Free Futures Trading Education From the Best Coaches/Mentors in the Industry:
Futures markets are some of the most liquid, well-regulated, capital-efficient, and tax-friendly markets in the world.
So if you’re a developing trader with dreams of trading for a living – or at least turning trading into a significant portion of your income – then you’re headed in the right direction. The benefits of trading futures products/instruments are unmatched.
When the average person thinks of trading, they automatically think “stocks” – that tends to be the default. Then from stocks, people venture into options. But for some reason – despite all the advantages – futures seem to be the last place people look.
It’s probably due to a shortage of online futures trading education (in comparison to stocks, options, forex, etc.) – because the same thing happened to me. I initially got sucked into trading stocks – then options – and now I almost exclusively trade futures.
After nearly a decade of experience going through courses, programs, and services within the “trading education” arena, I have to say that the best and most legitimate trading educators operate within the futures space – and I don’t think this is a mere coincidence.
For any serious short-term trader (especially intraday), it’s an easy choice. Futures markets offer superior trading products.
Top 5 Educational Resources For Aspiring Futures Traders:
These are my top 5 free resources – based on personal experience – that I would recommend to aspiring futures traders.
The first 2 resources are great for building a solid general understanding/foundation – and the last 3 are geared more toward developing real skill and robust market edge. So take full advantage of all the free resources these mentors/platforms have to offer.
CME Group
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CME Group – Introduction to Futures Course Curriculum:
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Anthony Crudele
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Top Futures Radio Show Trader Interviews:
Additional Free Resources From Anthony Crudele: |
Josh Schuler
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Free Trade With Profile Resources:
Related Trade With Profile Articles/Videos: |
Aaron Korbs
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Free Tradacc (Trading Accelerator) Resources:
Related Tradacc Articles: |
Merritt Black
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FREE APTEROS TRADING RESOURCES: |
The Wrap Up on These 5 Free Futures Trading Educational Platforms:
I only listed 5 main educational platforms, but each one offers quite a few free resources. I understand that this can feel like an overwhelming amount of content/information to digest. So just take things slow and steady. Trading is a marathon – not a sprint.
The first 2 resources – the CME Group’s Introduction to Futures Trading course and Anthony Crudele’s Futures Radio Show – are there to help you build a solid foundational understanding (like how futures markets work, the benefits of trading futures, etc.).
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This information is important – of course – because you need to fully understand the products that you’re trading. But the subsequent 3 resources are where the real education and training takes place: Trade With Profile, Tradacc, and Apteros Trading.
The coaches/mentors who run these educational services are some of the best in the trading industry – Josh Schuler, Aaron Korbs, and Merritt Black, respectively. In my opinion, the strategies, systems, and overall methodologies they teach are the strongest.
They’re all rooted in auction market theory and profiling. Again, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all the best futures trading mentors view the markets through the lens of volume/market profile. It’s simply the best way to observe/analyze markets.
Please share your thoughts, experiences, and overall feedback on any of the mentors/platforms/free resources listed above.
Written by Matt Thomas (@MattThomasTP)
Related Pages:
- Day Trading Futures – Beginners Guide to Intraday Futures
- Best Futures Trading Method – The Volume Profile Method
- Volume Profile Trading – What Does Volume Profile Tell You?
- Best Day Trading Education, Training, and Mentorship Programs
- Molding Your Market Framework – How Do You View Markets?
I have never considered trading futures, but it would make sense. Thank you for the resources to be able to learn how to trade and what to look for. That is probably the scariest part of trading … not knowing what you don’t know. Is it better to trade futures or is it something you look to add to your trading experience or is trading futures the best way to gain wealth?
Hi Kelly – great questions.
Obviously there’s some subjectivity at play here and every market participant needs to decide for themselves which markets/products best suit them and their own individual personalities, preferences, and circumstances. And there are certainly instances where I don’t think futures are the right “tool for the job” so to speak. For example, I wouldn’t build a long-term buy-and-hold investment portfolio full of futures contracts. There are great use cases for many other markets/products like stocks, options, etc. – I’m not necessarily against them. But in my opinion/experience, futures offer by far the best mix of liquidity, transparency, regulation, versatility, capital-efficiency, and tax-friendliness (just to name a few benefits). So when it comes to active short-term trading (especially intraday), it’s simply the best, most professional environment to be operating in – and I think it’s extremely difficult to argue against that. Of course there are risks involved that need to be understood (just like any other market) and I’m certainly not advocating for anyone to blindly dive into them without educating themselves first. But with proper training & mentorship, it’s a great environment to express risk in. I’ve traded stocks, options, cryptocurrencies, etc. – and it’s very clear to me personally that futures are superior markets/products. It wasn’t where I started trading, nor is it for most people because the default is often stocks/equities, but I absolutely wish I came across futures and pursued it sooner than 5+ years into my trading journey. At this point, futures are almost exclusively what I actively trade on an intraday basis.
