FoundationsAutomated Trading: How It Works, What It Costs, What Can Go WrongThe whole picture of automated trading in US futures: the machinery, the inventory, the real costs, the measurement, and every way it fails.
FoundationsTrading Robots: What They Are, What Is Inside One, and Why the Name Is TaintedTrading robots from zero: the anatomy, the limits, and the honest history behind the bad reputation.FoundationsAlgorithmic Trading Explained: What It Is, and What Retail Can Really DoWhat algorithmic trading actually covers, why most of it has nothing to do with prediction, and the real distance between a hedge fund desk and a retail laptop.
FoundationsDay Trading for Beginners: The Honest Version, With the ArithmeticAn honest beginner guide: the base rate of failure, the instruments, the real costs, position sizing, the psychology, and the only two routes that work.FoundationsNine Automated Trading Rules You Should Never BreakNine automated trading rules that decide whether a working system survives: trade the tested size, never oversize, never switch off inside a normal drawdown.FoundationsIs algorithmic trading worth it for retail? A straight answerIs algorithmic trading worth it for retail? The honest cost and benefit: capital, data, temperament and time against what automation buys.FoundationsOne trade a day vs many: why fewer trades often winOne trade a day versus many: what frequency really costs in commissions, discipline and setup quality, and why one system takes a single shot at 9:30 AM ET.FoundationsThe going-live checklist: what to check before you switch a system onA going-live checklist for any automated system: platform, data, session times, position sizing, a kill switch and honest expectations.
FoundationsFutures taxes explained: how Section 1256 works for US tradersA plain-English guide to Section 1256 futures taxes for US traders: the 60/40 rule, mark-to-market and Form 6781. General information, not tax advice.FoundationsHow to Keep a Trading Journal for an Automated SystemA trading journal for an automated system logs what the bot cannot: when to run or pause it, the sizing, and the drawdown you can tolerate.FoundationsCommissions and fees on micro futures, line by lineMicro futures commissions line by line: broker fee, exchange and NFA charges, data and slippage, and how to work out your real cost per round turn.FoundationsSemi-Automated vs Fully Automated Trading: Where to Draw the LineSemi-automated trading keeps you on the trigger; fully automated hands execution to the machine. Where each one helps, and where each one hurts.FoundationsHow to keep a trading computer running 24/7 without missing a tradeKeeping a trading computer running 24/7 comes down to power settings, Windows updates, a wired connection and platform auto-restart. The full home-PC checklist.FoundationsAutomated trading for beginners: what the first 90 days actually look likeA realistic 90-day plan for beginners in automated trading: learn the platform in simulation, go live small and sit out the first drawdown.FoundationsCopy trading vs trading bots: two ways of not trading yourselfCopy trading and a rule-based system have one thing in common: you are not trading. Everything else is different. Plus what copying your own accounts means.
FoundationsHow futures profits are taxed in the US: Section 1256 and the 60/40 ruleHow US futures profits are taxed: Section 1256, the 60/40 rule, mark-to-market and Form 6781. General information, not tax advice.
FoundationsIs automated trading legal in the US? Yes, with a few things worth knowingRunning a bot in your own account is legal. Managing other money or selling signals pulls you into CFTC territory. Where the line sits, in plain terms.FoundationsCrypto bots vs futures bots: where automation actually pays offSame code, two very different venues. Hours, counterparty risk, fees, depth and grid-bot math compared for crypto exchanges and CME futures.FoundationsHow a trading algorithm works, from the data feed to the orderInside an automated system: the market data feed, the conditions checked on every bar, the bracket order it builds, and the state it has to keep to survive.FoundationsThe complete guide to trading bots: what they are, what they cost, what breaksAutomated trading systems in one place: the families, the anatomy, the metrics that matter, the real costs, the two capital routes, and what actually breaks.FoundationsAutomated vs manual trading: what the data says and what your nerves sayA machine executes better than you. You judge better than it does. Where automated trading wins, where a human still wins, and how to tell which one you are.FoundationsWhat a trading bot actually is, explained without the hypeA trading bot is a program that buys and sells by fixed rules, without nerves. What it does, what it never does, and how to tell a serious one from a toy.