I was just browsing through some other forums and trading rooms and was quite surpised to see the lack of interest in the dow mini's. I specialize in the dow mini's strictly. And in my opnion they are probably the best place market for a new trader. The spread is $5 compared to $12.50 for the S&P emini's. Also the dow has some nice intraday moves, sometimes as much as 200 points. 200 points is equivalent to $1000 per contract. Of course you will most likely not catch the entire move but the dow mini is less prone to false breakouts compared to the S&P. I can not trade the S&P using a 1 point stop but can trade the dow using a 10 point stop. 1 point on the S&P is approx 10 points on the dow.
From my understanding alot of new traders will start with Forex. Perhaps because it is the most popular market. But one thing I recommend is to forget about the sex appeal of high-tech stocks or volatile Nasdaq stocks. Stick to markets that you are comfortable with. Talking to a bunch of Forex traders today made me feel like I was 90 years old trading the dow.
If you want to start with the dow, I'll be glad to help you out.
We need more dow traders!!!