Why Futures Move Overnight
See why futures move while stocks sleep and how global sessions drive price action.
Futures Basics
Plain-English futures education: contracts, ticks, margin, and how this junk actually works without the guru fluff.
Start With These Guides
Bid-Ask Spread Basics: What Every Futures Beginner Must Know
A clean, blunt guide to understanding bid-ask spreads and how they affect every futures order you place.
Why Futures Lead the Stock Market
Why ES and NQ move first and how they set direction before the opening bell.
How Margin Calls Work in Futures
Learn what triggers a margin call and how to avoid forced liquidation.
How Economic Reports Affect Futures
See how CPI, NFP, and FOMC explode volatility and move futures instantly.
Contango vs Backwardation: What Futures Traders Must Understand
Learn how the futures curve works and how contango vs backwardation affects rollover cost and long-term P&L.
Fair Value in Futures Explained: How Futures Prices Are Actually Calculated
A blunt breakdown of futures fair value, cost-of-carry, and why prices diverge from spot.
Why Futures Don’t Track Spot Price
Understand why futures diverge from spot and how cost-of-carry, curve structure, and liquidity drive the difference.
Futures Contract Specifications Explained
Learn the tick size, tick value, multiplier, and expiration rules that define every futures contract.
Futures Symbols and Contract Codes Explained
Learn how futures codes work so you always pick the right contract month.
How Futures Gaps Work
Learn why futures jump levels despite 24-hour trading and how gap risk affects your strategy.
Futures Liquidity Explained
See why liquidity matters more than your setup and how low liquidity destroys fills.
Futures Volatility Explained
See why some markets explode while others drift, and how volatility impacts risk.
Futures Slippage Explained
Why your fills slip, what causes it, and how to avoid the worst conditions.
Futures Trading Hours and Sessions Explained
Learn how Globex hours and global trading sessions affect volatility and liquidity.
Futures Limit Up & Limit Down Explained
Learn how daily price limits work and how limit moves impact risk and liquidity.
Futures Market Holidays & Shortened Sessions
Understand how holidays impact liquidity, spreads, and volatility in futures.
Futures Rollover Explained: When and How to Roll Your Contracts
See exactly when to roll your futures contracts, how to follow volume and open interest, and how to avoid expiration headaches.
Futures Open Interest Explained: What It Really Tells You
Learn how open interest works and how it helps confirm trends, liquidity, and real market participation.
What Is a Futures Contract?
Breakdown of how futures contracts are structured, quoted, and settled.
What Is Liquidity?
Why volume, depth, and liquidity matter when you’re trading futures.
What Makes Futures Prices Move?
The main drivers behind big moves in ES, NQ, CL, and other contracts.
Ticks, Points, and Dollar Value
How much each tick is worth so you know exactly what every move costs.
Day Margin vs Overnight Margin
The difference between intraday leverage and holding positions overnight.
How Slippage Works
Why your fills aren’t always at the price you clicked and how to limit it.
Contract Expiration and Roll
How futures contracts expire, roll dates, and what traders actually do.
Limit vs Market Orders
Pros and cons of each order type when trading fast-moving futures.
Limit vs Stop Orders
How stop and stop-limit orders behave when price rips through your level.
ES vs MES vs NQ
Comparing risk, margin, and behavior of the main index futures products.
Market Structure Basics
Trends, ranges, swing highs/lows, and the structure that actually matters.
Break-Even Math for Futures Traders
The exact tick math you need to cover commissions and hit true break-even every time.
Futures Contract Specifications Explained
Tick size, tick value, multipliers, and the numbers that define your risk.
Futures Leverage Explained: How Much Buying Power You Really Have
Blunt breakdown of how futures leverage, margin, and notional value actually work so you don’t oversize and blow up.
Futures Margin Requirements Explained: Initial vs Maintenance
See exactly how futures margin works, what initial and maintenance margin really mean, and how to avoid getting crushed by margin calls.
Mark-to-Market Explained for Futures Traders
Learn how daily futures settlement works and why mark-to-market directly impacts your margin and account balance.
How Futures Settlement Works: Daily and Final Settlement Explained
A clean breakdown of how futures contracts settle each day and what really happens at expiration.