One of the most unusual and disturbing phenomena I observe on a daily basis is the abysmal effort put forth by a small group of new e-mini traders in learning to trade.  It is not unusual to have students enroll and then come to the trading room and try to share the dynamics of the previous course they had taken and blown out a futures trading account.  Along the same line, I have found that new e-mini traders will often come to the trading room and try to teach me about the very course that they have taken prior to coming to the e-mini trading room and  try to teach me how it works.. Am I missing something in this line of thinking? I make no claims to be the preeminent e-mini trader on the planet.  I have been in the trading business for my entire adult career, nearly 25 years, and always try to listen to new ideas; I also try to listen to the conversations in the room and glean any information possible.  I have learned from many of my e-mini traders, and often gleaned timely insights into the e-mini trading learning process and used that information to improve and enhance both the trading course and e-mini trading room. As a long time institutional trader, I have had the opportunity to (or been forced) to learn a wide variety of trading styles.  At this point in my career I have a reasonably accurate understanding of the types of trading systems that are effective and which systems are just a rehash of well documented e-mini trading techniques that are, at best, marginally effective.  What excites me more is new e-mini traders thinking about the information I present every day and make an attempt to implement the high-probability set-ups and conservative money management techniques that successful traders have been using for years. On my side of the equation, I use a number of teaching techniques to encourage traders to embrace the unique and successful techniques that I have learned over the years.  For many, especially those who embrace what I am teaching, my success record is a source of pride. But the one type of individual I have described is one of the most disappointing and frustrating aspects of my job.  It leaves me confused, and I have put a good deal of thought into the problem.  I am under no illusion that my e-mini trading style will resonate with every new trader who comes to my trading room.  At some time, all e-mini traders start develop a distinct trading style that may be very different than the way I understand the market.  You can’t please everyone.  On the other hand, the new e-mini trader who has a preconceived notion on how the market ought to be traded (even though these individuals experienced disappointing or catastrophically negative results), is an e-mini trader “type” that I have yet to reach at either and emotional or intellectual level. Why pay a healthy sum of money to learn something and then not bother to put the time into learn the information?This is a very difficult question to answer with any sort of empirical accuracy.  These e-mini traders do have a number of characteristics, at a broad level, that indicate a certain commonality:

• The individuals often have taken four of five courses prior to making contact with my course and trading room. I often wonder why, after all that trading education, these individuals stay married to an e-mini trading style that is ineffective, especially when the results of their previous trading failures are evidenced by a string of devastated trading accounts.  I believe that many of this class of e-mini traders are looking for a magic formula that will guarantee their success.  No such formula exists.
• These traders often are “type A” individuals and are very resistant to  new ideas, despite a past record that is littered with blown accounts and an ambiguous trading style.
• Often time, these traders don’t bother to read the requisite training material, listen to the videos, or study the material enough to develop some mastery of the information.  No, this individual is hoping to learn the system by watching me trading in the e-mini trading room.  This is not an effective learning technique.

On the other hand, the vast majority of new e-mini students are eager and receptive to what I am teaching. It’s important that I emphasize that I delight in a new e-mini trader progressing in their path to consistently profitable trading.  No, the frustrating group is about 10-20% of the new individuals I encounter.  Still, this is a large enough percentage to be of concern.  Why?  I believe that most individuals can learn to trade the e-minis successfully if I can get their attention long enough to listen.  As I noted, the vast majority of new traders settle into a well-defined learning curve that leads to success.  As a full time trader and educator, I take every new trader’s failure very personally and I often ponder what I could have done better with this student.  I believe there are very few people who are incapable of trading; in short, most individuals have a decent chance of success if they will let go of ego, previous trading frustration, and resistance to change. Don’t be the new e-mini trader who is locked into a constellation of thinking that is unwavering, unsuccessful, and closed to the introduction of ideas that are different from what they have previously experienced.