I'm supposed to be doing 3 reviews for this weekend:
1) My own weekly trading performance review
2) Review of Infinity Futures & the AT platform
3) Review of TraderInterviews.com
Since I've sat on 2) for a while now (yes, feeling really guilty), I'll start with it first.
Not having done any form of reviews for services and other's sites, I'm not sure from where I should begin. So I'm just going to go right into comparing my previous broker's service with Infinity Futures' (actually, just that of my own broker - Anthony).
But wait, before I do that, there's just something I've been wanting to say for a long time, but just never found the opportunity to do so: THANK YOU, EMINI-PLAYER (EP)!!!
I'm usually tickled by those who claim how a certain product, person, service has changed either their entire life or a certain aspect of their life. But here I am now - all ready to say the very same thing to EP.
There's this unspoken rule - I noticed - in the trading blogosphere, that you do not tell others how to trade or ask specific details about their trading so you can help them "correct" their "mistakes". You refrain from sounding like you are imposing your trading style, philosophy, method etc, on others. What I noticed about EP is that he would leave comments and ask questions (both on my blog and on others') specific to trade execution and method and such, without coming off as pompous/all-knowing/imposing. I have personally benefitted from a few others like him, but today's post is about EP, and another person linked to EP.
Ever since I started trading, I've been a scalper. My goal has always been to get so consistent with achieving a certain number of points per day that I could start trading hundreds, and eventually thousands, of contracts on a daily basis SOME TIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE. D calls my trading "simulated trading with real money", coz what I'm doing now is really NOT for money (not the same as NOT caring about losing money - I absolutely HATE losing money still). My only focus now is CONSISTENCY. Whenever I screw up and hit my daily loss limit even one day out of an entire month, I re-set the time that I can go full throttle.
Anyway, I digressed. I meant to talk about HARD STOPS...
There are a few schools of thoughts regarding the use of hard-stops. I'm not going to start a discussion here on the pros and cons of having them, and am bringing it up only coz it's been what's troubling me the whole time, and the reason that I change my broker (margin requirement is the other reason). My previous broker's platform is extremely unfriendly to scalpers, and in particular, to me. I'm hopelessly inefficient in multi-tasking - when my eyes are on my charts and tape, my finger can do just one thing, and that's to click "buy market" or "sell market". I get in so quickly and get out so quickly that I'd have no time to put in a stop loss, much less move it, and no time to put in and change a profit target. Sure I can use a bracket order, but putting each one in is a hassle. I read the entire manual and couldn't find a way that could help me put in a stop and profit target in, like, a second. Some of my entries call for stops to be placed further to avoid the noise zones, and some call for very precised, tight stops, and I found myself unable to execute my trades exactly the way I wanted when I was on that platform. So, I developed the habit of not using a hard stop at all. And that has cost me DEARLY on days when I simply lost my mind.
All that changed after EP introduced me to Infinity Futures. Their AT platform was a dream come true for me (bear in mind that I'm almost an IT illiterate - I don't care about nor need complicated softwares - all I need is something that is IDIOT proof and ME ie. scalper friendly). I was finally able to put in and adjust my stops and profit targets. Anthony, my broker, is 1000 times more responsive than my previous broker. The best part is that he offers to manage my trades for me should I experience connection problems. My emails were answered almost immediately. The outcome is complete peace of mind - something I didn't have when I was with my previous broker, when scalping was always like skiing on a day that you knew there was going be an avalanche. Another thing was margin - I often trade during the globex hours, and my previous broker calls for maintenance margin that's twice that for the US hours, and I was constantly worried about other margin requirements that I wasn't aware of that would get me into trouble. With my new broker, I have no such worries coz margin requirement is straightforward. There's just one figure to remember, and that's how much I have in my account. And I cannot emphasize enough how not having to worry about anything else other than the position I'm in helps me to focus on my trading. A scalper that can't focus simply can't scalp.
Now it's true that there are many out there who are offering similiar service and rates that Anthony's offering me, but I'm happy with Anthony, and I think he deserves to be rewarded, and so that's why I'm sharing my experience. I DO get a discounted commission rate if those who are reading this decide to use his service, but that's not what motivated me to write this long-winded post. I'm sincerely grateful that the quality of Anthony's service and ease with which I can now enter and exit my trades on his company's platform has radically improved my trading psychology, and this letter of gratitude is a little overdue actually.
If you are looking for a better rate and service, do contact Anthony.
Click on this URL: http://www.infinityfutures.com/IATdemosignup.aspx?ref=agjb
Fill in your particulars, and the form will be automatically forwarded to Anthony.
Back to Emini-Player. He once asked me about my stops, which got me thinking about my risk-to-reward ratio. While I still don't believe in 2,3 and 4Rs profits in SCALPING, I'm starting to see the neccesity of closing the gap between the risk I'm taking and the reward I'm reaping. It used to be nearly impossible for me to have a positive day after a series of losing trades, but after I started adjusting my stop loss and profit targets according to my setups and choosing on occasions only those setups that requires smaller stop losses, it has been a lot easier for me to turn a losing day around. I have more stop outs now of course, which is actually really good for someone who isn't used to taking losses. Trading is after all a probability game - learning how to lose is almost as important as, if not more important than, learning how to win. For that, I have EP to thank. He has been such a strong advocate of not losing big & winning small it's hard to not notice him, especially when he leaves comments everywhere :-)
I hope you find a great prop firm to work with soon, EP. It's clear you have both passion and the willingness to work hard and steadily towards success, and I wish others will see them too. By the way, that's a lot you're paying for education! In the part of the world that I live, parents usually foot the bill. So hats off to you for seeing yourself through school.
