I suck at this, please help!

Traders Helping Traders Community Support
1

I’m am fully willing to admit that I’m not good at trading futures.

I’ve been in a few call rooms and had mixed results, I’ve learned I can’t trade on my own as it seems the market is determined to go in the opposite direction the moment I put my order in.

I’ve looked into some mentorship programs, but the prices seems rather high. I’ve seen everything from about $1k all the way up to about $9k. And I can’t help but feel they seem a bit scammy.

If anyone is willing to share some helpful information, it would be greatly appreciated!

I’d also like to believe I’m not alone in this.

Thank you in advance!

1 Like
2

Start with formulating how you view and react to market structure. Where and how do you define support and resistance? When price gets there, what do you do?

Then formulate a trading plan to trade while price is in between your support and resistance.

You can find alot of info on youtube. Find out what indicators do what, then pick a couple that compliment your trading style.

Good luck!

1 Like
3

Well man you are not alone I would assume every trader starting out struggles horribly, how does the saying go “Trading is Simple but not Easy”. I have been at this for 11 months now full time, putting in at least 40 to 50 hours a week learning, and just now started to get my strategy to work consistently. I can make a laundry list of reasons why it has taking me this long, but it is all the things seasoned traders warn you about but most people have to learn the hard way (like me). All I’m trying to say is that this is something that it takes time to learn so you have to give yourself some.

Like you I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to figure this out on my own and I also found all the research i did for training seemed like scams or just Marketing Schemes (and most are, so trust your intuition).

There is a group I discovered by recommendation and they had reasonable prices to test and check out their service compared to so many others out there so i gave it a try. They are called TheoTrade.com the amount of archived classes is worth the price alone for a month or two to test out, and you also get access to the Live room that is open durning trading hours. They usually have a different instructor on ever hour so you get a variety of different styles.

But if you are going to check them out do so when you have the time to put into watching the archived classes, that is where a big value of the subscription price is. They have classes on most style of trading to almost every Indicator explained on what it does and how to use it. Then join the live session everyday as well there is so much to learn just from watching and asking questions. Contact them by email to find out more details.

Always test and learn with “Paper money” or Simulator account, If you cant be consistently profitable in a Simulator you are not magically going to be in a live account.

I’ll leave you with this, if there is one golden rule I have learned and if you only follow one this is it “Manage Risk properly with out fault”. I can’t stress this enough, never risk more than 1% to 3% of your account on any giving trade. This will help to not blow up your account and allow you to keep trading.

4

Look for ways to get better educated , and stay away from people selling custom magical indicators and such. This thing you’re trying to learn is a skill and takes work to learn it.

1 Like
5

I completely agree with Madcat especialy about TheoTrade. Just keep working toward your GOAL. Don’t give up, learn to adapt. Go take a look at Theo on Youtube. That’s where I found them. I have learned much in the last 2 years

6

Thanks for the info, I’ll check them out.

7

There are countless ways to trade. And my #1 advice is pick one, and master it. Do not discover some better way and go to that before mastering the first. You could literally flip a coin to go short or long and work on mastering nonsense “setup” because it requires mastering your emotions, mastering stops and profit exits, etc. If you system hop, indicator hop, guru hop, time frame hop, etc you will never master anything and only build bad habits. Also, there are a TON of free resources. Brian Watt host free youtube live trading (I don’t endorse his style, especially for a new trader, but he’s legit trading live and has plenty to teach). He is also adamant that “gurus” be free, so he knows of others. Tons of Twitter folks share amazing content. Don’t pay for anything - except maybe books

2 Likes
8

+1 for Brian Watt. He’s a counter trend trader and that style isn’t for everyone, but his advice and charts are phenomenal. He’s real. Oh, and his stories are hilarious. He’s a solid entertainer as well.

9

Best advice I can give you is focus less on the triggers for entry and focus more on when to cut losses or take profits. The entire game is this: When you lose, lose small – when you win, try to get the most out of it. You could flip a coin on entries and still do well if you master the “cut losses, ride winners” approach.

10

This discord should help. Nothing for sale.
ES only.

11

The invite is expired.

12

Most of the time the markets are untradeable. I call it the no trade zone. If the trade always seem to go against you your in that zone. Establish daily support and resistance levels and only take trades at those levels. If you miss it let it go. I like the mid morning reversals at support or resistance. You should have a entry, exit and stop plan way ahead of the market. Don’t chase it, let it come to you then snare it! Also watch the trading volume. If your trading against the algorithm it will beat you every time. Only trade against fellow traders.

