MadMarketScientist

TheDude - I've been there! Talk about a panic. Another time I was traveling, and using IB and Ninja I do a lot with the middle mouse button. Never though that I wouldn't have that readily available on my laptop. Oops. Nothing worse than being in a trade, having no ability to use that button and madly searching the laptop to figure out how to turn that on. So lesson there might be if you are going to travel and trade on a laptop go through all the motions at home first and make sure everything is set-up to work perfect. I can say I've used Gotomypc many times and actually traded off my home office PC remotely and that has always worked fine for me. Seems kinda crazy in theory but it hasn't failed me -- it's a touch slower than being there, and it does depend on your internet connection. There was a time I was in an internet cafe, 100 degrees in there probably running at 28K -- not so good that time. I think I've traded long enough to run into every problem possible. They are funny now looking back. At the time I was probably weeping.

bakrob99 - you make a very good point especially about using the best tools possible. I know for me that meant purchasing a computer that was from a company that builds systems for traders. While I didn't get why it would be better than all the Dell's and HPs I had over the years I've simply never had a more stable computer. It is something to think about once someones account grows if you cannot do it upfront. I think running XP is about as stable as you can get -- forget Vista and I don't know if there's enough experience yet with Win 7 - maybe there is some feedback on that. You do mention: "As to whether TS should or should not reconnect after an Internet disconnect is not an issue for me because I will never trade an automated strategy without being present and watching it perform, unless I am just testing it on simulator." And, you're right - can be very risky but let's face it, half the ad campaigns play this part up. With that said, I've used TS for about 10 years and wouldn't consider changing despite the occasional hiccups. There is no perfect solution but for me this has been close.

I think a lot of new traders immediately jump to the S&P emini since it's the most popular by volume. Personally though I have found it more difficult to trade as a result of all this volume, and competition from very large players for fills at price levels. If I was recommending futures for a beginner I'd start with the Dow e-Mini which will move fairly lock step with the S&P, $5 per point, and a little easier to execute on your limit orders, or the Nasdaq e-Mini $20 per point. Just my

If you were to put together a top 10 list, or just one single thing that a trader should have to be successful what would those be? While I could come up with a laundry list of things here's a couple of thoughts... 1. A back-up internet source. You always think your internet won't go down but it does. No matter how good your cable modem is, there is a reality that at some point while in live trading you're going to lose your internet. What would you do? If you're a beginner, you might panic - that's ok - I have. But I always remind people #1 put the phone number of your broker by your computer. Seems basic right? But how many of you have done it? Remember, when that internet goes down you can't Google search it to find it -- and I personally would have no clue how to get the number to my broker (IB) if I didn't have it written down. It's not like I get mailed statements anymore. Then, have a back-up plan in place. Back in the day, ok, quite a few days ago I used to have dial-up as a back-up. Scary to even think that but there was a time. These days I have a Verizon Wireless Broadband modem. I've got the one that can turn your home/office into a Wifi zone. I've used it when I travel, on a cruise ship, at the airport, etc... but it is also my back-up in the even the internet dies on me. And, I can get it running in just a minute or two. 2. The very best charting platform you can afford. Too often people look for "free" and then wonder why their data is inconsistent or not available, whey the are so limited with indicators or timeframes available. This is one place you should not take a short-cut and many times if you combine it with a broker you can get these platforms for free anyway or highly discounted. Just don't forget you're still likely paying exchange fees so it's not going to be totally free.... What are yours?

Ok, I guess I felt this was a compelling question but I must be alone in that I find too many traders bounce around from market to market, let alone strategy to strategy that this question might force you to focus in on what market should be or become the center of your universe. Maybe it's just too hard to pick just one -- but if you had too..........

I believe the $25K is a regulator rule in order to allow daytrading account and 4:1 leverage. I don't remember the specifics but a few years ago it was the latest attempt to prevent something -- as if the daytraders were causing a market decline, etc., etc...you see where that got us. Anyway, I'm fairly certain that isn't IB specific but tied to the regulators they comply with. However, armed with this knowledge you really should be paying far less than you are. And, I'm sure others here can weight in with other alternatives as well.

Agreed with two posters above -- that does seem steep - I've seen plenty of people over time trade profitably if you could just take out their transaction costs - of course, that can't be done in total but it can many times be the difference between positive and negative on the ledger. Keep us up to date on how you're doing -- interesting thread.

Nice job in the chat today.....hope the rest of your trade day works out. I knew I should have taken that last long on CL!

That's a very interesting question. I'm not sure on that one. I haven't thought much about the simplicity -- I do think Tradestation is very visual and so customizable on screen that it's fairly easy to work with. I'm sure though there are better options for someone younger starting out.

I would agree -- I wouldn't worry much about people "shilling" -- you might get it here and there - the nature of the internet but chat people would be all over them and would quickly go away. If not, Bil could load a bunch of his crap on them -- just kidding, you were making a positive contribution in the chat this a.m. despite what you say.... There is of course a place for a sponsored chat or webinar if it would truly be educational.

