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-- Switching to the NQ... (http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=241622)


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-29-12 07:21 AM:

Switching to the NQ...

I was just looking over charts and holy crap... Fills are so much easier on the NQ.

No need to try hassle over getting fills within a couple ticks of the bottom like is required on the ES...

More natural price movement and trending...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by pma on 04-29-12 07:25 AM:

Agree-it is a good contract


Posted by Handle123 on 04-29-12 11:59 AM:

It is a good enough market for beginner as it is a sloppy market, very forgiving if you realize you were wrong and need to get out. But if you don't have ability, it is going to be the same like in any other market, you will lose. Slippage for bigger trader is real bad and you would swear HFT came in, but really could be a bigger trader getting out on stops.

Most of the methods I have designed for this market is rather funny, All signals are generated on ES first and if NQ has approx same distance from like a moving average, entries are made. Cause this market is sloppy for me, patterns that would well for me in ES, can't even find half of them in NQ.

Have fun.


Posted by pma on 04-29-12 12:08 PM:


Quote from Handle123:

It is a good enough market for beginner as it is a sloppy market, very forgiving if you realize you were wrong and need to get out. But if you don't have ability, it is going to be the same like in any other market, you will lose. Slippage for bigger trader is real bad and you would swear HFT came in, but really could be a bigger trader getting out on stops.

Most of the methods I have designed for this market is rather funny, All signals are generated on ES first and if NQ has approx same distance from like a moving average, entries are made. Cause this market is sloppy for me, patterns that would well for me in ES, can't even find half of them in NQ.

Have fun.


Interesting post Handle. I actually see more signals on NQ than ES. Mostly on a 5 minute chart where stops are run,ie failed hammers etc.


Posted by Albert Cibiades on 04-29-12 02:44 PM:

Regardless of patterns, considering only daily range, payoff multiple, tick size and initial margin, NQ has a higher ROI than ES.


Posted by Lucrum on 04-29-12 04:05 PM:

Re: Switching to the NQ...


Quote from RangeTrader:

Switching to the NQ...



I'll alert the media.


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-29-12 06:23 PM:

LoL, I kind of noticed that before about the /NQ. I was actually planning on still keeping up my /ES charts to cross confirm in certain situations. Generally they trade pretty correlated most of the time, but sometimes they REALLY diverge.


Quote from Handle123:

Most of the methods I have designed for this market is rather funny, All signals are generated on ES first and if NQ has approx same distance from like a moving average, entries are made. Cause this market is sloppy for me, patterns that would well for me in ES, can't even find half of them in NQ.

Have fun.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-29-12 06:36 PM:

Look at my cross comparison of the ES and NQ...

Both the same pattern basically, but the ES is generally cleaner.

I use to use a composite of both the ES, NQ, and TF when trading on time charts to remove market noise. Not exactly possible with vol charts off the bat...

I would have to program a way to integrate each tick each second from each future together to form the composite.

Ill get to it someday probably...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-29-12 08:07 PM:

On to a more medium timeframe cross comparison...

ES First...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-29-12 08:09 PM:

Vs the NQ...

Same exact patterns pretty much. NQ has been a little cleaner on these kind of timeframes recently though it appears.

Not sure who had the balls to buy into close on a Friday, but if you did... Odds are you'll be rewarded.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RenkoTrades on 04-29-12 08:21 PM:


Quote from RangeTrader:

Look at my cross comparison of the ES and NQ...

Both the same pattern basically, but the ES is generally cleaner.

I use to use a composite of both the ES, NQ, and TF when trading on time charts to remove market noise. Not exactly possible with vol charts off the bat...

I would have to program a way to integrate each tick each second from each future together to form the composite.

Ill get to it someday probably...



I like trading the TF myself over ES. Your charts look great and I do use some heiken ashi charts as well. What charting are you using?

Can you show a TF chart with your chart arrangement, that would be great. TIA!


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-29-12 08:31 PM:

They are no true ashi's. They are my own formula.

Here is the micro-timing TF chart.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-29-12 08:32 PM:

Here is the mid timing chart...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-29-12 08:34 PM:

And, here is the daily-4d.

