Behind the Screens

Anthony Crudele - host of the Futures Radio Show podcast, the Develop Your Edge series, and Trading Futures with Anthony Crudele, joins Ian Blanke to talk Trading "Rules" and Trading "Instincts." Anthony dives in to how he views "rules" as they apply to trading strategies, entries, and exits, versus what he calls trading "instincts" which should become engrained in any aspiring traders mind.  Anthony discusses some of his trading "instincts" he has developed over the years, and the process of discovery to get them engrained in his mind. 

On this episode Ian and FuturesTrader71 break down how to develop a trading plan. We cover: What is a trading plan? Why is it key to our success? What does a proper trading plan consist of? How do I got about starting my trading plan? How do you measure whether your plan is working?  How often should you re-review your trading plan?  When and how can I scale my trading up according to plan?  When/under what criteria is my plan failing?  Should your broker work with you to see your plan succeeds? Who should you be accountable to? 

Ian is joined by order flow trader Scott Pulcini. Scott discusses his experience leading up to trading 10% of the daily E-Mini S&P volume, his two big blow up days, and the role negative reinforcement can play.  Scott also digs in to his use of Order Flow, and how ultimately order flow tools helped him get back in to trading. 

Jared Tendler, a mental game coach for PGA Golfers, poker players, e-sports gamers, and traders, discusses emotional profiles in trading, improving C-game to enhance overall performance, and the impact of emotions on decision-making. He also provides free worksheets and an intuition eBook for listeners.

Ian is joined by long time market enthusiast Alex Demosthenes (@AlexDemosthenes) to discuss his love of trading, market making, and reading order flow.  Ian and Alex cover everything from his ventures in to markets before discovering Futures, including selling Beanie Babies, NFT's, and Crocs, to his dive in to the Futures markets using Order Flow analysis.  Finally we talk about how Alex's passion for markets puts him in a unique position of understanding of the auction supply, and demand.

Ian Blanke is joined by Edge Clear's Director of Brokerage Services, Max Timmins, as well as former floor trader, Earl Counter.  We discuss our worst trades, Earl's foray on to the CME Floor, and his career trading in the pit.  In addition, we move to transitioning from the pit to electronic markets, and Earl's advice for anyone trading today on the screens.

On this minisode, FuturesTrader71 joins Ian to discuss proper funding.  Topics include funding with the amount (in our opinion) to maximize your life span as a trader and hopefully realize your edge, the inherent leverage built in to Futures contracts, and what it means to be a good risk manager with your funds.  This may not be the most exciting topic, but in Ian and FT's opinion this episode is a must listen!

Veteran trader Matt 'Pax' Kenah shares his transition from pits to electronic trading, sticking to his 30-second opening range methodology, what makes a consistent trader, and the importance of giving yourself time in markets.

In this episode of our series of "mini-sodes," Ian is joined by Morad Askar a.k.a FuturesTrader71 (FT71) to discuss focusing on the process of trading versus the outcomes. We discuss the following key topics: Understanding process and preparation. What goes in to your process? How do you go back to your process and not get flustered by external factors? How can returning to your process help you with your consistency? When is there potentially an issue with your process or edge, versus the effort you are putting in to the process, and lastly, disconnecting from a bad day to go back to process.

In this episode Ian is joined by Donald Roberts, the President and CEO of The Small Exchange.  They dive in to his background, one of his funniest trading stories, and the genesis of The Small Exchange.  We also discuss how The Small Exchange has standardized Futures contracts while offering diverse products, keeping cost low for traders, and what goes in to building an exchange to compete with the established order.