Quick follow-up on my post on RIG which was being discussed here from last week....the short on my 60 minute chart from $68 remains open, target is down to the $54 level so it is really getting pretty close now -- would be a time to drop a trailing stop probably just above $65. On the 130 minute chart that I like as well, bigger moves, short from $66 with a target at the $53 level -- probably would pull trailing stop down to about $69 on that one -- needs more room.

Right, with TS it does reconnect, or should if the drop is on their end. I think the issue he was having was if his internet dropped for even a few seconds and TS disconnected, it will not automatically reconnect - instead it pops up a username and password field. That's why I use a small program that checks TS all the time, and if it notices the box is up, will force the login. Metatrader for example, if your internet drops, it of course disconnects as well but it always reconnects when your internet is back -- a bit of a mystery to me that a freebie platform has no issue with that but a paid platform that pushes hard their auto trading features does not also do this. Yet you can have someone write a small piece of software in an hour to do it. I don't get that at all. Seems to be a big oversight. The other thing of course is working with Ninja and trying to keep everything in synch -- if all your solutions aren't connected at the time of trade execution you could have a whole world of problems. It certainly calls into question turning your computer into an automated trading machine that spits out cash like an ATM. Wait, now I sound like an advertisement for a plugin

Thanks for feedback. I'll have to check on the posting of the graphic -- at the very least someone could in theory provide a link. If it turns out we need more features for the Traders Chat we'll look to change platforms and upgrade. Just will depend on the usage and requests. I do have someone looking at the search issue you mention as well. Thanks for your patience.

Fellow TL'ers: Sandwiched between "Blogs" and "Exchanges" at the top menu is a menu item called "Chat" -- as some of you know in days gone by this has been a real goldmine of active trading chat. Other times it can get mighty quiet in there. We're going to make some real effort to reinvigorate the chat and make it a great place to hang during trading hours (or after if you like) and both share your trading knowledge, and, if you don't have any -- that's ok, it can be a great place to learn and get some nuggets of knowledge. At the very least it can be a place we can all cry on each others shoulders when the market beats us up and we wonder why we ever started down this path. We have a handful of TL members willing to come in and hang out during trading hours -- of course if you go in during a quiet time of day or night, it might be a little lonesome. But, I'll try to start coming in there during prime market hours and sharing what I know (and I'll fake the rest and we're hoping here at TL that you'll join us and get the word out if you find it useful. This isn't one of those Chat rooms you have to pay for, nor is it one of those black box signal rooms -- it's as good as we all make it, and definitely at the right price, or your money back . Hope to see you there.

Fellow TL'ers: Sandwiched between "Blogs" and "Exchanges" at the top menu is a menu item called "Chat" -- as some of you know in days gone by this has been a real goldmine of active trading chat. Other times it can get mighty quiet in there. We're going to make some real effort to reinvigorate the chat and make it a great place to hang during trading hours (or after if you like) and both share your trading knowledge, and, if you don't have any -- that's ok, it can be a great place to learn and get some nuggets of knowledge. At the very least it can be a place we can all cry on each others shoulders when the market beats us up and we wonder why we ever started down this path. We have a handful of TL members willing to come in and hang out during trading hours -- of course if you go in during a quiet time of day or night, it might be a little lonesome. But, I'll try to start coming in there during prime market hours and sharing what I know (and I'll fake the rest and we're hoping here at TL that you'll join us and get the word out if you find it useful. This isn't one of those Chat rooms you have to pay for, nor is it one of those black box signal rooms -- it's as good as we all make it, and definitely at the right price, or your money back . Hope to see you there.

Attila -- I was actually going to suggest that from Mark Douglas -- while I realize it's not "real" money sometimes you have to trail the proper reflexes. Like an athlete, over and over you have to practice until it becomes reflex. See if you can force yourself to stock to the rules 20 - 25 times in a row perfectly -- regardless of winner or loser and until you do, refuse to allow yourself to trade real money. While things will be different with real dough on the line, if you can't even demo it and stick to them no sense risking the real stuff. Is there a way you could have some "exit" automation built for your platform? Meaning you put on the trade but then activate a plugin, ELD, EA, etc... that will handle the exit per your rules and literally you walk away. I can tell you something I do that helps me psychologically, I force myself to turn off the monitor or I will literally look back at the screen a thousand times in 5 minutes even if I'm telling myself to let it go. A few suggestions for you....

I'm an Interactive Brokers fan and have been for many years, but you've got some really good broker suggestions above as well. I have also heard good things about Mirus Futures but don't have any firsthand. Maybe someone else does. Like the advice above, $5 or less in commissions is all you should pay. Your up-time should be near 100%. Your executions should be split second. Make sure they have a way to reach them in case your internet goes down. Ensure the broker allows a stop and limit to be placed same time (OCO).

I think a key to these rules and discipline is to realize you don't have to be right every time. I think traders throw away systems, rules, strategies the moment they're wrong. The key is not to worry if you interpret the action wrong, or if this time it doesn't break your way. You trading might be just fine, your expectations are what is off (the need to be 100% accurate) Last post here reminded me of a good trader I know -- everyday when the day is done he gives himself a letter grade for how he traded. A or B he gets to trade tomorrow. C or worse, he does not allow himself to trade tomorrow - that's the penalty and an awful good motivation not to make mistakes or be foolish and do things like revenge trade.

