Best Futures Trading Platform

The contest has ended and winners have been awarded their prizes. Feel free to refer to this post for insightful information from our customers on their favorite futures trading platform.

In order to celebrate the launch of our community, we are throwing a contest with some incredible giveaways to help you trade.

How to enter:
1. Register as a user (by clicking the Sign up button on the top-right corner of the page. If you’re already registered, there’s no need to register again – you just need to be logged in.

2. After registering, confirm and activate your account by clicking on the link you will receive in your email.

3. Come back to this post and hit Reply to answer one or all three of the following questions:

What is your favorite feature on your trading platform?

What data feed do you use to execute your trades and why?

How do you execute your trades (DOM/Charts, etc) and how do you manage the trades afterward? (Stop-loss and profit target).

Then click Reply to post your answer.

4. Discussions are limited to the platforms listed here. If you enter a platform not on this page, you will be automatically disqualified. The winners will be chosen randomly.

5. If you are chosen, you will be notified via email. If you do not respond within three days after receiving the email, another winner will be chosen.

The Prizes!

1. Two winners will receive a Trading Journal Courtesy of EdgeWonk.

2. Two additional winners will receive a 3 Month License to BetterTrader’s Advanced BackTester.

3. Larry Connors will also be giving away three copies of his new book: Buy the Fear, Sell the Greed: 7 Behavioral Quant Strategies for Traders.

4. One lucky member will be hand-selected to win a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (Valued at $799) based on their overall contribution. We are looking for someone who provided insightful answers and displayed genuine assistance and sincere care for the community.

We hope you will take the time to participate in our community. Trading is not easy and we all had to start somewhere. So don’t be shy. If there is something on your mind that is related to trading futures, ask away! And if you think you know the answers, share your knowledge and be eligible to win some cool prizes. Win – Win.

Good Luck to everyone and welcome to the Optimus Community!

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to people 18 and older, and a registered user of community.optimusfutures.com. Void where prohibited.

This contest will run until Friday, September 28th, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

I use Investor/RT.

  1. My favorite feature is being able to see pre-set zones (support, resistance, etc.), which help me greatly in my trading. That and the ability to have separate screens showing the NYSE tick, NYSE advance/decline line, the Emini Russell 2000 futures and the Emini Nasdaq futures, all for intraday marketing internals monitoring.

  2. I use DTN.IQ feed for data, because it works well with Investor/RT. I tried using different feeds that were more competitively priced, but they didn’t work with IRT, so I bit the bullet and went with DTN.IQ. It’s a little pricey, but it works, and I see what I want to see.

  3. I execute my trades with a DOM from my broker, TransACt Futures. I usually pre-set limit orders at key support and resistance zones, then analyse and monitor the market as the day goes on. My default bracket is 4 pts profit and a 3-pt stop, which I sometimes adjust if conditions warrant.

1 Like

Thank you for your input. We appreciate it. DTN does provide good quality data. In addition to that we suggest that you use for execution a low latency solution such as Rithmic. You can preprogram different bracket orders, and you will find their data very stable and measurable. In our opinion, the “Recent Order” tab will show you exactly what was executed, rejected and pending.

Thank you again for all the input you have provided.

Matt Z
Optimus Futures Support

Sorry, but my platform is not on your list (though I’m grandfathered and could still use it to trade any CQG or Rithmic datafeed).

I use CQG, but for no particular reason other than cost. Never had an issue with it

I set up stop loss / profit target strategies for all my (futures) trades, and typically enter using a chart trading feature of the platform. So easy, so visual. While the DOM data are useful, order entry there seems clunky by comparison.

Regards,

dwt

1 Like
  1. My favorite trading platform is CTS T4. Very fast platform and good for charting.
  2. I use CTS data.
  3. I open mt trades on DOM. Stop-loss and Take profit orders pre-set. I use auto-OSO orders.
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Thank you for your feedback and participation on the forum. In our opinion, those who execute on the DOM are futures traders who move their targets throughout the day and might be trading many markets, so they have their DOMs open for a number of them. For example, ES, ZB, and 6E.

If you trade one market, or a few and you find that your targets are static for the most part, then trading from the chart is appropriate.

If you wish to explore more features of DOM traders, feel free to start a thread on Trading Plaforms | General Q&A - Optimus Futures Trading Community something like “DOM Trading Versus Chart Trading” or any other topic you wish to explore may give you other ideas for trading execution.

Thank you,
Matt Z
Optimus Futures Support

CTS-T4 is a professional grade platform, and it is still being used by many who were locals on the floor, and switch to screen-based trading.
Those who use the CTS data like its stability and quality. Thank you for sharing your choices.