I have not taken the time to analyze and check over these charts to see if I like the settings. I don't trade the TF currently. The charts look ok with the ES settings.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RenkoTrades on 04-30-12 08:41 PM:


Quote from RangeTrader:

They are no true ashi's. They are my own formula.

Here is the micro-timing TF chart.



The smoothed Heiken Ashi I use in Ninjatrader 7 are my own development. I have one version with sine weighted MA's and the other uses T3's for the smoothing.

I find the TF offers more bang for the buck than ES or NQ and I never trade YM.


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-30-12 08:46 PM:

The TF in my experience follows internals better and trends a bit more logically.

The one thing I don't like about it is it doesn't retrace much. You better be in the right trade if your in the TF! It won't let you out without hitting your stop.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-30-12 08:53 PM:

TF Medium Picture... Simple, logical, beautiful movement...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RenkoTrades on 04-30-12 08:56 PM:


Quote from RangeTrader:

The TF in my experience follows internals better and trends a bit more logically.

The one thing I don't like about it is it doesn't retrace much. You better be in the right trade if your in the TF! It won't let you out without hitting your stop.



TF responds to $TICK buy/sell program activity perfectly which is good. I tend to be a trend follower so the TF is rock solid as it develops into intraday trends.


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-30-12 08:58 PM:

TF Detailed picture...

Eh, pretty good patterning...

I think ill keep the TF in mind for big trending days. On the big move days the TF loves to outperform the other indices.

NQ is far superior trading on choppy days like today IMO.

I can't believe I traded the ES for so long... The NQ patterns and retraces so nicely...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-30-12 09:08 PM:

Keeping nine chartbooks tuned in for current market conditions and volatility might be a bit overkill...

Just maintaining the tuning on the NQ and ES charts through changing conditions is enough work, lol...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RenkoTrades on 04-30-12 09:13 PM:


Quote from RangeTrader:

TF Detailed picture...

Eh, pretty good patterning...

I think ill keep the TF in mind for big trending days. On the big move days the TF loves to outperform the other indices.

NQ is far superior trading on choppy days like today IMO.

I can't believe I traded the ES for so long... The NQ patterns and retraces so nicely...



I did 4.2 pts in TF today from 3 trades following trending moves, and my counter trend trade was selling 6B last night which I am still holding partial position. Trading the ES can be very inefficient at times so I just stay away most days.


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-30-12 09:17 PM:

Yea... I just started to realize that a bit ago. It's a pain in the ass except for during more volatile markets. Once the vix drops down under 24 it can start to become a headache.

I am only going back to it if I ever need the high liquidity. I will however continue to monitor it's technicals because they are pretty key to the overall market.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-30-12 09:24 PM:

Hmm, let me take a guess at which trades you caught... I think you bought at this fifty percent retrace late day as the market was starting to pull together toward close, before the nonsense of the last 30 minutes. I was tempted to buy it on the NQ, but I have been keeping to my rules well lately. No trading last hour, and especially not the last 30 minutes. I do trade upto the last 30 minutes, but not on days like today... End of month/window dressing, etc... No thx!

The only other thing I see that I would consider a trend is the downtrend out of the gate which I am sure you got some of.

In a down-trending day I ONLY buy off support, and hopefully a solid divergence setup off support. I don't really counter trend much anymore though. If I miss the short trade I have to wait like 30-60 minutes for the next one... So, might as well as take a lower odds long setup off of support for a light scalp. Still get impatient waiting for the perfect setup sometimes, Hehe...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by shopster on 04-30-12 09:31 PM:


Quote from pma:

Interesting post Handle. I actually see more signals on NQ than ES. Mostly on a 5 minute chart where stops are run,ie failed hammers etc.........



you would be correct.

es traders can't get off the needle stuck in their arm.

s

__________________
the world is so certain yet i walk on thin ice.


Posted by RangeTrader on 04-30-12 09:48 PM:

Ill cyall later. Nice to see there is some "sane" people on this forum. I will try to stay off here until the weekend.

