Futures And Prop Firm Trading, Explained In Plain English

Straightforward answers about contracts, ticks, drawdown, and prop firm rules. No guru promises, no get-rich garbage, just what you actually need to know.

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Futures Basics

Contracts, ticks, margin, and how this junk really works.

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Prop Firm Trading

Evaluations, trailing drawdown, rules, and common failure points.

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Platform Tutorials

Tradovate, NinjaTrader, DOM trading, and clean chart layouts.

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Market Basics

Risk, drawdown, execution, and why most traders bleed out.

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Featured Articles

Ticks, Points, And Dollar Value

How many ticks are in a point, how much each tick is worth, and what that means in real money.

Trailing Drawdown Explained

The real mechanics of trailing drawdown and why it silently kills most evaluation accounts.

What Is Drawdown, Really?

What drawdown actually is on your equity curve, with plain-numbers examples.

Futures Trading Basics

Core concepts: contracts, leverage, margin, and how futures differ from stocks and crypto.

ES vs MES vs NQ

Differences in size, tick value, and which one makes sense for smaller accounts.

Day Margin vs Overnight Margin

Why your broker lets you trade big size intraday and then slams on the brakes after hours.

Contract Expiration And Roll

What rollover means, why charts look weird on roll day, and how to not get blindsided.

Prop Firm Trading

Evaluations, rules, payouts, and the common ways people burn through accounts.

How Evaluations Work

Profit targets, trailing drawdown, minimum days, and what the firm actually cares about.

Common Evaluation Mistakes

Scaling too fast, revenge trading, and not understanding the daily loss limit.

Apex-Style Rules By The Numbers

Example using a typical 50k futures evaluation: limits, risk, and realistic expectations.

Platforms And Tutorials

Basic setup for charting, orders, and risk management on common futures platforms.

Tradovate For Beginners

How to set up charts, DOM, and simple hotkeys without overcomplicating everything.

NinjaTrader Basics

Connecting data, placing orders, and avoiding indicator overload.

A Simple, Readable Chart Layout

One layout you can actually read in real time instead of a rainbow of nonsense.

Market And Risk Basics

Risk, variance, and why being “right” on direction does not always mean you get paid.

What Is Drawdown Really?

Not just a number on a dashboard, but what it means for your account staying alive.

Why Good Ideas Still Lose Money

Slippage, spreads, fills, and the gap between idea and execution.

Risk Per Trade For Small Accounts

How much is too much, and how people quietly blow up without noticing.