tips for trading the ES

Hey everybody.
This is my first post here so be kind
A little about me first up.
I currently trade spot fx(mainly gbpusd and gbpjpy)and have done so for the past 4 years.I traded stock's and cfd's on stocks for about 3 years prior to that(still trade stocks on the ASX).So i'm well past the new guy stage but i know that the learning curve never stops and on that note i would like to day trade the ES and wondered if there is anything i must know first up.I am an Australian and have only really traded the ASX as mentioned and don't know the perks to the US markets.I thought rather than trying to cover a boatload of stocks it may be better to just trade and focus on the market as a whole(sp500)and get a few points each day with an edge and just push volume through that edge.
I know from experience that spot fx and the stock market tend to behave a little differently but they can both be moved by economic releases/political and governmental issues etc.
My MO is basically trading breakouts with trends and i also use PA(i am a NO indicators guy-clean charts).I give extra weight to daily highs and lows and also opening prices and i tend to think in terms of orderflow/support resistance.I am making the assumption that these would aid me but we all know what happens when we make assumptions
The question is,is there anything else that is MUST know?I displease losing capital if it can be helped.
I have browsed the forum and seen that some of you guys really put some solid work in(BruceM/dt/jk/CharterJoe etc)and wanted to say that you guys are a credit and thankyou.
I appreciate any advice and or direction you guys can give me and thankyou in advance.

regards
sk

Welcome to the forum skfx. Am I correct in saying that you need to trade from around midnight to 8am to be active during the RTH session of the US market?

I'm not sure how you learned to trade FX but my suggestion for the US equity futures would be to paper trade your FX strategy and see if it works against the ES et al. If you're already comfortable with that style of trading and you're using it profitably against FX then stick to that.

Hi dt.

That's correct.Just want to really trade the first few hours of the session.Unfortunately not a robot so won't be staying up all night lol.
Is there a certain time of day where volume seems to be solid?(i would think on the opening and maybe session end)Any direction here from your experience dt?
Sounds like a good idea.
I will paper trade for a few months and see how my MO fits in with the ES.
Do you have any advice on futures brokers who will allow a few months of paper trading dt?Im thinking that i don't really want to be pestered every week to open an account when i really still am finding my feet.If a good shop allows a month or two to try then this would be ideal.
Take it easy dt and looking forward to some more good advice.

regards
sk

In the research that I did titled Timing the High/Low of the Day it became apparent that most of the trading volume as well as the highest probability for the day's high/low were at the beginning and end of the trading session. For the ES E-mini S&P500 market that would be in the first hour and last hour of trading which are from 9:30am to 10:30am ET and 3pm to 4pm EST.

You don't need a broker account to paper trade; you should be able to do this on a trading platform or on a charting system. I know that Ninja Trader offer free simulated trading and if you have a charting platform like eSignal (free trial) you can paper trade on that as well.

That's perfect dt.
I will take a look at the study and see how i go.It looks like i might just push the first hour or two.
I will also take a look at Ninja Trader.
Thanks for the links too.
BTW,are you the same daytrading that posts over at the factory?And i take it that you don't post over there too much as this is your baby?

Thanks again dt.
Take care.

Cheers
sk

Just one more thing dt.
I notice many threads seem to mention MP-Market Profile.
Just how important is it?Would i be silly not to use it in my toolbox?

Cheers
sk

No - I'm not a member of the factory.

Market Profile is fairly important. Ultimately, if you have the time and resources you would know about and understand all the trading tools and techniques. Adding to your knowledge is never a bad thing. MP isn't for everyone but if you can grasp its strategies it might give you that edge that you're looking for.

Cheers dt.
Looks like i have some research to do lol.
Thanks for your feedback.

Here's a collection of Market Profile Books that might help you.

Thanks dt.
Boy,didn't realise this is a whole other world.
Can MP be used with all markets?Or is it only markets where volume is measured?
I don't think i have ever seen MP linked with fx at all,i could be wrong though.

Market Profile was originally developed to provide a profile just based on price and to use trading at a price during multiple time slots (in this case 30 minutes) as a proxy for volume. This is back when volume information was difficult to obtain so it is specifically geared to markets where volume isn't available even though it was initially developed for the bond markets. What you might be thinking of is a volume profile which usually turns out to be the same shape as the Market Profile for any given time period and market.

excellent dt.
so if i was trading the ES,then i would be looking closely at the high/low for the period 09:30-10:30EST and making calls based upon what the buyers and sellers are doing around these extremes.I could use price action and MP to give me the best odds of success.

If i was looking at a futures broker dt,would i be doing alot wrong if i went with either interactive brokers or mf global?Because of my experience with spotfx and stock trading i am up to speed with these brokers but not up to speed on futures brokers.
I have looked up a few but you may know more about issues with certain futures brokers due to your experience with these instruments.
Appreciate the help dt.

cheers
sk