Gonna focus on trading hard the rest of the week. My NQ charts are officially tuned in and ready to roll.

Honestly, I barely looked at my signals today for my few trades... Support, resistance, and trend... All that is needed!!! As long as you only buy off support, and only short off resistance... It's very hard to get trapped and stopped unless the market is trending fast.

Good luck all!

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RenkoTrades on 05-02-12 07:43 PM:


Quote from shopster:

you would be correct.

es traders can't get off the needle stuck in their arm.

s




That is funny! ES is a good market to learn but not the best market to stay in once profitable, for the retailers.


Posted by KastyG on 05-02-12 08:20 PM:

Many failed ES traders ply their skills on NQ.


Posted by Zr1Trader on 05-02-12 09:10 PM:

Assuming one knows what they are doing and isn't a large enough player to move the market more than a tick or two , I think CL and TF present the best "bang for buck" meaning comish and spread are the lowest cost vs average daily range .

NQ is a good contract to learn the ropes with if one is new to futures and is dipping there toes in "live" . I used to trade YM and NQ when I started with futures, fun contracts.


Posted by RangeTrader on 05-02-12 09:41 PM:

Grrr... I don't care for the NQ. Rippy mother. Hard to get a feel for. Got clipped a couple times and ditched it.

Switched back to the ES and nailed a couple, then played the TF through lunch into late day and just nailed it trade after trade...

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 05-02-12 09:44 PM:

I royally suck at holding trades properly... Bit too trigger fingery with market orders.

Gonna switch to OCO tomorrow and try to follow my rules better.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by KastyG on 05-02-12 10:31 PM:

CL and TF are for advanced trader only. They are fast movers.


Posted by RangeTrader on 05-03-12 12:03 AM:

The TF is in my opinion one of the most proper futures. It does what it's supposed to. No shenanigans or parabolic moves where they are not supposed to be.

I prefer to hold a trade for less than ten minutes too.

Ok, lets compare two charts... First, here is the trades I made today... With moving averages turned back on.



Quote from KastyG:

CL and TF are for advanced trader only. They are fast movers.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 05-03-12 12:09 AM:

Then... I replayed the same thing as a sim run at 40x using OCO attached orders... 1x1 Handles. Taking the same trades essentially...

Would have made a lot more money than I did today... Just using OCO orders, and no chase entries! Chase entries are for trending days only... Definitely not trending internals today except for that uptrend.

Even if I had gotten clipped a handle on that chase move, I would have still made more using OCO orders.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by Zr1Trader on 05-03-12 12:27 AM:


Quote from RangeTrader:



I prefer to hold a trade for less than ten minutes too.

.



Comish and slippage will be the invisible hand that bleeds you out if your not careful in this case. For instance if you're only trading 6 min at a time, don't trade 6b ,ym or similar. Run the numbers on Range and tick size vs spread and commission for whatever you're going to trade.

I don't know where you are at but TF and CL will blow you out faster than any other instrument if you don't know exactly what you're doing yet.


Posted by RangeTrader on 05-03-12 12:37 AM:

I traded the /TF for like six months back in 2009. Different trading system though. The current one I am using was designed for the ES. I am just getting it tuned in for the /TF.

As long as your not counter trending it's very hard to lose on the ES. The TF seems pretty good lately, but as we get more volatility again ill probably go back to the ES.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RangeTrader on 05-03-12 01:22 AM:

Hmmm... I just turned signals back on.

Wow, market conditions are rarely as good as they were today... Signals were timing properly.

Wave counts were a little odd though. Best just to use gut instinct to solve those.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RenkoTrades on 05-03-12 02:54 AM:

My order;

1) CL

2) FDAX

3) TF

4) Euro

If you want a simple grinder trade the NG.


Posted by RangeTrader on 05-03-12 07:35 AM:

I don't really care for the way oil patterns, but the 6E futures are decent...

I prefer having my internals and tick averages that get my mind in sync with the market real fast... So I'm sticking with the index futures. Only takes me about 30 minutes to get a feel for whats going on and what the game of the day. Doesn't take as much focus as the others.

