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What if something that most traders and investors accept as fact, actually was not true? Read More

Margin is a critical concept for new futures traders to understand. When trading futures, margin is essentially a good-faith deposit required to control a futures contract. In practice, margins are deposits held at clearing to ensure brokers can meet their obligations to their customers and the clearing firm. Margin requirements vary by product, time of day, and market volatility.Read More

E-mini S&P 500 ESG futures (ESG) provide futures traders with a more sustainable and environmentally conscious instrument than the traditional E-mini S&P 500. As sustainable investing continues to gain momentum, ESG futures provide traders with an alternative to the E-mini S&P 500 that aligns with their moral values.Read More

A trading journal is a document where traders record everything they do during a trading session. This includes strategy, risk management, psychology, and more. Many traders rely on their journal as a “trading roadmap” to help determine the path to reach their trading goals.

Watch this 2-minute video to learn more about keeping a trading journal.

Benefits of Keeping a Trading Journal

– Track Trade Details – Keep a daily trading journal to keep track of the details of your trading experience. It helps to put a focus on post-trade analysis.

– Use Pen & Paper – Use pen and paper when creating your trade journal. Your brain processes information differently when you write things down thus improving understanding and memory retention.

– Track Time – Keep track of the time of day you open and closed your positions. Are you a better trader in the morning or later in the day?

– Review Often – Review your trading journal and see if you can identify your strengths and common mistakes. Reviewing often can also help you avoid repeating mistakes.

– Write Down Observations – Make sure to write down trading observations. For example “was my stop too tight?” or “my pre-open counter trend didn’t work again” can help you refine your strategy.

– Don’t Deviate From Your Plan – Did you deviate from your initial trading plan by moving a stop or profit target mid-stream? If so, why?

There are many great reasons to keep a trading journal and we just covered a few. If you aren’t currently keeping a trading journal, try it out! NinjaTrader even has built-in journal capabilities where traders can simultaneously journal while trading and conducting market analysis.

Get Started with NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader supports more than 500,000 traders worldwide with a powerful and user-friendly trading platform, discount futures brokerage and world-class support. NinjaTrader is always free to use for advanced charting & strategy backtesting through an immersive trading simulator.

Download NinjaTrader’s award-winning trading platform and get started with a free trading demo with real-time market data today!

This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be viewed as a solicitation or recommendation of any product, service or trading strategy. It includes content from independent persons or companies that are in no manner affiliated with NinjaTrader Group (NTG) or any of its affiliates. The content and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NinjaTrader or any of its affiliates.

Everyone makes mistakes – it is part of the learning process when it comes to trading or investing. So, let’s talk about four of the most common pitfalls that a lot of new traders tend to make. Thankfully, once a trader is aware of these common mistakes, these pitfalls can be easily avoided and they can move on to a successful trading career. Read More

Joseph Granville developed and introduced the On Balance Volume (OBV) indicator to the technical analysis community in his 1963 book Granville’s New Key to Stock Market Profits. It has since become a very popular indicator used to measure buying and selling pressure.Read More

If you’re new to trading futures, you’ve probably heard of paper trading. Put simply, paper trading is practice trading without risking any real money. Both new and seasoned traders can practice trading live markets, playback historical market moves in real-time, and even test automated trading strategies with historical market data. Read More

The Commitment of Traders (COT) Financial Futures Report is published by the CFTC to help the public understand market dynamics.Read More

Adaptive Price Zones (APZ) is a volatility-based indicator designed to help identify possible reversal points. This can be especially useful in a choppy market where entries and exits are difficult to determine.Read More

What is BTIC?

Basis Trade at Index Close (BTIC) allows market participants to trade futures at a fixed spread to the reference price of a known benchmark index.Read More