So What Is Emini Trading?

Simply put, emini futures are small (mini) futures contracts which have always been traded electronically (e). The most popular eminis are the S&P 500 Fututes, Dow futures and the Russel 2000 futures.

Unlike stock accounts with higher account minimums, emini brokers can open your account with only $2000. But before you rush off to get an account be sure to get a high quality education and successfully paper-trade for at least a month. Otherwise there is a 95% probability that you will lose your money. (95% of new traders will fail because they don’t get a proper education and treat trading like gambling)

Japanese candlestick chart of the S&P 500 futures

Here you can see what a candlestick chart looks like. If you are new to charts, they are price measured over time. Each period of time creates a new “candle” and the size of the candle represents the change in price from opening until close. The “wicks” represent extremes in price and show that the price was unable to close at the level of the high.

The market only goes up, down or sideways. For each trade  you are betting whether the market will go up or down.

You click to open a trade up (long) or down (short) and then you set your stop loss, which represents the amount you are willing to lose. Some traders do not use a stop loss but this is extremely risky and can cost you dearly. Many traders will simply set a 2 or 3 tick risk and a 2 or 3 tick profit and look for as many opportunities as they can get per day.

It can take a long time to learn how to successfully trade eminis with a consistent profit. This market is very fast-paced and there is a lot more too it then first meets the eye.  In every financial market there are the professionals (smart-money) and the speculators (dumb-money). We all start out as the dumb money and then graduate to the smart money over time. For some traders this can take years. If you are brand new to this, be sure to enlist the aid of professional training and save yourself a lot of time, frustration and money!

Trading is a psychological game and favors one who can be very disciplined and patient. The “traders” who try to get rich quick will lose their money even quicker. As in every business one must have a professional attitude, pay attention to details and manage their money wisely.