That's a good suggestion Linda. I know that the grains can give some very nice moves and most of the time they're pretty stable; however they are subject to limit moves (on occasion) and that could really spoil your day if you're caught on the wrong side!

My personal favourite? The mini-Dow. Why? At $5/tick I can profit off modest moves (ie. 10 ticks = $50, my usual target) and it doesn't cost me too much if I'm wrong on a trade. The mini-Dow is usually respectful of support and resistance (allow 2 ticks on entries) and the moves are not too choppy - just what the (trading) doctor ordered.

Believe it or not, I've also developed a bit of a fondness for the S&P emini (don't let Rob read this!) Yes, I know all the bad things about the emini, but there are a couple of pluses as well. First off it has a high tick value. This is the opposite of the Dow, which has a small tick value, but in the emini I'm looking VERY short term as a profit target. At $12.50/tick it adds up pretty quick. I normally have a 4 profit target (ie. $50) per contract but will often take 3 contracts for 3 ticks, ($37.50 x 3 = $112.50) and that seems to work pretty well for me.

The second reason I like the emini is because it's reactionary. This means I can watch the Dow and/or Russell and/or NASDAQ and/or Bonds, which tend to move before the emini, for clues as to what will happen next in the emini. There's been more than one occasion where I've seen one of the other markets bolt/tank a few seconds prior to the emini following suit. Thanks to Marsh Jones for that valuable tidbit of information.

My personal advice is to start with the mini-Dow and stick with it a while. I think you might learn to love the smaller tick values and solid moves.

Erich