HOME A Word of Advice	The dumbest way to start trading eminis You want a short answer with that? Well, here we go then. The short answer first.  The short answer is quite simple and it is this: the dumbest way to start trading eminis is unprepared.  Oddly enough, this is a frequently practiced way, too. Probably more than most people realize or want to admit it. I do hear from people who started their emini day trading adventures like that time and again and can't help but wonder what exactly they were thinking. And what made them do it or convinced them that it was possible to succeed without preparation. Often any preparation, let alone a solid one.  Without first finding out what works and how to apply it properly and most effectively. Without first finding out if they have what it takes to succeed day trading eminis, even trading only on a simulator, which is much more forgiving than live trading. If they have the mental strength to cope with trading losses and enough money in their trading account to trade safely with as many contracts as they chose to. Did they ask all these questions before they put their money on the line? Unlikely, and even if they did, they probably did not spend much time answering them. There is nothing wrong about being optimist, but being a well prepared optimist trumps being the unprepared one. And while I don't know what exactly prompted all these people to commit their hard earned money to find out the hard way what works and what does not in day trading eminis, I guess I know why so many of them do so. Why so many set off unprepared hoping, quite naively, that Lady Luck will help them out. The main reason, I believe, has to do with the fact that for many people the will to get prepared to win is often not as strong as the will to win. And so they never succeed at anything worth succeeding because to do so takes time, preparation, and perseverance that they are not willing to invest in. But the dangers to start trading unprepared, whether it's eminis, currencies, or stocks do not end at losing money, even if sometimes the losses can be big.  The real danger, in my opinion, is in the damage it does to your self-confidence. Once you lost the faith in your ability to make right decisions, it may take you quite a while to regain it. You may end up losing your faith and trust in others too for if you cannot trust yourself it is even harder to trust others. For this reason alone, it is much wiser to get prepared first and prepared well too before you embark on conquering the markets. Remember, there is no need to rush, the markets are going to be there weeks, months, or even years from now. But you may not have enough money to trade them if you spend it on dumb experiments. So now what's the long answer to this question, you may ask. Well, the long answer is the same as the short one plus all the ways you can be unprepared. I mentioned some of them above. I trust that you can easily come up with a few more. Emini trading does not have to be tough if you approach it in a smart way. But, on the other hand, trading emini futures can be very challenging if you jump into it totally unprepared. The only way to successful emini trading is via a solid preparation.  For an excellent purely discretionary emini day trading methodology that should get you well prepared for trading emini futures, see this page.
	Disclaimer: HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN INHERENT LIMITATIONS UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD. SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER OR OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.