Word of mouth recommendations are always a welcome endorsement. So imagine our delight at eFutureVision when we discovered this thread over at the bigmiketrading forums, singing the praises of eFutureVision trading methods.

A guy who studied the eFutureVision trading techniques decided to put them to the test. He fired up his Ninja Mirus Sim account and traded in real time for about one month. 63 trades later he had notched up a very impressive 87% win ratio & $4,177 in profits, all while averaging 2.7 trades per day. Wow!

Check out the screenshot below to see for yourself (click the image to enlarge).

We all love success stories, and hopefully those of you reading this who may be in need of a little  boost of confidence in your own trading will find some inspiration from it.

Many thanks to researcher247 for taking the time to document his findings regards eFutureVision’s trading methods.

Legal Disclaimer

Futures and options trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Don’t trade with money you can’t afford to lose. This website is neither a solicitation nor an offer to Buy/Sell futures or options. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed on this website. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results. Customer testimonials on this website are not necessarily indicative of all customer experiences.

How one trader uses eFutureVision methods & techniques to power his own trading business to success. George Dos Santos is a successful investor, trader & keen student of eFutureVision trading methods. This exclusive interview with George reveals some valuable insights, lessons, wisdom, and tips that all active traders can learn from. Many thanks to George. Enjoy!

Q. How & when did you get in to trading?

I’m a clinical psychologist (now retired) who came to the USA from Trinidad in 1963 and worked his way through college and graduate school.

After losing my first few thousand dollars in the stock market I started buying Mutual Funds such as Fidelity Magellan, Value Line etc. I opened an IRA account when they were first created and deposited the allowable $2,000/year into it. Peter Lynch had Fidelity Magellan growing at the rate of about 20% to 25% a year. According to the “rule of 72” my capital was doubling in value every three to four years.

When Omega Research offered their first end-of-day charting program, Super Charts, I purchased it and read Alex Elder’s “Trading for a Living” and John Murphy’s “Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets.” I learned a lot from them and I still use Super Charts to provide me with the bigger picture of the markets. Omega does not support Super Charts anymore since they now offer Tradestation but I still use it.

Q. Were you consistently profitable from the very beginning? Tell us about the trading methods you used and your early success (or lack of it!)

As soon as I started working full-time and saved a few thousand dollars I went to a brokerage firm and spoke to a broker who opened an account for me and bought shares in a medical company. Weeks later, I went to see the broker who informed me that the stock went to “zero.” I asked him why he did not call me while it was collapsing and advise me to sell it and he had no answer. Much to his surprise, I thanked him for teaching me a very important lesson, and that is that NO ONE was ever going to handle my investment decisions in the future. I told him that I would learn all that I can and make my own decisions in the future. So I was not successful in the beginning.

My early success was due to my learning all I could about technical analysis from Alex Elder, John Murphy and in 2000 from John Ehlers. I used those methods suggested by them. They included Alex’s “triple screen” approach, Moving Averages, MACD etc, John Murphy’s chart patterns, and John Ehlers’ MESA software, especially his “instantaneous trend line” and “kalman filter.” I also read many financial periodicals such as The Wall Street Transcript, Forbes, Fortune etc.

When I felt confident enough to do so, I sold some of my shares in Magellan and started doing my own investing using Super Charts and was quite successful. I had early success in the late 1980’s and the 1990’s owning technology companies such as Dell and Microsoft.

In the beginning I relied on moving averages, MACD and its divergences, RSI and Williams %R.

When John Ehlers published his article, “Adaptive Trends and Oscillators” in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities in May 2000 I purchased his software for Super Charts and I have been using it ever since to indicate whether the market or stock is in a trending mode or cycle mode and if there is a crossing of the Kalman Filter above or below the Instantaneous Trend Line. His indicators, “Instantaneous Trend Line” and “Kalman Filter” are also available on Fidelity’s Wealth Lab Pro.

I sold most of my stocks and got out of the stock market in April 2000 when it was clear that on the Weekly charts, there was a massive divergence of MACD histogram from prices of the S&P 500 and many of the stocks I owned were beginning to falter.

At that time I was not comfortable shorting the market or stocks so I did not benefit from doing so during the bear market starting March 2000.

