money to live on each month. If you have a 10k account and can live on $2,000 each month, where is the compounding? Just cause you have the funds in your account, unless you come to a point and stopped valuing money, fear of ruin comes into your thoughts and as you get older, wiping out is a pisser cause it is tougher to recoup, less time. Better to lose accounts when younger and working hard to learn how to accumulate than betting it all on one dumb idea, man I wish I had someone bitch slap me in 1985 with grains and again Aug 1997 cause I just "knew" Bonds were topping, don't put all fish in same pot.
NOTHING is a sure winner, just ask Hillary.
Traders who go for much bigger profits than 1-8 ticks, I wish I could do that, but for whatever reason, I can't day that, I average much lower, so low at times I have to think why the hell am I day trading as I do better long term when it deals with R:R. Most likely afraid I will lose knowledge, you don't use it, you will lose the nuances. I envy the guys that handle the stress of day trading for a living, I never liked it from the start but pushed myself to trade, automation has become heaven sent for me, it is almost to point of not caring, but I still trade very lite manually to keep knowledge.
Insanely rich, so much depends on you. Pardon my language, but many that are billionaires, are assholes in my thinking, do you want to be like them or prefer to have real friends. Start young and put down 15% and buy rental houses, you learn to make repairs till you have too many of them, interest rates very low, they will never be this low for.....every year learn to buy few each year and get 30yr mortgages but pay twice a month, buy land few miles from edge of cities/towns if you in 20/30s, buy land for storage units especially near military bases. It is like trading, you net $80 a day-do 60 contracts, make approx. million a year. Beginning years you are learning, middle years accumulating.