FUTURES is where it's at!

[walterw]

Robert, no the 3 days settlement no... once you are flat you are ready to open a new position... I make about 4 to 5 trades on one session with the same money... some scalpers even do up to 20 trades on one session... thought they mostly overtrade...

[Robert2617]

The reason I mentioned this is because over at ScotTrade this policy is in effect.

	Quote:
	Credit balances in a cash account may be used for purchases. * If the account has settled funds, there are no restrictions as to what may be purchased. * If the credit balance is a result of an unsettled sale of securities, certain restrictions may apply. * Unsettled proceeds from existing long positions can be used to purchase additional securities as long as the new purchase is not sold prior to the settlement date of the original sale that generated the proceeds used to finance the purchase. * If it is sold prior to the settlement date of the funding sale without additional funds being deposited, it will be considered a free ride under Federal Reserve Regulation T. For example, if you sell a security on Monday the 1st, you can use the proceeds to make a purchase prior to the settlement date of Thursday the 4th. * However, if you make a purchase before Thursday the 4th then sell that new position before the settlement of Monday's sale, you will then be required to deposit funds to pay for the purchase. * If you purchase on Thursday the 4th, you may place a sell at anytime you wish, since the purchase was made with settled funds. Mutual Funds and Fixed Income Securities can only be purchased with existing or settled funds.

At Scot I had a what they call a "Cash Account" and that rule applied. At TS I have a margin acct so I'm just not sure that it applies. Now if you have mega bucks in your acct it is not an issue but if you have just enough to get by, it would apply. That is what I have to figure out. Does that rule apply to me at TS?

I own my own business and am not going to give that up so I only want to make a few trades in the morning every other day or so but I would like to be able to make more than the 3.5 trades allowed or be classified as a pattern day trader. I don't have another $25,000 to drop in my trading account right now. I know number of trades does not apply with e-mini's but the unsettled funds rule might. That's the nut.

[Soultrader]

There is no pattern day trading rule for eminis. You can open a TS futures account with the account minimum at $5,000 and day trade all you want. Also do you plan to day trade or hold overnight positions?

[Robert2617]

I want to be in and out. No overnight if I can help it. I know about the "no pattern day trader rules apply" for e-mini's but does that mean that the "Securities Rule T" not apply as well. No three days to have settled funds? With stocks, that Securities rule does apply for sure.

[Soultrader]

Nope... doesnt apply to futures. Everything gets calculated at the end of the day. So lets say your account goes below $2438. However, by the close you have profited enough to raise it above $2500. Since futures are calculated at the end of day... you are still good to go.

[Robert2617]

	Quote:	Soultrader
	Nope... doesnt apply to futures. Everything gets calculated at the end of the day. So lets say your account goes below $2438. However, by the close you have profited enough to raise it above $2500. Since futures are calculated at the end of day... you are still good to go.

Awesome. That was the answer I was looking for. Now what I need to do is watch for a while, keep learning, do a little paper trading and see if I can come out on top most of the time. After that I will start with 1 contract at a time until I can build my account up enough to feel comfortable to do 2 at a time. I plan on going slow so I can do this right the first time. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for your help.

[Robert2617]

ST, two more questions that you would know the answers. What symbol do I use (@YM)? I don't need to do the YM-Z, YM-H etc. like in eSignal do I? TS will switch that for me automatically right? And do you typically use market or limit orders?

[Soultrader]

You can use the continuous contract: symbol @YM for your charts and time of sales. But in your matrix you will need to use the current contract symbol. (YMH07)

I tend to use both market and limit orders. For the opening play, I use all market orders. In a slow market I may decide to set a limit order below/above the trading price. It depends on my trading setup.