Q. Some say that every trader has to completely blow up his account at least once before he can become successful. Was that true for you?

Except for my first loss mentioned earlier I never completely “blew up” my account after that. I lost a lot of money on some individual investments but I never put all my money at risk at all. Years ago I had a large position in Vimpel, the Russian cell phone company and Putin put out a false rumor about their avoiding taxes and the ADR dropped significantly. I took a big loss on that one.

Q. If so, did blowing up change your views/philosophy of the market in any way?

Yes! It taught me that I have to take complete control of my money and investments and not rely on others to make investment decisions for me. I listen to, and read all the opinions offered but in the final analysis I will make the investment decisions.

It also taught me to pay more attention to position size.

Q. Have you been consistently successful with the eFuturevision setups? Tell us about  your experience so far

I made 99% of my money as an investor and not a day trader. Day Trading is something new for me. Since I do not presently have a futures/commodities trading account, when I viewed the videos on your site I decided to plot the indicators on the Fidelity software that I use and do some paper trading at first. It became obvious that the 9/30 system was providing very reliable entries and exits etc. I decided to use the 9/30 system with the Direxion ETFs, TNA and TZA which track the Small Cap stocks. They are leveraged 3X so there is enough volatility to get setups. The first 14 trades were winning trades. Then I had two losing trades. I don’t do this type of trading every day.

Q. Was there a ‘light bulb’ or catalyst moment when you realized you were consistently profitable?

When I realized that the first 8 trades were winners, even though the sample size  was very small, I began to think that there might be a high degree of reliability in the 9/30 approach.

Q. What is the secret to your trading success?

Having a trading plan and following it. If I deviate from it I usually lose money.

Q. What is your favourite eFutureVison setup & why? 

My favorite eFutureVision setup is the 9/30. It is clear, consistent, relatively simple and easy to execute.

Q. What are your strengths as a trader?

I’m really not sure how to answer that. However, I learned to be patient and wait for the setup to occur before I enter a trade and not jump the gun.

In addition, I learned to take a profit and not let a winning trade develop into a losing trade. Many of the losing trades that I have had even before using the 9/30 setup were the result of not taking a profit. Like most people I tend to do well on the entries but not as well on the exits.

Q. How long are you usually in a position?

With day trading the 9/30 I might be in a position for anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes.

In my regular position trading I can own a stock for months at times.

Q. What role does risk-management play in your trading?

It is a key factor. With experience I learned to make it a significant part of my trading or investing.

Q. What are you doing when a position goes against you? Are you using stop-loss orders?

I have been using stop loss orders.

Q. Does market psychology factor in your trading?

It is an important factor in the position trading that I do but not so much for the day trading when I do it. As long as I follow the entry and exit rules of the 9/30 the market psychology does not seem to be as important in the day trading.

Q. How do you handle distracting thoughts and emotions during the trading day?

The first thing I do is turn off the volume of the TV and its talking heads that are the source of most distractions. Instead I play relaxing music.

If I am not in a good place emotionally I do not do any trading or investing. If I make a bad trading decision I review it and attempt to learn from it.

Q. How do you prepare for the trading day? Do you follow any routines or do you take it as it comes?

On days that I am going to be active in the market I usually go to the gym early enough to get back for the opening of the market.

I get breakfast, download data etc. and get ready for the open.

Q. How many hours do you spend in front of your screens?

If I am day trading, I am usually in front of the screens from the open to about 11.30am unless I have an open position that I need to manage. I would usually take a break for lunch or do other things and return for the last 1-2 hours.

Q. Isn’t it hard to spend that much time in front of your PC? How do you stay focused for such a long time?

It can be quite boring at times but I am able to keep myself busy with other things like reading or looking at a DVD etc. Unless I have an open position I am able to read, make phone calls, check email etc while I periodically check the screens to see if a setup is developing.

Q. How do you like to relax away from the markets?

I like to workout in the gym, read, do some self-hypnosis, cook, meet with dear friends and take walks etc.

Q. What equipment do you use? (PC, charting software, data, etc)

For the long-term view of the market structure I still use Super Charts software where I determine the Monthly, Weekly and Daily market structure and whether the market is trending or not. In order to take a position in a stock the weekly and daily charts must be trending up.

