Introduction To Futures
The Basics of Futures Trading
Managing Orders
The size of your account and the amount of risk you are personally able to bear is a completely personal matter. Some very successful traders—like Richard Dennis, who is rumored to have parlayed $1,000.00 into several millions in the futures markets—have made fortunes starting with relatively small sums of money. Most professional fund managers risk as little as 1% of their account equity on any given trade.
Unfortunately, both of these methods are probably out of the question for most people starting out in the futures market. The odds of turning $1,000.00 into several million in a couple of years is akin to hitting "6" on the roulette wheel 5 times in a row, but risking 1% of a $1,000 means only risking $10.00 per trade, which is just not practical. By postponing your entrance into the futures market until you have, for example, a $5,000.00 minimum of genuine risk capital (not the kids college fund, the rent, or your next mortgage payment), you could achieve a level of diversity and risk, theoretically then risking 10% of your account ($500.00 before commissions and fees) on any one trade realistically. This would greatly reduce your risk of ruin and increase your ability to trade longer and hopefully become more proficient in the long run.