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I'm a brand new futures trader. I started trading real "capital" (if you wanna call $1500 capital) on the third of this month. I was paper trading for a month and a half beforehand, just to get familiar with the NinjaTrader 8 platform and to establish my strategy. I ended up breakeven- I'm aware that the time frame of testing wasn't long enough. With that being said, the move from paper trading to live trading stemmed from impatience and excitement- I was/am obsessed with trading. So far I've lost $600, and I'm not even devastated because I expected this to happen. I imagine scalp trading with an account the size of mine, even to an experienced trader would be quite difficult. I'm basically lost right now, but I have all of this information. I do have a systematic approach I wouldn't mind sharing, it's really simple but my poor psychology/fear makes it hard to implement.
I've done countless hours of research, watched tons of Anton Kreil, Ross Cameron, Patrick Wieland, have bought The Complete Guide To The Futures Market, Second Edition by Jack Schwager and read that. I've listened to the Chat With Traders podcast. I've attended webinars. It's interesting, every trader says the same thing, or very similar things, their process is highly personalized and simple. Trading in and of itself is simple, but mentally it's difficult. I'm questioning my strategy. I'm on shakey legs pre-entry (right before I get in). I'm losing almost every trade. Any advice or inquiries would be more than welcome, I don't know anyone personally that trades and would love to get involved in the futures trading community. I'm committed to this. Is there any supreme, in-depth wisdom (that isn't cliche) any of you consistently profitable traders can share?
literally there are 3 thread that asks the very same question, small capital trying to make it, what to do/look for, any advice?. And yes, there are many ideas from many contributors. All you have to do is to follow the one you like.
there is no good answer. its easy to blow up a 1000 or 10000 account. similarly it is also possible to grow both.
think of it this way....1000 u can multiply"compund" 2x 3x easy. 10000 u cannot do that easy.
hence the answer to big accounts....ofcourse comfort level to bungle up and be in the game exists. However in many of these threads.....one thing is not answered (multiplication factor....). so if u grow a accout 20%....u should be able to do that irrespective small or big.
hence concentrate on becoming good....once that is achieved...and one can do that in SIM....one can trade any account big or small. btw this is not advice....but i have learnt it the hard way..
I'll play Devil's Advocate here: How did you know cutting your losses was the right thing to do in these cases? Maybe you exited too early. Or maybe instead of just exiting, you should have reversed.
My point: unless you follow up with some kind of analysis to tell you what is best/worst course of action, you are just guessing. And that is almost never a good way to go...
I appreciate that. In one case, I was right to exit. In the other trade, I was wrong. How does anyone truly know when to exit? No one does. It certainly shouldn't be based on your PnL, it should be based on the behavior of the market and it's interaction with your strategy. You can have conditions to exit, and that's what I have.