Building a Multi-Contract Book

Caps per complex, not per opinion.

Expert 5 min read Course 55 of 60

Course 55 of 60 in the futures hub. The object is a written futures book: flagship, hedge, max names, max factor.

Caps Per Complex, Not Per Opinion

Caps Per Complex, Not Per Opinion. The honest one-sentence object of this lesson is a written futures book: flagship, hedge, max names, max factor. If you cannot say that without opening a platform, you will size the wrong clock. The failure mode that actually hurts accounts is adding a fourth 'small' micro that is the same factor. Write the object, then size. Educational only.

Analog, not identity: the book is the strategy. Crypto perpetuals and cash equities are a different lesson. Different machine, different hours, different ruin path. Contrast the object with forex hub rather than treating every product as the same machine.

1. Flagship

Flagship is the first working definition. A written futures book: flagship, hedge, max names, max factor. People skip this because a chart is easier than a specification. A chart is not a spec. If you cannot explain Building a Multi-Contract Book to a skeptical friend without a screenshot, you do not understand it yet.

Keep a crib note: object, invalidation, dollar cap. Adding a fourth 'small' micro that is the same factor is how cribs get skipped. Do not skip. For the arithmetic habit, use margin calculator until dollars are boring.

Caps per complex, not per opinion — flagship is the only required slot Flagship one root you can name in your sleep Hedge slot only if residual is named Tactical slot temporary, sized, dated Everything else forbidden until a slot opens

2. Hedge slot

Hedge slot. Convert every pretty statement into dollars. The arithmetic below is illustration — live ticks, pips, and margins change. Re-read the live schedule.

Max 3 names, max 2×$292 per factor, max 6×$292 book. Opinions do not get extra slots.

If that arithmetic already exceeds your cap, the lesson is over: pass or step down in size. Passing is a position. Confirm the dollar translation with risk calculator so the notebook and the statement agree.

A hedge slot without a ratio is a second opinion Honest hedge Named residualRatio on paperSuccess = less variance Costume hedge 'ES shorts my NQ'No residual namedTwo ways to lose

3. Tactical slot

Tactical slot. Context is not a trigger. The book is the strategy. Use context to veto, not to force a click.

When in doubt, name a written futures book: flagship, hedge, max names, max factor again. If the sentence changed, you changed trades without admitting it. Related structure: free calculators.

Tactical means dated. If it has no end date, it is a new flagship tactical = root + $ cap + end date + invalidation No end date it is the book now No cap it is a hobby If flagship is full tactical waits Weekly prune kills expired tactics

4. What is forbidden

What is forbidden. Process beats mood. Write the rule that fires without a debate at the worst moment. If the rule is 'I'll see how I feel,' you do not have a rule.

Stops, flatten policies, and session boundaries belong in the same notebook as the thesis for Building a Multi-Contract Book. If the stop is a price, convert it with listed glossary after you already know the tick or pip.

Forbidden is written while green — CL overnight, ags into WASDE, a fourth index Write yours Anything you cannot name tick $ of.A second name in a full factor.Delivery month if you are not a commercial.

5. Weekly prune

Weekly prune. Fair warning: specs, leverage caps, and dealer rules change over time. The live document wins. Educational only. Not NFA, tax, or a solicitation.

Re-read primary docs before you add size on the object of Building a Multi-Contract Book. See also previous lesson when the confusion is the venue layer, not the chart.

Weekly prune is how a book stays a book Map factors Sum $ per factor Cut over-cap Journal the cut

6. Mistakes, limits, takeaways

Mistakes: adding a fourth 'small' micro that is the same factor; copying size from a stream; ignoring costs; mixing this machine with crypto perpetuals or cash equities. Another: treating Building a Multi-Contract Book as advanced because the vocabulary is long rather than because the dollar cap is written. If the sister asset class is the real mix-up, next lesson before you add size.

Maps go stale. The book is the strategy. If this lesson and the live spec or statement disagree, the live document wins.

Three slots. If you need a fourth, you need a smaller ego Flagship requiredboringsized Hedge optionalratioor skip Tactical datedor it staysforever

Margin headroom and attention are the real limits

Two things cap how many futures markets you can carry: how much margin is tied up, and how many markets you can actually watch. Run either one close to the edge and a routine margin increase, or one busy morning, causes problems.

Keep a margin buffer well above maintenance, so a rate hike from the clearing house doesn't force you to sell something you wanted to keep. Stagger expiries where you can; five rolls in the same week is a week of avoidable mistakes. And be honest about attention. If you can't name today's report times for every market you hold, you hold too many.

Before you move on

  • Object: a written futures book: flagship, hedge, max names, max factor.
  • Failure: adding a fourth 'small' micro that is the same factor.
  • Dollars first, leverage last.
  • Skip the window you cannot survive.

Building a Multi-Contract Book can remain a useful lesson and a poor live habit at the wrong size. Educational only. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any contract or pair.