This past week we held a "Post of the Week" contest answering the question: What is the Single Largest Roadblock Standing in the Way to Your Trading Success? The winner: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/208/what-single-largest-roadblock-standing-way-7886-2.html#post96268 (way to go "Daedalus") However, you all did great - there were so many excellent responses that it was no easy decision. So, this week I'm going to ask a new question, and this time ask that you "Thank" people on the threads you think are the best. Just click that button and that will be your vote - of course, feel free to vote more than once -- if a post speaks to you. Here's the question.....If you were told that you could only trade one market from today and forever, what market would you choose to trade? If all other markets were restricted from you, would it be a forex pair? Futures contract? A single stock? And, once you make your choice, would you be a day trader, swing trader, position trader? It forces us to look at really where we've had the best success so far even though most of us probably continue to always pursue something better. How would you choose to trade it? I'll weigh in with my answer. Crude Oil Futures would be my choice. I know sure, there's a chance we wipe out the demand for crude oil in upcoming decades but I'll take my chances. I would day trade it and swing trade -- it can be effective on both, and it would be the one market I would never want to give up if forced to choose. It's not the only thing I trade now but I'd say it's my most consistent. You?

JLJ -- the short answer from me is after 3 weeks of trading you are just starting the journey. I have never met anyone who was consistently profitable after 3 weeks trading. Especially daytrading -- there's a steep learning curve and a bit of "school of hard knocks" that is involved. The fact that you've jumped in I think is a great sign - your challenge would be having the staying power to stay with it. If you're using just a basic MACD for buy/sell you might want to realize that over time that is likely going to change as your experience grows. Maybe post more specifics about your approach and others here will be able to give you some feedback. I haven't found just using an indicator out of the box to be very effective for me personally but others might feel differently. Things like RSI, stochastic, MACD, etc...on their own can provide some insight to the hundreds of bars you look at but usually cannot be traded as straight signals (like oversold you just buy, etc...) You'll probably have to focus a lot on developing your trade plan, do a lot more testing, and go back to simulated testing - see if you were just lucky for a few weeks or maybe with real money you are just not following your plan due to that added pressure. As for your Fidelity platform I'm sure that is fine for what you're discussing -- not the Yahoo one but you're good on the other. Thanks.

Keymoo - Range bars are another "interval" that one can use. Most traders initially think about time intervals like 1 minute and 5 minute bars. Personally I'm not a fan of those at all for trading - maybe swing trading but not day trading. From there you have choices like "tick bars" which are bars that form after "x" amount of trades have occurred. A range bar is a bar that is always the same length. For example, everytime the EURUSD moves 20 pips up and down, it will plot a bar. New bar forms, moves up and down and as soon as the bar is 20 pips in range it plots another bar. These do a pretty good job of smoothing out a chart while showing all the price action. Hope that helps a bit.

TheDude - that looks like a great book - one I haven't read and hadn't heard of. It's now on my Kindle "to read" list. Any thoughts on his newer one? The Daily Trading Coach: 101 Lessons for Becoming Your Own Trading Psychologist

Just be careful with what the broker "permits" vs. what is wise. Take forex brokers, you can get 100:1 leverage, put in $1,000 and trade a full sized, $100,000 pair. Of course if you lose 30 pips, every easily done by the way you have a 30% drawdown on one trade. Bye bye trader. So, on futures if someone says $500 is all they need on the ES think what happens if you lose just 1 point -- you're down 10% in a trade. Lose 2? Well now 20% - -off a single trade. You get the idea. Even with a very good strategy you'd be wiping out and have margin calls. Make sure you start with enough I think to where you are risking no more than 2% - 5% absolute maximum on a trade.

lbj - while I'm a bit further along (mine is 10 y.o.) I was trading and running an investing company full time at the time my daughter came along. Did it change things? Yes, of course -- it does change your life however I didn't find it really impacted my trading life that much. We're already used to crappy hours right ? I probably shifted things around some but if I was testing or doing research I could easily do that during nap times or later at night. Where it gets to be a lot of fun are a few years in when your child starts to watch you and the charts -- it's fun for them since let's face it, patterns, colors, lines, bars, etc... is kinda cool for a kid. Over time my daughter has become reasonably good at picking out some trading patterns and does watch some of the trading even now. Of course she tells me clearly there's no chance she's taking over the business but we'll see..... Anyway, enjoy the adventure!

keymoo -- good analysis. I'm seeing on my 30 minute charts for the EURUSD that I don't yet have a buy set-up but it's the closest hit has been since those same charts fired off a short at 1.2748 back on 5/10. If it was going to happen in next 24 hours my guess it would have to be above 1.2450 before I had something going. I also look at range bars, and on a 20 range I would have a buy set-up it it gets back up through 1.2437 - no huge targets -- 1.2540 but it's got a little ways to go today before that would happen - faltering and choppy here. Thanks for your input.