Hi all, Sorry for the late post had to jet right at market close. Net Gain NQ $81, happy with the day, four trades, loss, win, loss, win and then called it quits as was up 5 points and happy with the first day back for over a week. Traded AAPL as well and ended up with a small loss. Cheers
A. Reading back, you have already described your scaling out process. I just forgot....... "As far as scaling out, if I happen to choose that route I make sure my first target is AT THE VERY LEAST as big as my stop. Then I quickly move stop to BE and let it ride as much as I can until price loses momentum. Remember, to take profits BEFORE the next resistance when going long and BEFORE the next support when going short. I usually let a small portion of the trade ride for the home run. It's very important that you understand that support is meant to support and resistance is meant to resist."
For those who pmmed me, here is an example of how the reversal get marked on today's 1500 NQ chart. This is for those of you who use stealth's 3 bar reversal and use ninja. It will mark it once the 4rth or 5th bar is above or below the 3rd bar. So obviously there is some lag.
Here is the indicator. I am not a good programmer. I have used the candles as I see them and haven't used variables. Feel free to modify. cheers SS
B, Good questions, long answers but that's quite alright because the night is young, the stouts are cold and I love trading. I had a great trading day and you have been a journal reader for quite a while now so I will give you the answer you deserve and nothing less. I don't think you are nitpicking just digging deeper into more advanced topics and that's fine, just take everything with careful consideration because even-though I have some experience, I'm most definitely no guru or have I ever met one that was even close to being one. Examine alternatives at all times from various sources and compare notes. OK back to your questions. If I get stopped out on the first entry, as long as support is still supporting, I would be willing to re-enter on the first evidence of strength returning to the play. Most definitely, I will not let one quick stop kill my concentration but limit my losses I must, averaging down I will not, ever. Usually the second attempt works very smoothly, no surprise there as they say the first wave is always for the newbies while the smart money sits back waiting for some real confirmation. Remember, it's never about the best fill but about the best feel. And by feel I mean numerous confirmations, what you actually feel means nothing to the market as you are an atom and the market is the universe. Obviously you don't go nuts and just buy the next drop because if it's dropping its doing so for a reason. It is your duty as a responsible trader to determine if the price drop is profit taking or a possible change of direction, car size on time and sales is useful in this area. The idea of an even "better fill" is dangerous so make sure you are not fooled into such actions. However, if a sign of strength returning is present that's another story. Obviously, if support is broken, it's time to look at the big picture again and re-evaluate.... and by broken I assume by now you know I mean a solid bar closing below it. Notice, there is a huge difference between doing this and averaging down because as you re-evaluate the scenario you have already limited your losses. Contrary to averaging down where you keep losing on every tick against you regardless if there is strength returning or not. Frankly, a real dangerous way to trade but since the accuracy is high, traders keep choosing this so called money management "tactic". No offense but this is simply, stupidity. The fact of the matter is that when you are correct in your evaluation of price action, a great deal of the plays will take almost no heat because you have and must look at all angles before entering a play. After-all, this is your hard earned money. I would rather waste it on stouts or my kids than some on some random dude at the other side of my trade or worse, the broker. That's what I look when entering a trade, very little heat, if any, and a pleasant ride to the next level. Naturally, I don't always get this but this is what I shoot for. The whipsaw you speak of is easy to avoid because unless strength is found you stay on the sidelines. You do not go back in, just because it is ,supposedly, a better fill, you go back in when price action gives you the green light. It's hard to get multiple strength conditions without price actually following. If the chop is present there wont be much strength to notice right so don't let this scare you. Feel free to study the charts and confirm my findings, in fact I encourage it. When support is broken by wicks, that could possibly just be other trader's stops hitting at market, don't let those wicks fool you, the close is everything, always. In fact a close + 1 tick at the extreme of the closing bar is even safer, that's a strong tip I just gave you, use it. Why do you think hammers at support with piercing wicks are so powerful ? Clear sign of exhaustion. Once again, the hammer alone is not enough, multiple confirmations at all times. Why ? Because no one thing works by itself. If you wait for a retracement and then for strength to return if strength is really returning why on earth would you need a big stop, it's supposed to be strength at or near support right ? Some traders claim large stops are required due to noise or volatility I say it is their ineptitude to read price action correctly. Not claiming super -trader here, took me a while to learn and accept this. I've said it in the past and I will say it again and again, you beat this game with small losses and all kinds of winners. Great accuracy is a bonus and something that comes much later, the real key here is riding those wild runners remembering that price rarely goes up without retracing and that re-entering a trade is not only an option but a powerful one. An option that can be applied even when things are going well. One more thing, if you do re-enter a second time because the play is still very much valid you better be prepared to ride this one to a displacement bigger than the original one, assuming the fill was actually, a "better" one. After-all, it is still the same swing. Lot of opinions in this department, choose what you feel comfortable with but most important what works best for your style and psychology. I can tell you what works for me but what works for you might be something completely different. Yes, the size of the stop varies depending on how many ticks below previous bar or bars I allow the stop to take. Anything remotely out of the ordinary and that would be something I'm not interested in taking because I trade to win big and lose small as much as I can. It sounds crazy but some of my best plays are when I buy right at support levels or short right at resistant areas, fortunately they also require the smallest stops, food for thought. In fact a dear friend and fellow trader only trades like that, is he effective ? You better believe it, is his accuracy rate high, absolutely not but he knows when it's time to pick support and when it's time to pick resistance and his stops are based on confirmation not exact numbers, except for his emergency stop of course. I like to do something similar but I always require my confirmation no matter how close to support or resistance the entry is. Obviously, today was not an optimal day to be shorting resistance but that's easy to determine if you are a student of price action. I might seem like a nice guy, and I think I am, but when I'm in the battlefield fighting other traders I'm the meanest mofo you can imagine, I protect my capital like my children and when I'm right I want as much as I can without neglecting any angles. I like to think I'm taking money from institutions and that no institution is taking money from me. To conclude my friend, Risk Management is your best ally. Hope it helps and keep the faith. Anek
Yes, the chart trader is the best as I can trail up my stops so much easier than trying to find it on the DOM. I focus on trailing up my stop until I can move it to B/E, then I focus on my target. Have you used Market replay yet? I just started using it the other day and thats also a nice feature. Now I can review my morning trades Tivo style.
E, That's the one I posted as an example earlier this week. Have not been able to find another one. Speaking of W tops and M bottoms I will soon post the reason for my interest in them but want to see if anyone figures it out first. Thanks. Anek
Haven't used this feature yet... just collecting data so that I can in future... so far, a great all round package allowing one to diversify into other areas of trading as well as honing the AHG skills...