I have a desktop and two Laptops. I keep my Fidelity Active Trader Pro and Wealth Lab Pro screens on the desktop and I keep Best Choice software on my laptop.

I also have some screening software like Telechart on my laptop.

Q. Which markets & timeframes are you using on your charts?

On Active Trader Pro I use a 3-minute, 15-minute and hourly charts of ETFs, TNA and TZA. I am very new at using the 9/30 so I am limiting my day trading to these two. Most of my money is in IRA’s where there is no margin allowing me to sell short so in order to sell short I use the inverse Direxion ETF, TZA.  I have found that I need to turn on the pre-market trading otherwise the charts are too chaotic for the first hour or so and more often than not the trend of the last hour of pre-market trading continues into the open of the NY markets.

Q. Would you recommend eFutureVision to other traders?

I certainly would. I believe that it is one of the simplest, affordable yet effective trading approaches available that does not require many years of experience in the markets to be successful.

Q. What’s the best piece of advice you have for aspiring traders?

Be humble! As soon as you begin to think that you are invincible the market will prove you wrong. Keep learning and keep a trading diary and good records for review so that you can learn from your mistakes. Find a experienced mentor or mentors and learn from them.

Markets and Timeframes

Listed below are the various markets we currently chart and the associated timeframes.  Keep in mind that market conditions may result in a change of timeframes.

Note that in each market charted we use a minute chart as well as either a tick or volume chart.  Minute charts reflect candlestick patterns better than tick or volume charts and it is important to be able to check a 15 minute or a 60 minute chart during the trading session.

Depending on your workspace we recommend using just one minute chart that can be toggled to view other timeframes.  I personally have my minute chart setup so I can use my numeric keypad to quickly view a 2/3/5/9/15/30/60 and 203 minute chart.   For the index markets I use primarily the 5 and 15 minute charts and will also look at the 60 minute chart and 203 minute chart during the trading session to keep an eye on the larger timeframe.

For crude, gold, and beans  I will use combinations of 3/9 and 5/15/60 minute charts.  For the two treasury markets I like the 15/60 minute charts.  For the grains I prefer the 5/15 minute charts.

ES

1600/4800/14400/43200/129600 volume charts

ER

56/167/500/1500/4500/13500 volume charts

or

100/300/900/2700 tick charts

or

200/600/1800/5400  tick charts

Crude Oil

60/175/525/1575/4725 tick charts

or

300/900/2700 tick charts

Gold

300/900/2700 volume charts

or

50/150/450/1350 tick charts

Euro

167/500/1500/4500/13500 volume charts

or

120/360/1080/3240 tick charts

NQ and YM

300/900/2700 tick charts

Canada

200/600/1800/5400 tick charts

YM

150/450/1350 tick charts

or

300/900/2700 tick charts

30 yr Bonds

1500/4500/13500 volume charts

or

328/984/2950 tick charts

10 yr Notes

100/300/900 tick charts

or

150/450/1350 tick charts

Yen

66/200/600/1800 tick charts

Canada

66/200/600/1800 tick charts

Soybeans

35/105/315/945 tick charts

Wheat

167/500/1500 volume charts

Eurostoxx 50

300/900/2700 tick charts

or

1500/4500/13500 volume charts

Bund

Same as eurostoxx 50

DAX

Same as eurostoxx 50

I got an email recently from a prospective Traders Club member who asked me the following question;

 ”Is it a reasonable expectation to make $1,000 every week from trading?”

This is a difficult question to answer. If I had less scruples I’d have wasted no time and replied with ‘Of course! Join the Traders Club today and you’ll be a millionaire next week’ or something along those lines.

The reality of trading however is it’s a tough business to succeed in. Very few would-be traders ever make it to a level where they can literally trade for a living. As many as 95% of traders fail if you believe the oft-touted statistics.

Most traders who ask me that question are seeking absolute consistency in their results. They want a guaranteed amount of money from trading every single week. However, once again the reality of trading isn’t like that.

My experience with pro trading firms is that even the very best traders go through difficult periods spanning days, weeks or even months where they can’t make any decent money. Often their results are defined by a handful of exceptional months trading where they make a killing, and the rest of the time it’s an exercise in damage limitation.

