Zambi 

In a nutshell, with IB you've got to think a 100 times not to bite more than you can chew.

is that really such a bad thing?

sysot1t 

is that really such a bad thing?

hehe.. the answer is very subjective.

Mind you, we are systematically biting more than we can chew with every single futures trade we make. We're paying a deposit of 5,000 for a contract that costs over 50,000.

With the ES for example, technically speaking, unless one has $56,250 in his/her account for every contract traded, one would be biting more than he/she can chew, right?

Zambi 

hehe.. the answer is very subjective. Mind you, we are systematically biting more than we can chew with every single futures trade we make. We're paying a deposit of 5,000 for a contract that costs over 50,000. With the ES for example, technically speaking, unless one has $56,250 in his/her account for every contract traded, one would be biting more than he/she can chew, right?

exactly my point, futures are already leveraged enough... equities PDT allow you to leverage 4:1... portfolio margin not being taken into account, since those are different rules anyhow... Futures.. on average 10:1... and scaringly enough many FCM/Brokers allow 20:1 or more...

anyhow, I just believe that IBKR is merely out to protect themselves, and if in reality one doesnt have enough capital one should not be trying to trade 10 contracts on a $5K account for example.. best to sick to just a single car on $5K and not have some crazy expectations about making $500 a day..