Futures Trading: You Need a Backup

There is more to day trading than making money on high-probability setups.  As a trader, you have to be prepared to handle several situations that occur unexpectedly and without warning.  Your data and your ability to transmit data are two of the most important and often overlooked aspects of trading.  What would you do if you lost your internet connection and were in the middle of a trade?  What would you do if you had a hard drive crash?  These are two questions you need to have answered before you begin serious futures trading.

I was trading last July and my broadband connection failed during an emini trade. I was long 5 contracts and everything just went silent, no data feed.  The market was very volatile last summer and I needed to talk action fast.

What would you do?

I think the safest bet is to simply call your broker immediately, which is what I did.  I also have a back-up dial-up connection set up, so that was another option.  The point is a simple one, though, and that point is that I had thought about this eventuality, and was prepared to deal with the problem.  I even have my broker’s number on my speed dial.  I was lucky and managed to get out of the trade with a small profit, but can you imagine the range of consequences had I not given this problem proper consideration?  

I’m not sure there is any right preparation for losing your broadband connection while trading futures contracts.  The right answer is one that works and you are confident in it’s execution.  Cell phones, land lines, and alternate internet connections are all viable options, but the important part to remember is that you need to plan ahead for problems.  I had thought about this problem several times and thought one of the real dangers of trading online is how vulnerable you are to potential problems.  I had read several articles describing the horror of sitting at your computer, powerless to rectify or manage your trade because your data feed went dead.  I think it is important that you have a back-up plan to manage an emergency, and test your plan to make sure it works.

What if you computer stops working?  

I have a laptop hooked up along with my desktop computer anytime I am trading.  If the problem is my computer, I can rely on my laptop to complete the trade.  Of course, I can still give my broker a call instead of using my laptop, but I feel more comfortable with two computers.  Again, the point is a simple one, and that is to have a plan in mind before a problem occurs.  Give it some serious thought.  If you live in the country, make sure your cell phone does not have any potential reception issues.  If you are using a cable connection for both your internet and land line, chances are your phone will not work if your data feed stops, so a cell phone is imperative.  Just make you sure have a workable plan.

One of the most precious commodities is my past trading experience which I have documented on a very large Excel spreadsheet.  I download each days chart too.  Three times every week I download all of my information onto an external hard drive.

Why?

Aside from hard disk failure, there is also the possibility of hackers, viruses and a host of malware that threaten your computer.  I run a very specialized firewall and have a number of anti-virus and malware programs running to protect myself in the event of any of these threats.  You should, too.  Your data is important for your progression as a trader, it’s the laboratory from which I continue to test my trading skills by reviewing past trading days. Securing your data from harm is an important function, so it is important to use some sort of data backup system to prevent data loss.  External hard drives work well, but there are online backup alternatives available, too.  I have recently started using one and am very pleased with the results.  

The secret to keeping your data and computer safe is to plan ahead and not let an unexpected and unpleasant turn of events affect your futures trading account.  You can’t control the wide range of problems that can occur, but you can control the consequences.

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Learn Day Trading Secrets – Don’t Ignore Your Choice of Broker

For those who want to learn day trading, one important step that you’ll have to take is selecting a broker.

This is a very important component to your overall day trading success, and yet many people fail to really due the necessary due diligence in their selection.

So often, people will simply default to the large brokers, like eTrade, or Scottrade, or a similar broker, without really looking around.

But if you crave day trading success, then you’ve got to put more thought and research into the broker of your choice.

Smaller brokerages may offer much better terms, and more tools and resources.

If you are trading individual stocks or funds, then you might be best going with a Scottrade or something similar.

But if you are trading futures, there are much better options available out there.

Once brokerage that I use for trading futures contracts is Global Futures. They have an easy to use and understand platform, and also have excellent customer service, and competitive margins ($500 contracts, sometimes as low as $300!)

Also, if you want to really learn day trading, then it would behoove you to pick up a free day trading course (CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS)

A day trading training course will give you the foundation that you need to develop into a successful trader. Of course, when you get serious about learning how to trade, you’ll need to pay to learn from a professional. But signing up for a free video training course will provide you with the foundation that you need to begin your trading education.

The Guerrilla Trader is dedicated to educating traders and investors alike on understanding the inner workings of the markets.

If you really want to learn day trading, then visit The Guerrilla Trader today!

Get in, hit your target, get out…like you were never there.

You can learn to trade with DEADLY precision.

www.TheGuerrillaTrader.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/day-trading-articles/learn-day-trading-secrets-dont-ignore-your-choice-of-broker-1645834.html

Futures Day Trading

Day trading has become quite popular these days. Opening deals and closing them shortly after, and collecting the profit made, although small, may add up to over the total amount of deals you would make that day. That is the whole point of day trading – short-term buy-and-sell transactions. Futures, on the other hand, are cash commodities very much like sticks, except they represent products that have not yet been manufactured or processed. Imagine it in a way as if you were buying through reservation. Eventually, when the product is ready, you already have ownership over that product. In futures trading, futures will be traded, therefore increasing the price of the future itself. It has proven to be quite profitable over regular stocks, which are notorious for losses.

So, if you combined the advantages of day trading and futures trading, you get Futures day trading. It basically is day trading using futures. Imagine taking profitable futures and buying and selling them over and over again during a short period of time, plus the more frequent transactions. This is where the power of this type of trading lies. Do not miss this opportunity to earn huge profits from day trading futures. Both futures trading and day trading each has its own strengths. Day trading relies on quantity of transactions, while futures relies on the quality of value the product it represents possesses. By combining both ways of trading into one, the result is not a surprise. You will save and earn time and money.

Are you looking to make a daily income by learning the secrets of a Futures day trading? Visit http://www.eminitradingstrategies.com for a free video on how to trade for a daily income!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/day-trading-articles/futures-day-trading-1435248.html

Why Money Management is Important in Trading ?

Stocks Trading, Forex Trading, Futures Trading, Options trading or whatever. A Successful trading consists of three factors as follows:

• Psychology for 50%
• Money Management for 30%
• Market Analysis and Trading Systems for 20%

Most of traders spend most of their time looking for good trades and only focus on the last factor, Market Analysis and Trading Systems, which is the least influence on the successful trading.

Once traders enter a trade, most of them rely on their emotions to make their trading decisions and miss the essential element of winning, the management of their emotions. Their lacking of managing themselves leads to poor managing of their money in their trading portfolios.

That’s why most traders are failure. Without a method of managing your money, even the best trading system or strategy is absolutely worthless. The 100%-win trading system does not exist, therefore the strict rules to manage money will provide a safety net for traders.

That is the reason, why the money management is so important in trading.

The major goals of money management rule are as follows:

• Ensuring survival in markets – No one never fails, so traders have to stay in markets long enough to win trades
• Earning steady rate of return from trading – the volatility of earning rate from trading should be low
• Earning high return from trading – traders are able to get high returns with no/lower risks if they manage their money well

Lastly, A most importance rule of managing your trading money is Do not change money management rule while the opened position is not yet closed.

Taro is an experience trader who trades in stocks, futures, forex. He strongly focuses on technical analysis, trading systems and money management.

If you would like to find more articles on MetaStock Tutorials, MetaStock Formulas, Trading Systems and Money Management. Please go to MetaStock Trading System.

You would also find the recommended trading books, DVDs, software and tools at MetaStock Trading Store.

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