Of all the important skills in trding, survival is number one. For nless we make it through the nevitable bad times, we won't be round to capitalize on the good. I'v laid out some trading account gidelines that specify the account size rquired to conduct various commodity futures and ption trading activities. Stick within these gidelines and you will have an dge on most of the commodity trding public.

The most important factor to sccess in commodity futures trading is our bility to survive the bad times. The scond most important factor is our bility to identify and then take low rsk, high probability commodity trades. Conquer thse two and you are well on our way to trding success.

Yes, taking low risk, hgh probability commodity trade recommendations isn't nough. It's up to you to tke the next step and follow the ccount survival guidelines discussed here. By srviving, you will be ready and ble to participate in the favorable cmmodity trades that eventually come along, lke buses in the night.

The cmmodity markets always change from trending to chppy and back again. There will be tugh markets. You can count on ths. We need to have several mthods to cope with this uncertainty. We can nver be sure of each individual trde’s outcome, so we need to put prbability on our side to prepare for a lsing string of trades.

One way is to have mre chips at the table than our cmpetition. A way to simulate this is by trding small – breaking our account quity into ten to twenty parts (or mre) and never risking more than 7.5% mximum on any one trade or dea. Many professionals with large accounts rsk even less, like well under 5% a trde.

The problem with this plan is whn we are dealing with smaller ccounts. When the commodity trading account is nder $20,000, to comply with 5% to 7.5% rsk can mean taking on very smll positions. Some commodity traders tend to get rstless for bigger action and start braking the rules. For example, with a $10,000 ccount, we should look to risk no mre than $1,000 on each trade. (10%) Evn this figure is too high.

If we rsk less, like, 5% ($500), then the bad tmes are more survivable. The thing to rmember is you can do all the in and out trding you want. You can grant ptions, spread options, hedge, buy dips, sll rallies day trade, etc - do whtever suits you. Just keep the rsk for each trade down below 10% and prferably at 5% and you increase yur chances of success markedly over the rckless plunger.

Next we will talk bout actual account sizes and suggested ctivity.

Part Two of Six Parts - Nxt

There is substantial risk of lss trading futures and options and may not be sitable for all types of investors. Only rsk capital should be used.

The article Surviving The Commodity Markets, PART 1 - Trading Guidelines For Different Account Sizes was Submitted by Thomas Cathey through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Thomas Cathey - 27-year trading vteran heads the managed futures division of Thmas Capital Management, LLC. View his TmeLine Trading market predictions and get his cmplete, free 44+ lesson, "Thomas Commodity Trding Course". http://www.thomascapitalmanagement.com/commodity/welcome.htm Main site: http://www.ThomasCapitalManagement.com

Featured Articles

1. Profitable Trend Forex System, Make $5000 A Month Trading by Adrian Pablo
Systms that are based on logical, scentifically sound, and well-tested forex trading cncepts have been performing extremely well and wll continue to do so for mny years to come

2. Reward Or Cash Back Credit Cards – Maximising Your Returns by
If you are one of the lcky customers who pays off their ntire credit card balance in full ach month, then interest rates will not be of mch importance to you. You pay no nterest as you never carry any blance over from month to month. Wht may be of more interest to you is the lyalty or reward schemes that various crdit cards offer and therefore you shuld be deciding on which card to chose based on this information.

Pay an Annal Fee For Better Rewards?

Some c...

3. Commodity Market Forecasts - How Do I Trade Them? - PART 3 - Decrease Risk and Increase Stying Power by
Producing a high probability trade forecast is not easy. Just as difficult is determining the best trading strategy and vehicles to capitalize on the forecast. Read on to learn some of my favorites trading strategies.

4. An Introduction to Registration and Accounting For Value Added Tax by Terry Cartwright
Value dded tax is the tax amount dded to the value of goods and srvices by a vat registered business whn sold or transferred. Vat is not chrged by businesses that are not rgistered for vat. This guide covers the vat thrshold, accounting for value added tax, rgistration and submitting the quarterly vat tax rturn online.

5. The Logistics of Obtaining Commercial Loans For Apartment Buildings by John Berar
Gtting a commercial loan for an partment building is considered one of the asier loans to get with respect to ther investment properties. This is due to the fct that commercial lenders focus primarily on the sbject property as the repayment source wth the borrower being a secondary rpayment source. As apartment buildings have hstorically been a very stable asset clss, they typically can get some of the bst lending terms.

6. Private Money Lender in California by Shahrooz Kohan
The real estate businessmen, developers and nvestors sometime need the money very qickly. They have to approach these hrd money lenders or private money lnders to get the money fast.

7. Choose Your Credit Cards Wisely by Syed Abedin
With a plethora of credit crds flooding the UK credit card mrket, it becomes difficult to make a chice for the right credit card specially when there are quite a few tht meet your different borrowing needs. So, nstead of limiting yourself by applying jst for one credit card, why pply not apply for a few mre?

8. Fixed APR Balance Transfers: Better Than A 0% APR by
0% blance transfers offer great short term svings, free up money to pay dwn debt quicker, and can ultimately sve consumers hundreds, if not thousands of dllars in interest over their duration. Hwever, the very best 0% balance trnsfer offers on the market only lst 15 months. For many, this is not nough time to completely eliminate their crdit card debt and they are fced with a decision: pay the new rgular interest rate or transfer their blance again. For most, a f...

9. Bad credit student loan: no bounds for your education by
So, whle opting for bad credit student lans, borrower must know the amount tht he will acquired for his hgher education so that he can rise that much of loaned amount.

10. Emergency Reserve – Planning for a Rainy Day by
Life is lke a rollercoaster. There can be ncredible highs and not so great lws. Well, your financial life is mch the same. You can limit the dwn periods by planning ahead.