1 Like
13

Hello Mike,

Do you want to hear the truth or do you want to hear what you want to hear? How much are you willing to sacrifice to make this work?

Consider how many people have walked the same path before you with high expectations and failed miserably. Trading has lead many to commit suicide. Remember, you only hear the good side that the industry wants you to hear. This is compounded by the tendency for most people to only tell you when things are going well. Very few people like to admit they have been done. All the losers are no longer around to tell the story how it really is.

Your post asked for helpful information. If you see it for what it is, this will be the most helpful information you will get.

I myself began trading almost 6 years ago and have traded full time for 4 years. I’ve invested 10,000 hours. I’ve lost $300,000.

I know more and I’ve seen more than most will ever know or see. And that knowledge hasn’t helped me yet. So consider that for a moment. Very few people have the luxury of time and finance that I have had and so far I’ve failed. I even moved country to attain a better time zone for trading. That is how far I was willing to go to make this happen.

In life I’m an incredibly driven and disciplined individual. I’ve maintained below 10% body fat my entire adult life and I’ve achieved a lot in my life so far. I destroyed a chess computer on top level, first go, when I was just 10 years old.

Yes, you are alone. And if you think like the herd and reach out for help you will be taken advantage of.

Why do you think these mentoring sites exist? Because they can’t make an income from trading. Would you put in all that work if you could make an income from trading? Don’t trust anyone. You must figure this out on your own. Screen time is the only thing you need.

If trading is so lucrative, why do people work for a brokerage or run a brokerage instead of trade? Consider that.

I would like to say more but my post might be removed. So I’ll put it like this. Don’t trust anyone in this industry. Be careful of the brokerages, FCM’s, all of it.

The most practical advice I can give you is to manage your money carefully. And remember that if you want this to work you are going to have to go through hell. Pure hell.

I wish you the best but your chances of success are almost zero. I’m sure you don’t want to hear that, but do you want to hear the truth or do you want to hear what you want to hear?

If you don’t heed my warning, perhaps you can remember my post several years from now. How many years are you willing to sacrifice?

6 Likes
14

not sure why but it expires in 1 day.
if you search for $ES_F FUTURES TRADING it should come up.
nothing for sale.

15

This needs more upvotes.

16

I agree with MrSaltie. After 20 years trading I find only two things true. One: The market goes up and down. Two: Everyone is willing to take your money. I did not start making money trading until I learned not to give my money away. There is no seminar, indicator or secret trading method that will make you a good trader. It comes down to observation and practice. With nothing more than honed knowledge and the tools available for free on Tradovate, I make money most days.

Mike - When I started trading I spent thousands on what I thought would make me a successful trader. Nothing seemed to work for me. That was the key. It was me. I was the problem. Years ago I read a book by Toni Turner ‘A beginners guide to day trading’. It outlines the basics. When I went back to the basics and practiced, I became successful. Just a suggestion. Good luck to you.

2 Likes
20

I found back-testing really helped me find what works and what doesn’t. Being able to try out a strategy over months or even years of real market data speeds up the learning process tremendously and improves your performance.

It gave me a deeper understanding of the mechanics behind different technical indicators and allowed me to uncover some patterns and techniques I never would have thought of. It forced me to precisely define my entries and exits, which eliminates emotion and reduces uncertainty when trading.

There are several platforms out there that allow you to back-test. Some are free and some cost money, and each one usually has it’s own scripting language and a framework that take time to learn, but in the end the knowledge and confidence you gain is well worth it.

21

Hi @MrSaltie

So to confirm, you are down $300K and just last week you made 5 times your account size in 24 hours and now you think you get it?

@Mike_Patrick patience my friend, patience.

23

@MrSaltie

I will throw in my 2 cents for what it is worth.

Just curious - I am assuming you are a day trader. If so, how many trades are you making a day on average? Are you trying to scalp, looking for a medium size gain, or trying to catch runners?

Sounds like you should have a pretty good track record to be able to gather some stats.

Avg Win Amount, Avg Loss Amount & Percent Accurate.

By looking at those 3 numbers it will tell you exactly where the holes are, as this all comes down to risk/reward and money management,

A wise man once told me “The most important trades are the ones you do not take… 90% of trading is waiting”.

26

@MrSaltie

I apologize - I have been trading 25+ years and was only trying to help. I hate to see anyone lose that amount of money.

Sounds like you have it figured out.

Best of luck