Futures trading guides
Prop firms, markets, models and automation — explained in plain language for NQ, ES and Gold traders, on prop accounts and personal live accounts alike.
Prop firms
What is prop trading? The complete guide to futures prop firms
How futures prop firms work, what an evaluation is, how payouts happen and why most traders fail — plus how to use the same plan on your own live account.
Read guideTrailing vs end-of-day vs static drawdown: pros and cons
The three prop firm drawdown models explained with examples, the pros and cons of each, and which one fits a scalping or intraday futures strategy.
Read guideProp firm rules explained: news, consistency, payouts and closing time
Every common futures prop firm rule in one place: daily loss limits, consistency rules, news trading, payout buffers, scaling plans and the daily close.
Read guideProp firm vs personal live account: which one should you trade?
Should you trade a funded prop account or your own broker account? Costs, rules, payouts and risk compared — and how to run the same MFT plan on both.
Read guideModels
The best ICT trading strategies for futures: the five MFT models
Sweep + iFVG, Break & Retest, SMT Reversal, Silver Bullet and Turtle Soup: why they work, when to use each, best markets and how MFT automates them.
Read guideICT Silver Bullet strategy: rules, times and examples
The ICT Silver Bullet explained step by step: the 10:00–11:00 ET window, the liquidity sweep, displacement and fair value gap entry, stops, targets and common mistakes.
Read guideSMT divergence trading: how to use NQ vs ES divergence
What SMT divergence is, how to spot it between NQ and ES, the confirmation steps before entry, stops, targets and the mistakes that make it fail.
Read guideMarkets
NQ vs ES: which index future should you trade?
Nasdaq-100 (NQ) versus S&P 500 (ES) futures compared: volatility, point and tick values, micros, best times to trade and how SMT divergence between them works.
Read guideGold vs silver futures: GC, MGC, SI and SIL compared
Gold (GC/MGC) and silver (SI/SIL) futures compared: contract sizes, tick values, volatility, sessions and why gold is the cleaner metal for intraday models.
Read guideMicro vs mini futures: tick values for NQ, ES and Gold
How much is one point in NQ, ES and Gold? Micro and mini futures tick values in one table, with risk examples for prop firm accounts.
Read guideFutures market hours: when do NQ, ES and Gold open and close?
CME futures trading hours in New York time: Sunday open, daily maintenance break, the Asia, London and New York sessions and when prop firms require you to be flat.
Read guideThe best time to trade futures (and the times to avoid)
The highest-probability trading windows for NQ, ES and Gold in New York time: London open, the 08:30 data, the NY open, the Silver Bullet hour — and when to stay out.
Read guide