1) My own weekly trading performance review
2) Review of Infinity Futures & the AT platform
3) Review of TraderInterviews.com
Since I've sat on 2) for a while now (yes, feeling really guilty), I'll start with it first.
Not having done any form of reviews for services and other's sites, I'm not sure from where I should begin. So I'm just going to go right into comparing my previous broker's service with Infinity Futures' (actually, just that of my own broker - Anthony).
But wait, before I do that, there's just something I've been wanting to say for a long time, but just never found the opportunity to do so: THANK YOU, EMINI-PLAYER (EP)!!!
I'm usually tickled by those who claim how a certain product, person, service has changed either their entire life or a certain aspect of their life. But here I am now - all ready to say the very same thing to EP.
There's this unspoken rule - I noticed - in the trading blogosphere, that you do not tell others how to trade or ask specific details about their trading so you can help them "correct" their "mistakes". You refrain from sounding like you are imposing your trading style, philosophy, method etc, on others. What I noticed about EP is that he would leave comments and ask questions (both on my blog and on others') specific to trade execution and method and such, without coming off as pompous/all-knowing/imposing. I have personally benefitted from a few others like him, but today's post is about EP, and another person linked to EP.
Ever since I started trading, I've been a scalper. My goal has always been to get so consistent with achieving a certain number of points per day that I could start trading hundreds, and eventually thousands, of contracts on a daily basis SOME TIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE. D calls my trading "simulated trading with real money", coz what I'm doing now is really NOT for money (not the same as NOT caring about losing money - I absolutely HATE losing money still). My only focus now is CONSISTENCY. Whenever I screw up and hit my daily loss limit even one day out of an entire month, I re-set the time that I can go full throttle.
Anyway, I digressed. I meant to talk about HARD STOPS...
There are a few schools of thoughts regarding the use of hard-stops. I'm not going to start a discussion here on the pros and cons of having them, and am bringing it up only coz it's been what's troubling me the whole time, and the reason that I change my broker (margin requirement is the other reason). My previous broker's platform is extremely unfriendly to scalpers, and in particular, to me. I'm hopelessly inefficient in multi-tasking - when my eyes are on my charts and tape, my finger can do just one thing, and that's to click "buy market" or "sell market". I get in so quickly and get out so quickly that I'd have no time to put in a stop loss, much less move it, and no time to put in and change a profit target. Sure I can use a bracket order, but putting each one in is a hassle. I read the entire manual and couldn't find a way that could help me put in a stop and profit target in, like, a second. Some of my entries call for stops to be placed further to avoid the noise zones, and some call for very precised, tight stops, and I found myself unable to execute my trades exactly the way I wanted when I was on that platform. So, I developed the habit of not using a hard stop at all. And that has cost me DEARLY on days when I simply lost my mind.
All that changed after EP introduced me to Infinity Futures. Their AT platform was a dream come true for me (bear in mind that I'm almost an IT illiterate - I don't care about nor need complicated softwares - all I need is something that is IDIOT proof and ME ie. scalper friendly). I was finally able to put in and adjust my stops and profit targets. Anthony, my broker, is 1000 times more responsive than my previous broker. The best part is that he offers to manage my trades for me should I experience connection problems. My emails were answered almost immediately. The outcome is complete peace of mind - something I didn't have when I was with my previous broker, when scalping was always like skiing on a day that you knew there was going be an avalanche. Another thing was margin - I often trade during the globex hours, and my previous broker calls for maintenance margin that's twice that for the US hours, and I was constantly worried about other margin requirements that I wasn't aware of that would get me into trouble. With my new broker, I have no such worries coz margin requirement is straightforward. There's just one figure to remember, and that's how much I have in my account. And I cannot emphasize enough how not having to worry about anything else other than the position I'm in helps me to focus on my trading. A scalper that can't focus simply can't scalp.
Now it's true that there are many out there who are offering similiar service and rates that Anthony's offering me, but I'm happy with Anthony, and I think he deserves to be rewarded, and so that's why I'm sharing my experience. I DO get a discounted commission rate if those who are reading this decide to use his service, but that's not what motivated me to write this long-winded post. I'm sincerely grateful that the quality of Anthony's service and ease with which I can now enter and exit my trades on his company's platform has radically improved my trading psychology, and this letter of gratitude is a little overdue actually.
If you are looking for a better rate and service, do contact Anthony.
Click on this URL: http://www.infinityfutures.com/IATdemosignup.aspx?ref=agjb
Fill in your particulars, and the form will be automatically forwarded to Anthony.
Back to Emini-Player. He once asked me about my stops, which got me thinking about my risk-to-reward ratio. While I still don't believe in 2,3 and 4Rs profits in SCALPING, I'm starting to see the neccesity of closing the gap between the risk I'm taking and the reward I'm reaping. It used to be nearly impossible for me to have a positive day after a series of losing trades, but after I started adjusting my stop loss and profit targets according to my setups and choosing on occasions only those setups that requires smaller stop losses, it has been a lot easier for me to turn a losing day around. I have more stop outs now of course, which is actually really good for someone who isn't used to taking losses. Trading is after all a probability game - learning how to lose is almost as important as, if not more important than, learning how to win. For that, I have EP to thank. He has been such a strong advocate of not losing big & winning small it's hard to not notice him, especially when he leaves comments everywhere :-)
I hope you find a great prop firm to work with soon, EP. It's clear you have both passion and the willingness to work hard and steadily towards success, and I wish others will see them too. By the way, that's a lot you're paying for education! In the part of the world that I live, parents usually foot the bill. So hats off to you for seeing yourself through school.