So, is it possible to make $XXXX per week from trading? Yes, of course it is, if you avearge your results out over the course of a month or year. Just don’t bank on making absolutely consistent profits every single week. Even the very best traders in the world aren’t always capable of achieving that. You’ve got to factor a bad day or a bad week into your trading plan.

I’ve noticed that when this question arises (and it frequently does) it’s often from people who want to quit their jobs and directly replace the income they were getting like for like via trading. They still want the ‘job security’ of knowing they will receive their wage at the end of every month.

It’s this uncertain nature of a trading income which is the undoing of many otherwise capable and determined traders. I’ve met many experienced, well informed and knowledgeable traders who just can’t seem to do the right thing at the right time. They can’t pull the trigger, take trades outside of their trading plan, exit positions too early, etc. Often the reason why boils down to fear generated through pressure or stress.

It’s usually counter productive to put that kind of pressure on yourself as a trader. There is a big difference between wanting to make $1000 per week and needing to make $1000 per week. The pressure that needing to make a fixed amount of money per week or month creates in the mind of the average trader can see even the best trading plans, setups & money management fly out of the window.

In my experience, the best trading comes from a relaxed  & confident state of mind. Almost a state of zen. You’re neither elated by a profit nor devastated by a loss. Simply moving from one trade to the next unaffected, following your trading plan, allowing your edge to play out over time.

Of course, you’re still going to need a high probability setup to place your trust in (which is where the Traders Club can help you), but ultimately your success as  discretionary trader is down to you and how well you’re able to consistently capitalise on your edge in the markets.

In another article I’ll talk about some tips the industry professionals use to achieve the optimal ‘zen’ state of trading and how you can benefit too.

Do you suffer from performance pressure in your own trading? How do you cope with the demands trading places on you? Leave a comment below.

Watch Rick talk you through an emini futures trade in this quick 5 minute video.

Have any questions? Leave a comment below!

What is Fibonacci Trading?

Fibonacci sequences were developed by an Italian mathematician named Leonardo Fibonacci some time in the 10th century. If you want to learn more about its history & origins you can follow this link. For the purposes of Fibonacci trading however, you’ll want to keep reading here.

How does Fibonacci help me to day trade?

Well the theory is simple.  In a nutshell… Markets have a tendency to ‘retrace’ a percentage of their previous move before continuing in the original direction.

Fibonacci retracement levels then typically provide us with 3 important areas of interest.

• 38.2%
• 50%
• 61.8%

As you can see from the 5 minute YM (mini Dow) chart below, the market recovered more than 50% of its sell off. In fact, the retracement only stopped at the 61.8% Fibonacci level, at which point the market turned around and continued to sell off again.

When the market reaches these key Fibonacci retracement levels, one day trading strategy I like is to begin reading candle stick patterns for clues of a reversal.

If we take the chart above as an example, we have an up (green) candle which briefly pierces the 61.8% level, followed by an inside candle, followed by indecision and a lower high before the market breaks much lower.

That’s a 100 point move right there, and if you can’t make money out of moves like that, you probably shouldn’t be trading!

How do I draw Fibonacci trading levels on my chart?

Practically every day trading software platform available has a Fibonacci retracement tool included, which luckily makes plotting Fibonacci levels a walk in the park.

There is some confusion about the correct way to draw a Fibonacci retracement grid, but follow these guidelines and you’ll be fine;

1. Use important highs and lows. Swing points for example.
2. In a down trend start from the high first, and plot down to the low. In an up trend, start from the low and plot to the high.

That’s really all there is to it.

Does Fibonacci Trading really work?

Some say the Fibonacci trading sequences have an inexplicable mathematical ability to predict where prices will go next. Others say that Fibonacci trading is pure nonsense and entirely coincidental. I don’t really know.

Personally my own theory is that Fibonacci retracement levels work simply because there’s so many other traders who use them in the same way. I think it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts.

i.e. When you get a large collection of traders who see the 61.8% Fibonacci level approaching, and they all start thinking ‘this is a good place to take a trade!’, they take their positions and the market moves accordingly.

I know of some traders who do very well trading from Fibonacci retracement levels and candlestick reversal patterns alone. Conversely I also know of other traders who dismiss Fibonacci levels completely as nothing but coincidental and place no value on them at all.

