Which futures market is easier for beginners?

Original question: If ES is the best traders and hardest to trade, what futures market is easier for beginners?

I have been told GOLD. Wonder if Oil is good to trade? or what other.

Looking for least risk, with some movement in daily market.
ex. ES is $50 a point... what markets are lower risk against not the best traders in the world?

thanks for any info.

Hi!

I'm not an expert, but from my little experience, Crude Oil (CL) is the most volatile to trade. ES can be hard, aswell. I think that Gold and Grains are easier to trade.

I don't know about you, but my broker allows e-minis to trade CFD contracts €1 per point. It´s not so risky to trade this way.


Hope this helps.

Canis Lupus

I believe that it's a misconception that any market can be easier to trade than any other because market forces will quickly arbitrage away that "easiness." (By easy I would assume that you mean easiest to make a profit.)

All traders are seeking to maximize their profits just like any other business or professional. If any market proves to be easier to obtain that goal then everyone would move there and trade it until the "ease" of making a profit in that market equaled any other market.

Thanks for asking this question. I think that this is a topic that needs to be discussed at length.

Different instruments have different personalities. Traders have different personalities, different ways of trading, different kinds of analysis. Indexes usually don't trend for long periods of time, if trader #1 likes buying a pull back in a trend, then something other than ES may provide more opportunities, be easier & more comfortable for him. If trader #2 is a Gann trader, prefers longer holding times & seasonal trades then corn or beans may suit him better. If trader #3 likes scalping a few quick points, then something slow like bonds may not provide as many opportunities as something else. It's not like, if you're not profitable you can switch instruments & the money will start rolling in. A chart is a chart. In the book Mastering the Trade, Carter said many of his students could switch from ES to YM & do better bc it was less $ per point & less intimidating. I believe it's personal preference, we're all different. Car, minivan, SUV or truck, which are you more comfortable with, which fills your needs the best, which do you prefer? That's how I see it anyway....


My personal preference. Most days from 8:15 - 10:15 Gold will move 10 points or more, that's $1000+ of movement in 2 hours, the same time everyday. If you're a 1-5 contract TA trader that wants to finish early & go ride your Harley, ES doesn't offer that $1000+ move opportunity as often or as consistently as GC. If you're a MP trader or trade size, then ES is probably better for you. With my style of trading, it's a lot easier to make 3-4 GC points than 6-8 ES points for the same money.

@staylor - I completely agree with you and each personality type should pick the appropriate market to match their personality. However, it still makes this question almost impossible to answer unless you listed (as you did) personality types with matching markets. I guess the answer for daddywolf depends on his trading style.

The question "which is easiest for beginners" probably does depend on personality, goals, etc. Maybe describing the personalities of different instruments will help beginners choose what may be right for them. Canis Lupus was correct, newbies should avoid crude oil, and silver.
This is just one persons opinion based on my experiences. Others may have different opinions from their experiences, if so I hope they will share with us.

Corn is the easiest bc it trends for long periods of time, it's been posted here & written in many books that buying a pull back in a trend is the best lowest risk setup there is out there, just don't get caught in a limit up/down with corn, that can be deadly if you're on the wrong side.

Bonds 2nd easiest, bc bonds are slow & methodical, 3 ticks & you've made $100. With some seat time you'll learn how to use ES & DX to help you stay on the right side of the trade.

Gold would be 3rd, like all commodities it trends better than the indexes, you can trade it at night, if fast markets & wide stops intimidate you, wait until 9-9:30 & pick your spots, there is slow scalp $ in gold. With an average daily range of 27-30 points it's not that hard to pull money out of it at $100 per point.

I will admit, I suck at index trading. So if it's not working for you, sim trade something else for a while, explore. A chart is a chart and money is money.
http://www.mypivots.com/board/topic/808/1/with-only-one-setup-you-can-still-win

I agree with staylor.

I´ll let you know this: CL was the instument I made my biggest profit until today in one day(€649). However, my biggest loss of day trading was due to CL, too (€549).

I can say that about 70% of my trading losses, were trading CL...! Why? I made a mistake no one should do: Began my trading journey with the last instrument I should trade - CL.

Today I trade sometimes, and I start having bigger profits and less losses. However, I know it´s not the best instrument for me, yet.


If you can open an account with an American broker, I would advise you to trade stocks or ETFs.



Canis Lupus

I think stock exchange is best for beginners. Because in Forex , there is a need of high capital, investment and experience as well... SO that start with stock exchange...

Thanks stayler i agree with you.

Daddywolf,

Is there a particular market you have some knowledge about. Obviously if you trade stocks then the ES, NQ or YM makes sense. If you are a mortgage broker then bonds because of interest rates. etc. etc.
What type of trading do you want to do? Day Trade, Swing or Position? If you are going to Day Trade or Swing Trade, then it makes sense to trade a market you understand or will focus on and trade during times there is alot of volume. Volume is your best friend as it makes it harder for prop traders to "jerk" the market around.

try indexes, they are for beginners

ES is better for the beginner