timokrates

I think I will give it a try. If you buy it for a half year you end up with $49, what is just comparable to Ninjatrader for example. Regarding Infinity (Sierra) Charts I have to say that it's cheap and stable, but not very intuitive. And if you have to work with it the whole day is has to suit you imho. Does anybody know about the different data feeds brokers use. Are there big differences or is the difference more in regards to order execution? From what I saw Zen data is really fast, but is the difference so big that it matters - even for scalpers? Don't they all use the same data coming directly from the exchange like the CME?

After clicking some banners I have to ask if anyone has some experiences with MultiCharts? Is it an exact copy of Tradestation? If possible maybe Infinty and MC would be an option...

Thanks Sparrow, I demoed Ninja trough them. Not bad, but as mentioned before I have some trouble with NT because it's very system consuming. In general I got the impression that NT contains some good ideas, but it seems to be a bit beta... Grüße aus Köln nach Wiesbaden btw

Thanks, that sounds good. Does anybody know if it's possible to use NT (which is free for charting I believe) in combination with Infinity, so that you only have one account?

Thanks for your detailled statement. I just downloaded the OpenECry demo. Tried it before, but went on because they did not offer Tick or volume charts. Do you use these kind of charts and what about time & sales? Did they implement it now? And does it work correctly (read some negative comments somewhere)? In regards to Ninjatrader and X-Trader don't you think that NT with $50 is less expensive in comparison? Do you have other rates? In general I'm searching for a good package with great data and order entry/modification (and execution of course), good charting (don't need fancy indicators, just working tick or volume charts) and the time & sales feature. Of course fees and specially commissions play a decent role, but reliability regarding platform and brokerage are in first plays - don't get me wrong, I'm not the guy that is able to afford CQG...

Thanks a lot everybody. I tested most of the platforms and have to say that the Infinity order window is great. Also Ninjatrader is attractive in a way. The Zen data feed is very fast, but I had some problems with the platform in regards to crashes and software problems. Soultrader you mentioned somewhere that you think about using NT? What I need is a professional platform and service. I will check Infinity again. Any experiences with X-Trader? I believe with Velocity Futures it's affordable. You pay higher commissions ($5.75), but then it's free. What I need is reliability specially in regards to the data, because I plan to base my trades more on time & sales. For that the Interactive Brokers feed is not the right one for example.

Hi all, if you read the comments on tradestation on the typical pages, the result is pretty mixed. A lot of complaints, but also a lot a fans, which in general like the software not so much the brokerage service. Because it's not possible to demo trade the platform. I would like to ask about some experiences with the platform, the order matrix and specially with data and service. I plan to be more a scalper, so the funcinality of the order matrix would be interesting as well. Is it easy to enter and modify orders and to scale out manually? The commissions seem to be ok and with 10 RT (futures) the platform fee is waived. Even if the 30 day trial they offer is more or less a joke, because you have to do the 10 RT if you don't want to pay the $99 the next month. Any experiences are welcome!

Isn't the data feed included if you use Ninjatrader with the typical brokers. Zen-Data for Zentrader

Ninjatrader offers this feature as well, it's free for sim trading. Try mirus or amp futures for demo accounts.

Thanks fxjaykay, good to know. Then, the imac remains, mac pro is a bit too expensive. I think 2 gig ram should be minimum. Still thinking if it's good to have an emulated (Parallels) trading software.

I also think about switching and buying an apple. What keeps me a bit away from the imac at the moment is the gradient issue specially the 20" version has. I tested it in the store and it was true. If you for example have a grey desktop background, the colour is darker in the upper left than in the bottom right corner. At the moment I think about a mac mini with a nice eizo display. BTW, is it easy to use two displays with a mac mini or do you always need an adapter/switch? Does someone have any experience with parallels and tradestation?

Hi James, from my own failures I learned that - specially if you are not a veteran - it's the best way to trade with the trend. On that day we were in a minor uptrend and because of that maybe a short would not be the best choice. Of course this is very subjective and I have no idea how you trade. I for myself stopped trading live at the moment, I paper trade only. The main reason why i reply to your post is that I recently found a thread which could be helpfull. For me it was a good read. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99283&highlight=volume+analysis All the best

With the Dynamic Trader software you are able to create a lot of price and time projections. The same principle Miner teaches to find fib cluster areas could also be used to create fib time clusters. I followed his general approach for a time. The software is very helpful if you believe that Elliott and fibs in general can be helpful for your trading. I like Miners way to explain and teach it, but in general I have to say that I moved away from all this, specially this stuborn focus on Elliott wave principle.