My Take

What I can tell you is that in my own experience I have seen enough market reversals in the ‘golden’ 50-61.8% area to know that Fibonacci levels are at least worth watching. Particularly when there is the confluence of a 9/30 or 3x setup.

The critical part however is you need some means of detecting a reversal signal when the market gets to that golden 50-61.8% area. Candlestick reversal patterns are a good start.

In another article I’ll discuss an interesting ‘new’ take on Fibonacci levels in trading; Fibonacci extensions. An advanced form of Fibonacci trading that Rick uses himself to great effect.

Do you use Fibonacci levels in your own trading? Leave a comment below!

Why choosing the right day trading strategies for the market conditions is crucial to your trading success.

One of the most common day trading mistakes is applying the wrong day trading strategies for the current market conditions.

That’s pretty much guaranteed to give you a series of losing trades, high stress levels, and negative P&L.

The goal of this article is to provide a basic understanding of how markets really work and how to determine which day trading strategies may provide the best trading opportunities & results on any given day.

So let’s jump right in and get started…

According to dual auction market theory, markets can do only one of two things;

They can either move sideways, ‘rotating’ up and down between two price levels – otherwise known as a ‘consolidation’ or a ‘trading range’.

Alternatively, the markets can move directionally – otherwise known as ‘trending’. This occurs when the market breaks out from its trading range and moves directionally until the market begins to consolidate sideways again.

Understanding this dynamic is crucial for consistent day trading success. Why? Simply because being able to identify the current  market conditions means we can apply the most appropriate day trading strategies for those conditions!

Each of these two basic market conditions (consolidating vs trending) require very different day trading strategies. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. We must be able to adapt our strategy accordingly to fit the market conditions.

Why does this matter?…

As an example, ‘directional’ day trading strategies are typically most effective when the market is trending strongly. However, trying to employ a directional strategy while the market is consolidating in a tight trading range will more often than not get you chopped around and stopped out of trades.

The intraday emini Euro chart below illustrates these principles of consolidation vs trend discussed in this article so far.

Hopefully you now understand why we need different strategies for different market conditions. So let’s take a look at two basic day trading strategies.

Almost every other technical day trading strategy in existence is a variation on the basic themes outlined below. It’s important to understand them.

Reversion to Mean

In a trading range the market typically ‘rotates’ slowly up and down without much directional bias, usually on low volume from one edge of the range to the other. The market will continue to behave like this until a break out occurs.

When these market conditions exist there is only one strategy to consider; To buy the prices near the bottom of the range, and sell prices near the top of the range. The idea is to exit these directional positions as the market returns to ‘value’ by rotating back towards the middle of the trading range.

This is what’s known as a ‘reversion to mean’ trade, or playing ‘ping pong’.

The success of this day trading strategy relies on the market continuing to rotate sideways within its defined trading range. In other words we are betting that the market will continue to rotate up and down inside the established range.

Break Out & Directional

Sooner or later a consolidating market will transition to a directional / trending market. This occurs when the market ‘breaks out’ of its trading range, typically on higher volume and continues to move directionally in one generally sustained direction. When the market does break out, we have a couple of options…

Option #1 is to take a directional position during the break out itself, although this can often be a risky entry as ‘false break outs’ are common.

Option #2 is to wait until the market makes its first pull back after the break out and then take a directional position for any directional continuation. This is the safer entry.

Bottom Line

During an established trading range the smart choice is to either sit on your hands, or play ‘ping pong’ with the edges of the range taking profits when you can.

During a trending market however you want to use a break out or directional strategy and get on board the momentum to maximise your profits.

Whether you trade emini futures, forex, stocks, etf’s or options, being able to identify when the market is consolidating or trending is one of the most important skills a discretionary trader can develop when it comes to consistently applying the right day trading strategies for the market conditions.

Want to learn more?

For a high probability directional trading strategy with easy to understand trade rules, look no further than our very own 9/30 method. Get instant access at the top of this page.

Watch Rick trade the emini S&P 500 futures contract using nothing more than a couple of moving averages & price action.

This is a great demonstration of how the basic 9/30 trade setup works in action.

See Rick trade a real account with the 3x trading strategy to make $330 in under 7 minutes on the Russell 2000 futures.

Watch Rick trade a real account as he uses the 3x day trading strategy to make $375 in under 5 minutes from the Euro futures.