Micros

In Lesson 4 you met ES and NQ. They are powerful contracts, and that is exactly the problem for a beginner: every point the market moves is worth a lot of money. CME also lists smaller versions of both. They are called Micro E-mini futures, or just Micros.

Meet MES and MNQ

Put those next to their bigger siblings:

• ES is $50 per point. MES is $5 per point. That is one-tenth the size.
• NQ is $20 per point. MNQ is $2 per point. That is also one-tenth the size.

The Micros track exactly the same indexes. MES and ES follow the same S&P 500. MNQ and NQ follow the same Nasdaq-100. The charts look the same, the prices are quoted the same way, and they trade during the same Globex hours. The only big difference is how much money each point is worth.

What one-tenth means in dollars

Say the Nasdaq-100 futures price moves 10 points against you.

• With one NQ contract: 10 points times $20 = $200 lost.
• With one MNQ contract: 10 points times $2 = $20 lost.

Same market. Same move. One-tenth the damage.

Now say you want the same dollar exposure as one NQ. You would need ten MNQ contracts. That is the point: Micros let you choose your size in much smaller steps.

Why beginners start with Micros

Mistakes cost less. Every new trader makes mistakes: clicking the wrong button, holding a loser too long, trading too big. With Micros, the same mistake costs one-tenth as much as it would with the full-size contract. That gives you more room to learn before your account runs out.

Smaller steps. If your plan says you can risk a certain dollar amount on a trade, Micros let you match that amount more closely. With full-size contracts, even one contract may already be more risk than your plan allows.

Same skills transfer. Because the Micros move with the same index, everything you learn about reading the market on MES or MNQ applies directly to ES or NQ later. You are not learning a different market, just trading it at a smaller size.

Smaller does not mean safe. A Micro can still lose money quickly, and ten Micros carry the same risk as one full-size contract. Size is a choice you make on every trade. Micros simply give you a smaller choice.

A note on examples in this course

Throughout LearnToTick, when we show trade math, we will usually use the Micros, mostly MES and MNQ. That keeps the numbers realistic for someone starting out.

Key ideas

• MES is $5 times the S&P 500, one-tenth of ES.
• MNQ is $2 times the Nasdaq-100, one-tenth of NQ.
• Micros track the same indexes as the full-size contracts. Only the dollars per point change.
• Beginners start with Micros because the same mistake costs one-tenth as much.