Absolutely! Changing the market doesn't solve the general problem. That was to obvious for me - at a time:rolleyes: Yes, I plan to use not more than you mentioned, but sometimes I think even the internals are too much. I hear you, had of course the same problem, holding on to a position. I don't know if scaling out will help me to get more relaxed on that issue. Time will tell. I saw that Tradestation has an offer at the moment. Open an account and you get Carters book.

I found Tradeguider once and read 'Master the Markets', but for me at the moment volume is more a general concept - I'm reading Neills 'Tape Reading and Market Tactics' at the moment. But I feel that I have to get a bit deeper in VSA to have a better understanding and maybe find some usefull things. On the short timeframe I plan to trade I believe I have to start before all the others do and maybe VSA could be helpful in this case.

Obviously it was not VSA I was refering to but Market Profile. Whatever I'm absolutely interested in VSA. Read Tom Williams' book once, but found it hard to apply.

Hi James, great answer. The thing is after getting completely lost on the search for the holy grail setup the simplicity or the true understanding of market movement you and others presented here for me is a way that I can imagine to go. My problem is to make the first step, but I will get there. I absolutely believe that Tape Reading and Volume Analysis can provide the edge I'm looking for. Thanks for the support and the great stuff in general here.

Thanks as well TinGull, I have ordererd Mind over Markets to get a better idea on this. My problem is also that I try to keep it as simple as it can be, which is quite difficult if you try to trade with the stuff I mentioned. Anyway, maybe it's just a matter of experience and screen time - even if I was glued to it over years...

Thanks for your great response Nick. To answer your question Nick, I try to become a trader which takes a few trades a day. Regarding risk and trade management I find Souls approach also very attractive because it produces 'free trades' and brings down the stress level. Maybe one reason for my question is, that my brain is cluttered with stuff. I always searched for confirmation for entries which is simply not available. Now I'm more searching for some basic setups because as you mentioned you can get confirmation from market internals, volume and tape but this is not always clear and it's hard to define to get a fixed setup on those in combination with price at certain levels, if you don't want to trade like for example TICK hooks. In general I look for a way to have maybe create guidelines instead of rules, but I'm not sure at the moment what have to be included (S/R, price behaviour). The main problem is that tape, maket internal and volume analysis is highly discretional and requires a lot of experience and screen time in general.

Hi to all, first I would like to introduce myself. I'm one of the typical traders which really have trouble to make it. After a break I plan to restart trading the YM. I started my 'trading career' with this contract, but switched to the Forex market and tried to find the holy grail testing all kind of indicators, Elliott, Gann etc. Over the time I created lots of trading plans with lots of fixed rules, but without success. I always had the feeling that the approaches I launched were too mechanical. After watching Soultraders videos and threads I believe that also a highly discretionary approach only with price, volume and tape could be successful . My problem at the moment is to find some basic setups without any of the usual indicators. I know that everybody has to find his own style, but I don't know if having a rule only to trade at defined support and resistance areas is a possible way to avoid bad trades even if you only take trades when conditions seem to be ok. Specially to define a scenario for example when TICKS, tape or volume would probably support the trade is hard to find in my opinion. This way you end up with too much as DiNapoli calls it 'judgemental factors', which can be dangerous. To sum it up, I have problems to create a toolbox apart from position sizing that let me get focussed and keeps me away from overtrading and stress in general. I would like to hear some opinions on this topic and maybe how you handle this. Do you discretionary traders just have a few rules on position size and trade management? Is it possible to do it this way? Hope I was able to make clear what I wanted to say as english is not my native language. All the best

Hi all, first I would like to thank Soultrader for this great community. For me it is a great ressource of knowledge which is about to guide me a way back into trading. At the moment I have a 'proper' job and for that I like the interviews in the Traders Audio console a lot. Unfortunately I'm not able to find the console anymore. Am I just to stupid?