What I love about the TF that annoys me about the ES is... You can always trust the TF. It drops when its supposed to, and it rallies when it's supposed to. It doesn't sit around and dawdle... It retraces with precision too.

No nonsense shenanigans on the TF!!! Never seen it... Honest non manipulated market.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RenkoTrades on 05-06-12 04:43 PM:

If you were trend following CL or TF on Friday it does not get any better. The follow through after trend kick back entries was very strong. Between the two contracts, I had 11 trend following trades Friday and only one was a small loss of 10 ticks in the CL.

I never trade the NQ or YM but those contracts should have had numerous opportunities on Friday. Anyone ever trade the s&p mid-cap index?

RangeTrader * I finally figured out what charting you use. Take a look at DAX one night with your template, you will find all kinds of solid entries.


Posted by mastertrader456 on 05-12-12 05:43 AM:

This makes me laugh. Quite trading index futures and move to stocks. NQ is not any better. And get rid of any fancy green and red indicators you got up on your charts. All you need is candlesticks and volume.


Posted by RangeTrader on 05-12-12 06:52 AM:

Stocks are a joke. You have to pick 3 maximum and each has it's own personality... It takes months to figure out how to trade each one...

Indices at least pattern in the same way for long periods of time... Sometimes even years!


Quote from mastertrader456:

This makes me laugh. Quite trading index futures and move to stocks. NQ is not any better. And get rid of any fancy green and red indicators you got up on your charts. All you need is candlesticks and volume.

__________________
The market is always in a range trade. It just happens that the range is usually moving...


Posted by RenkoTrades on 05-12-12 05:01 PM:

Futures with 60/40 rule is the best by far. There is no way I can make the money in stocks like I do in CL futures, and with the low amount of capital needed.


Posted by bwolinsky on 05-13-12 03:53 AM:


Quote from RenkoTrades:

...and with the low amount of capital needed.



Low capital requirements are never the primary benefit of choosing futures products. If you need ridiculously low margins so your $5,000 account doesn't blow out, you shouldn't be trading CL.

On NQ, I've always liked NQ better than ES, but my research shows that is because NQ's dollar value monthly daily average swings have enough range to produce decent income, while ES has very little range most days compared to NQ.

__________________
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

Bud Fox

Wall Street


Posted by DutyFree on 05-13-12 04:03 AM:

Are there lot of NQ traders here. I would like to get in touch


Posted by RenkoTrades on 05-13-12 04:56 AM:


Quote from bwolinsky:

Low capital requirements are never the primary benefit of choosing futures products. If you need ridiculously low margins so your $5,000 account doesn't blow out, you shouldn't be trading CL.

On NQ, I've always liked NQ better than ES, but my research shows that is because NQ's dollar value monthly daily average swings have enough range to produce decent income, while ES has very little range most days compared to NQ.

I completely disagree. What I can do on a daily basis with a $50,000 futures account is way more efficient than what I could ever do in a stocks account with $50,000. What I can do with a $200,000 futures account deleveraged is even more efficient than what I can do with an equities trading account. I can generate much better ROI with futures than I ever could with stock trading dollar for dollar in the two account types.

With broker worries these days, how much I have to have sitting in my brokerage accounts day to day is a very big factor in my opinion.


Posted by bwolinsky on 05-13-12 03:36 PM:


Quote from RenkoTrades:

I completely disagree. What I can do on a daily basis with a $50,000 futures account is way more efficient than what I could ever do in a stocks account with $50,000. What I can do with a $200,000 futures account deleveraged is even more efficient than what I can do with an equities trading account. I can generate much better ROI with futures than I ever could with stock trading dollar for dollar in the two account types.

With broker worries these days, how much I have to have sitting in my brokerage accounts day to day is a very big factor in my opinion.



Wasn't thinking about values that big. That's true about stocks, but triple leveraged ETF's do something similar.

With $100,000 and a high margin to equity ratio, you could get into the $4 million notional value.

__________________
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

Bud Fox

Wall Street


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