Archive for December, 2009

How to Enter and Scale Out of an ES Emini Trade

My observation is that most day traders buy and sell with market orders.  This strategy tells your broker or platform to buy when you execute an order as soon as you hit the enter button on your computer and buy immediately at whatever price the market is trading.   I want to qualify this before getting too far down the road, I trade in a scalping style and run reasonably tight stops and try to let my winners run.  Of course, who does not try to let their winners run?  Many people, believe it or not, especially if they are to heavy on the number of contracts they are trading relative to their futures account balance, trade not to lose, as oppose to maximizing their profit potential.  They are fearful, and trade defensively.  It’s not unusual to see a fearful trader trade the ES contract and bail at one point, even though the market is signaling there is good potential for the trade to continue in the direction of the trade.  They just want out before something bad happens.  Needless to say, trading in a fearful condition is not an enjoyable experience and makes for a long day.

Let’s take a moment and talk a little about a strategy for entering trades.  We will assume you have identified a potential trade to the short side and are ready to take that trade.  Instead of putting a straight market order in place and buy at whatever the market is trading at when your order is filled, why not set your short entry several ticks above the current market price and let the market come to you?  Granted, you run the risk of missing out on the trade if the price dive bombs straight down, but that is a rare occurrence.  Even in a trending market, the price tends to bounce around and you are likely to get filled at your buy order above the market price.  You just saved yourself a half point.  You can look at your Average True Range Indicator to see how the range of the market has been and base your entry, to a certain degree, in a manner within the range.  In dead flat markets, though, this may not be such a good strategy.  Then again, I am not very excited about trading flat and choppy markets anyway.

Now let’s talk a bit about scaling out of a trade.  If you have read any of my articles you know that I usually have a specific profit target in mind and a specific stop loss point.  In this example I am going to trade 3 contracts and my profit target 15 ticks on the ES Emini contract.  On a trade like this one I will generally scale out of the trade.  A good trading platform will allow you to set specific strategies for selling at different prices.  I use Ninja trader, and I can preset my exit strategy as follows:  I am going to sell 2 of the contracts at 10 ticks profit and 1 contract at the 15 tick profit target I had in mind.  You can use any variation of selling strategies you feel comfortable with and most good trading platforms allow up to 3, sometimes 4, separate levels to scale out of your trade.  You can preset these strategies and name them in a manner which will allow you to choose which one you are going to use simply by clicking on the strategy you will employ.  For example, this strategy on my platform I named 3x10x15.  It’s my own nomenclature, but I know this means 3 contract with exits at 10 and 15 ticks.  I generally exit a larger portion of my contract on the first exit to lock in a nice profit and let the last contract run.  I can even move the stop on the single contract if I see a market start a sharp move in the direction I am trading.  

One of the maxims I live by is to never let a winning trade become a losing trade, and scaling out of a contract is an excellent way to assure you lock in a nice profit while allowing yourself the latitude to let a contract run.  Needless to say. there are an endless number of potential scaled exits you may employ.  In my trading, and I cannot fully explain why, I tend to trade an odd number of contracts and lock in the majority of my contracts at the first exit point, then manage the remainder of the contracts as the trade develops.

Entering a trade in the proper fashion and scaling out of the trade is an idea you may wish to employ in your trading, especially if you are trading out of fear.  (on the other hand, if you are trading overly fearful, it might be wise to take a break from trading and regroup)

On single contract trades I generally just bracket trade, as no scaling is possible with a single contract.  Try buying at the price you want with the method above and scaling out of a trade and see if it doesn’t prove to be a profitable strategy for you to employ.  It does give you a bit more control of the trade, and incrementally lowers the risk in the trade.

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Forex Trading Education: Preparing yourself for Profit and Risks Involved

Many Americans or even other foreign nationalities are interested in getting involved on Forex trading. Who on Earth will decline to the wealth offered by the Forex market, which is the largest market around the world—a whooping $2 trillion U.S. dollars worth of daily turnovers. Anyone inside the Forex clan has the opportunity of getting a big slice of that huge wealth. Aside from the huge possibilities for its traders, Forex market provides an extensive list of benefits—round the clock financial transactions, extreme liquidity, real-time and efficient trade executions—and the list goes on.

However, before taking home the “bacon”, you need to get a Forex trading education. Just like any other investments, you should never step on the Forex ground without knowing what you are stepping into. With proper education regarding Forex trading, you are assured that you are on the right track and you are on your way in making substantial profit.

So, what are the things that you will learn when you undergo a Forex trading education? You will understand the real nature of Forex trading. As you probably knew initially, Forex stands for foreign exchange or the simultaneous exchange of a pair of foreign currency to another pair of foreign currency. By learning the nature of trading foreign currencies at the right time, you are assured of gaining profit, although expect that it is not huge enough like the profits earned by professional and experienced Forex traders. And getting a Forex trading education will teach you how to do it.

The first part of your Forex trading education will focus on studying the Forex market background. Remember that the Forex market is a volatile market—conditions are frequently changing, most especially the foreign exchange rate. Through getting a Forex trading education, you will know how to examine such market changes and make appropriate decisions.

After studying and learning the whereabouts of Forex market, the next part of your Forex trading education is about risk control and management. It is important that you understand the risks involved in Forex trading. You need not to over invest or be overconfident at the thrill of opportunity of making huge money. Also on this part, you will learn how you will cut potential losses or getting out of a deal before your losses reach and even exceed your limits. It is natural that you will lose money when you start Forex trading. It is the most crucial part of your Forex trading education because it will determine whether you will end up making your way to riches or to a black hole.

Once you learn how to control the risks, you will learn how to start and manage your Forex trading account. You will be involved in practice Forex transactions using a demo account and virtual money. Through this way, you will be able to get the grip of your trading account before getting into real trading transactions. With a Forex demo account, there is no risk involved yet the nature is just as realistic as the real Forex trade. Moreover, your Forex trading education will also let you know whether you are ready to do the real thing or you need more practice. Only then will you be able to start and manage a real Forex trading account.

There are various ways to obtain a Forex trading education. One of the best resources to get a Forex trading education is through the Internet. There are different free sites that allow you to open free Forex demo accounts to practice your Forex system and trading strategies. There are also free e-books where you can read essential information about the Forex market and its attributes. Free webinars (web-based seminars) conducted in real time are available at random schedules. You may also seek some valuable advice from different active Forex traders. These individuals can provide you some insights and important advice regarding the subject of Forex trading.

Now that you know a little about Forex trading, it is time for you to get some good Forex trading education. Take your time and do not rush things. With an average daily turnover of $2 trillion U.S. dollars, there is just a lot of money involved in Forex trading. Prepare yourself to grab a slice of that wealth as well to the risks involved.

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