03 · Futures
Futures are a leverage game: they amplify gains, and they amplify destruction. This chapter walks from contract elements through the forced-liquidation machine, then from delivery rules through a full product encyclopedia and practical strategies — so that before you touch real money, you first see through the underlying logic of the rules.
Chapter Guide
01 · Futures Basics · What a Contract Is
Futures are standardized forward contracts with clearly defined contract elements, trading hours, and delivery rules. This article explains the essence of futures, their origin (starting with grain spot hedging in Chicago in 1848), the eight contract elements, the complete flow from account opening to position closing, and the product landscape of China's five futures exchanges, plus a futures vs. stocks comparison table.
02 · Margin, Leverage & Forced Liquidation · The Lifeline
Article 02 on margin and forced liquidation is the most important read in this chapter — mandatory for any beginner before their first trade. It explains the margin system (initial/maintenance), leverage multiple calculations, mark-to-market and floating P&L, the trigger conditions of forced liquidation (blow-ups), margin calls and negative-balance blow-throughs, and uses concrete numbers — such as 10x leverage being wiped out by a 10% adverse move — to show the mathematical inevitability that "the higher the leverage, the faster you die".
03 · Delivery & Rollover · The Term Structure
Futures expire. This article explains the difference between physical delivery and cash settlement, the liquidity traps of holding positions in the delivery month, how the dominant contract forms, the basis gaps when rolling positions, and how retail investors should choose contract months and execute rollovers.
04 · Futures Products Encyclopedia · Choosing Your Battlefield
Organized into eight sectors — financial futures, precious metals, non-ferrous metals, ferrous products, energy and chemicals, agricultural products, soft commodities, and FX & rates — it covers 25+ products with their contract codes, exchanges, contract multipliers, tick sizes, reference margin rates, price drivers, and suitable audiences. A quick-reference handbook for the futures chapter.
05 · Futures Trading Strategies · How to Play
From hedging spot risk (farmers selling soybeans, airlines locking fuel prices), to cash-futures arbitrage, calendar spreads, and inter-commodity spreads, then on to trend following, intraday scalping, and algorithmic trading — each explained with its principle, suitable audience, and risk points.
06 · OTC Derivatives · The Dark Side of Custom Contracts
OTC derivatives have no exchange backstop; everything rests on contracts and counterparty credit. This article explains the exchange vs. OTC comparison (standardization/central clearing/regulatory transparency), forwards (corporate FX hedging, counterparty default risk), swaps (a worked interest-rate swap example, currency swaps, commodity swaps, and the role of CDS in the 2008 crisis), OTC and exotic options (binary options scam warnings), structured products (snowball knock-in/knock-out terms, the truth about structured deposits), and finally draws the boundary of what ordinary people should touch.
07 · Futures Options & Commodity Options · Insurance for Your Futures
An option is "paying a premium to buy the right to choose"; when the underlying is a futures contract, it is a futures option. This article covers futures option mechanics (exercise delivers a futures position), the comparison with stock options and crypto options, option products on China's four commodity exchanges (soybean meal, corn, sugar, cotton, copper, gold, crude oil, etc.), the characteristics of commodity options (seller margin, farmers buying puts to lock prices vs. futures hedging), the seasonality of commodity IV, hands-on buyer and seller strategies and common ways to die, and the tiered entry thresholds of RMB 100k/500k.
Learning Objectives
After finishing this chapter, you should be able to answer:
- What are the eight elements of a futures contract? How many tons of copper does one lot of copper futures represent?
- What leverage does a 10% margin rate imply? How much of an adverse move blows up the account?
- What is the difference between forced liquidation, a margin call, and a negative-balance blow-through?
- Why should retail traders trade the dominant contract rather than contracts near delivery?
- Roughly how much margin does one lot of CSI 300 index futures require?
- How does hedging "lock a price"? What does it lock in, and what does it give up?
⚠️ Risk Warning: Futures are margin trading with high leverage; losses may exceed your principal (after a negative-balance blow-through, the debt must be repaid). This chapter is for education only and does not constitute investment advice; contract specifications are always subject to the latest exchange rules. Please fully understand Article 02, "Margin, Leverage & Forced Liquidation", before considering any live trading.