Hello traders,
Most traders obsess over finding the perfect entry.
They spend hours staring at charts, hunting for signals that scream “buy” or “sell.”
But in my years of trading the futures markets, I’ve learned that it is not the entry that makes or breaks you. It is your ability to read volume and size your position correctly that separates the winners from the rest.
Let’s start with volume profile.
Picture it as the market’s fingerprint. Instead of just showing how price moved, it shows where traders actually did business. On an E-mini S&P 500 chart, you might see price touch 6,480 five times. That is one thing. But if volume profile shows that 200,000 contracts traded at that level while barely anything traded at 6,470, that tells you where real interest sits.
Institutions defend those high-volume areas because that is where they are committed. For me, these are the battle zones I respect most.
Now, position sizing. I have seen traders blow up accounts not because they were wrong, but because their positions were too big. Futures contracts move fast. In ES, every single point is worth 50 dollars per contract. Trade 10 contracts and a 10-point move against you is a 5,000-dollar hit.
That is how small mistakes turn into disasters. I always size based on risk, not on how confident I feel. A common guideline is to risk only one to two percent of your account per trade. That forces discipline.
If you’re tired of forcing trades and ready to wait for the ones that call you in with real alignment, structure and intent, this is the perspective shift you need.
Let’s say volume profile shows major support at 6,440. If I want to go long near that level, I will plan my position size so that even if support breaks and price drops 20 points, my loss is acceptable relative to my account size. That way, I trade aggressively but responsibly.
This is the side of trading that rarely makes headlines. It is not flashy. But this is how professionals survive in futures markets. The market rewards patience, risk control, and respect for where volume truly matters.
Calm markets can be the loudest, if you know what to listen for. I break down how I read structure, manage risk, and stay patient when the noise fades. This is where real discipline kicks in.
Next time you pull up your charts, do not just look at where the price is.
Look at where traders are actually fighting, then decide how much of your capital you can afford to put on the line.
That is the difference between gambling and trading.
See you in the next one.
Imre Gams
Editor, The Trading Room