I completely agree that futures markets are a great option for traders looking to take their trading to the next level. The liquidity, regulation, and tax benefits make them an attractive option, and it’s a shame that they are often overlooked in favor of stocks or options. It’s great to see that there are a number of resources available for those looking to learn more about futures trading and build their skills in this area. I personally found the CME Group’s Introduction to Futures course to be a helpful resource when I was first starting out, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get a solid foundation in futures trading. Overall, it’s important to take advantage of the education and resources available to help you succeed in trading futures products.
Hi Oscar – thanks for sharing your thoughts & experiences!
I’m not saying that other markets/products are bad (although I’m not a huge fan of forex – and crypto is like the wild west). But in terms of intraday trading, there’s really no contest. The mix of benefits/advantages available with futures is unmatched. I think stocks are great on a longer-term basis (like long-term investing) and options are great for multi-day/session trade ideas (because I don’t personally like to hold futures overnight). But futures are truly superior intraday markets/products. Everyone has a right to their own opinions and preferences, but if you look at it from the most objective perspective as possible – it’s quite clear. Futures are simply the best – and it’s where the most serious/professional traders operate.
I really enjoyed reading this article about futures trading. I’ve been an investor for many years, but have primarily focused on stocks as you’ve mentioned. Now that the markets are so unpredictable, it might be the right time to look at futures trading. I think there’s definitely a lack of information in general with regards to futures, what they are and how to go about trading. Now that you’ve listed these 5 educational resources, I’ll definitely be bookmarking this to come back for reference as I would like to learn more. Thanks for sharing your experiences here.
Hi Lee. I’m glad you enjoyed the article – happy to help!
But I’m wondering what exactly you mean by “now that the markets are so unpredictable”? What made them “predictable” to you in the past? And why aren’t they “predictable” to you now? Just looking for a deeper perspective on this because I think a lot of “investors” feel the same way just because the decade-long bull market we were in from 2009-2020 has ended – and most people have no idea how to handle down/sideways markets. I don’t mean any disrespect, but it’s easy to just throw money at virtually anything and have it go up in a bull market – which makes a ton of people think they’re great “traders” during those times. But in reality, they have very limited market competence/understanding – so it all comes crashing down for them once these “favorable” conditions go away.
The truth (from my perspective at least), is that markets are no more or less predictable than they were before. There are never any certainties – only probabilities. But when you know how to properly organize critical market-generated information and analyze context/posture, there are opportunities in every type of market – not just clear-cut bull markets. If your only way to trade/invest is to pinpoint companies you like, buy them, and hope they go up – then of course things aren’t going to go well outside of a bull cycle. But when you actually understand how markets move from a deep behavioral perspective and recognize discrepancies between price and value, there are solid opportunities pretty much every single day. To acquire the deep market understanding I’m talking about, I highly suggest the methodologies taught by Josh Schuler at Trade WIth profile, Aaron Korbs at Tradacc, and Merritt Black at Apteros (all listed above).
You are right; when we think of trading, the first thing is stocks. I am interested in trading, and my heart has always been stocks. It is my first time reading about futures. Thank you for highlighting these resourceful courses. Finding relevant courses on trading are challenging. A lot out there are staled materials with little and next to nothing when it comes to valuable information
I really appreciate this training about the different types of training for futures investors. I’ll be honest, I’ve been investing for about a year, but it’s been blindly doing it because I’m not sure what I am doing. So it’s nice to see the different trainings on here that can help me get the right techniques down. I’m not even sure if I have picked good investments. I just hope they are so these different trainings may help me out a lot.
Hi Jessie – I’m glad this list of free futures trading resources is providing value.
But I do want to quickly point out the difference between trading and investing. I know these are terms that are often used synonymously, but there’s a drastic difference between active/short-term trading and passive/long-term investing. This site is mainly focused on active/short-term trading – and I believe futures markets to be the best environment to operate in for capitalizing on intraday opportunities. But in terms of passive/long-term investing, futures aren’t the ideal product/instrument (at least not for me). They’re not really a buy-and-hold type of thing. They’re leveraged products – which makes them advantageous for short-term trading. But to simply buy-and-hold futures contracts without any real exit plan (unless you’re using it to hedge some other trade/investment) is an extremely dangerous thing to do. Overall, it depends on what you’re looking to use futures markets for. In my opinion, they’re the best markets for active, short-term trading – but there are far better vehicles for passive, long-term investing.