By David Adams
In my e-mini trading room I get to see a variety of new and experienced students trade their accounts. Oddly enough, experienced students who are looking for an e-mini trade room usually meet with the least success. When I speak with these students, I often find that they have taken numerous trading courses with minimal success. On the other hand, students with minimal training in my trading room enjoy similar success as the experienced traders who have taken a multitude of e-mini trading courses. The reason for the disparity in the success lies in past e-mini trading instructors and the effort the student put forth in learning a particular trading course.
That’s a bit of an anomaly, isn’t it?
The intent of this short article is not to enumerate specific courses that are of high quality and other courses that are of lesser quality; the strengths and effectiveness of training courses run the gamut of effectiveness. No, my intent is to stress finding a system that works and then learning that system so well that you can trade it instinctively. Like many e-mini trading educators, I find it frustrating when I have a student fail. It is my intention to train students to trade the e-mini contracts successfully. In a sense, their failure becomes my failure.
On the other hand, every student has the responsibility to familiarize and thoroughly learn the methodologies and techniques presented in an e-mini trading course and the accompanying e-mini trading room. Without a certain level of mastery of methodology and e-mini technique, the student’s chances for success diminish greatly. There is, in fact, a dual responsibility by both the e-mini trading instructor and student to effectively learn and convey the basic principles of the e-mini course trading style.
Lacking that dual responsibility, most new e-mini traders are destined to fail and e-mini educators feel the pain of failure. In short, this is the difference between a 90% fail rate and a 50% fail rate. I have to concede at this point that at least half of all potential e-mini traders will find the trading profession unduly demanding or tedious. Another group of students do not care to spend the day parked in front of a computer screen. These are all normal reasons that students will leave an e-mini trading program. Trading isn’t for everyone, and there is nothing to change that immutable fact.
But the focus of this particular article is the amount of effort that both the instructor and student must expend to reach a level of consistently profitable trading. This is no small feat considering the wide-ranging level of information traders are required to assimilate. In short, surveying the level of technical information can seem, at first, daunting and discouraging. Like most areas of study though, a concerted effort by the student and consistent support by the e-mini trading instructor will result in the potential for positive results. As I mentioned earlier, the failure of either instructor or student to exert strenuous and ongoing effort will leave a gaping hole in the student’s technical and methodological skill level.
In summary, we have discussed the dual role both students and e-mini instructors play in the game of successful e-mini trading. A lack of effort on either partner in this “contract of learning” can result in a highly unsatisfactory result. As a student, choosing a responsive and helpful instructor and time-tested system is essential, but the student also must be willing to provide maximum effort in achieving his or her goals. Trading is not a profession where instincts and natural ability will necessarily lead to success.
Students with minimal training in my trading room enjoy similar success as the experienced traders who have taken a multitude of e-mini trading courses. The reason for the disparity in the success lies in past e-mini trading instructors and the effort the student put forth in learning a particular trading course.
About the Author
Real Live Trading Doesn’t Lie. Spend several days in my trading room and see if you can benefit from a fresh and unique view on trading e-mini contracts. Sign up for your free trading experience by clicking here