Matt Z
Optimus Futures Support

PS. CTS-T4 data used on other 3rd party software also provides a stable stream of data and execution.

I am new to Futures ( I trade eminis now on ES and YM), but have bought and sold equity options for years.

My preferred way of trading is through the web. Sometimes I trade from work and sometimes from home, so the login convenience from multiple places helps. Also, I have it as an app on my phone. Anyway, I decided on TT as the web-based platform.

  1. I do not have a favorite feature per se, but the aesthetic of layout is beautiful on a big screen. The ability to have different default quantities for each instrument is a big plus for me.
  2. The data feed is from TT (?)
  3. I execute from the market grid floating order function.

Nice to meet you all.

Rudy

1 Like

I am using MT5.

What is your favorite feature on your trading platform?

  • My favorite feature of MT5 is the implementation of the MQL5 programming language. MQL5 in combination with MT5 allows me to easily write and manipulate scripts to create trading robots and technical indicators for my trading methods.

What data feed do you use to execute your trades and why?

  • I use CQG data as it was the only data feed offered through AMP that was compatible with MT5.

How do you execute your trades (DOM/Charts, etc) and how do you manage the trades afterward? (Stop-loss and profit target).

  • I typically execute all of my trades through the DOM unless using an automated program to execute for me once a condition has been met. The automated scripts I use are set to manage my positions with logic stop losses, every stop loss level is created by a market condition.

Hi!

The platform that I use is Sierra Chart.

  1. My favorite feature of Sierra Chart are the highly customizable charts. The technical analysis tools on the platform are out of this world.

  2. I am subscribed to the CQG data feed through AMP because of the discounted pricing for Sierra Chart Package 5 via AMP clearing only.

  3. I only my trades through charts. I use a combination of both stop-loss and profit targets through OCO orders and various other methods.

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  • I use MultiCharts and I don’t have one particular feature that stands out to me. MultiCharts is such a diverse platform that meets any needs I may be facing during my trading sessions.

  • I am using Rithmic data.

  • I execute through the DOM. I manage risk by always trading with a stop-loss order.

CQG Desktop.

My favorite feature of this platform is to the ability to configure my platform for mobile trading. I work full time, so having the ability to place a trade from my mobile phone at anytime is extremely convenient

I use the CQG data feed. CQG data is great because I can plug in my live trading credentials into another platform at home if I need to.

I trade through the DOM also known as a hybrid order ticket on CQG Desktop.

  • After using Sierra Chart for a few months now my favorite feature has to be the drawing tools on this platform.

  • I am on Rithmic data.

  • I trade through the chart, that is why I use this platform. I usually use OCO orders to protect myself from risk as much as possible.

The platform I use is Sierra Chart.

  • My favorite feature of Sierra Chart is market replay.

  • I use CTS data.

  • I execute through both the DOM and charts depending on the situation.

1 Like

Hello I am new and am only using a demo for R Trader Pro, but I really like it so far. My favorite feature is the launch window. Everything I need is in one convenient section and clearly labeled so I am not stuck wasting my time looking for one particular feature.

I was provided a 14 day trial of the Rithmic data feed.

So far I have been sticking to the DOM chart because it is simplified and very easy to access.

OEC Trader

  1. My favorite feature of OEC Trader is the built-in back-testing strategy wizard.

  2. I use the OEC data feed, naturally.

  3. I trade through the DOM with a combination of bracket and OCO orders with stop-loss/profit targets.

  • My platform of choice is MultiCharts.Net and my favorite feature is the integration of the C# programming language. This allows me to create automated trading scripts for myself.

  • I execute through Rithmic data because of low latency and fast execution.

  • As I mentioned in my previous bullet, I code my own scripts using C#. That is how the majority of my trades are executed. I would rather not say my exact execution or position management methods.

Hello!

The platform I use is Genesis Trade Navigator.

I really like the alerts I can set for myself on this platform. The audio and visual triggers I have set based on price conditions really help me stay up on top of the game when there are developments in the market.

I use the OEC data feed.

I execute through the DOM and manage my positions mainly through stop loss.

It’s nice to get some insight into what other traders are using out there, looking forward to communicating with you all!

I use Investor/RT with Rithmic Data.

Thanks

I use Sierra Chart with CQG data/execution.

My favorite feature of SC is the speed of the platform, followed closely by the flexibility that it has.

I’m working on becoming a (tick) chart based, price action trader but am trying to incorporate the DOM for more opportunities as well as a measure of confirmation. I currently use OCO stops and limit targets.

1 Like