Let's put away all the Sock Puppets, and get right to the matter. Do you mean to say, you have no ability to measure the pace (or acceleration, or rate of change or whatever other word you choose to describe differences in volume intra-bar)? If not, then how can I show you a proof for what you claim does not exist? We need a common frame of reference. In the NQ chart snippet I posted, you see no differences in volume which might lead you to an anticipation of price direction? What might one expect to see in the first thirty seconds of the 6th bar on that NQ chart? How might that differ from what one might expect to see on the previous bar within the first 30 seconds? Certainly, without the aid of a real-time chart one could arrive at a logical answer. - Spydertrader
John watches tick charts. With the rare exception of increasing volume causing a breakout from a narrow consolidation, price moves always create reacting volume. You can't look any closer inside a bar than a tick. The ultimate example is a blowout where price stretches the premium by a few ticks and then relaxes, producing those 4-6K volume near-exhaustion spikes in one minute in NQ.
Strategy....strategy...might not the best strategy be NOT doing what they want you to? Every morning in the WSJ I am mortally offended that they want old guys like me to simulate trading. My stunt double is on page B8 today. Virtual Stock Exchange (VSE) invites me, among equally silly other things, to "Find a game to join!" Why are they spending so much money to induce me to make a (bigger) fool of myself? I think you know. Looking closely at the image of myself in the ad, I groan. I see age spots on his arms. A lifetime accumulation of facial sebacious cysts. Stubble that tells me my sperm count is high and I really need to get laid. He's still wearing his mouthguard, so he grinds at night like me. His fingers are all bandaged, so he's a klutzy knuckle-buster, too. Hair receding (hiding the fact with a sweat band), hasn't washed it for a couple of days. Hasn't shaved his ears lately. Has to lean in to the screen to make anything out. Why would I want to play that game to look like that? I already do, thanks to trading NQ! "Find a game to join!" Edit: And I just noticed the backdrop: a painted cinderblock wall. The guy is tradin' from the slammer!
We are making our daily naan here in Mumbai following the teachings of our new ghourhou H. Plecostomus. We are drawing our channels down-side-up and trading the Vee Wop Report/Desistence. We are also watching the market order computers fling their bits at the limit order computers and laughing our asses off. Do the limit order computers say to themselves "Here comes bits!"?
Spyder, I said what I meant. I have a visualization of the tape superimposed on a visualization of the bid/ask, and price almost always leads volume. The micro leads to the macro. Ergo, Jack is full of it, or as Arouet would say, "J'en ai plein le cul!"
666, IMO, yes. It is an illusion at the level of a five minute chart. And like most absolutes, it has obvious flaws. For example, nearing the top of an extreme blowout it could lead you to stay in too long. Volume is rising, yes? So price must continue to rise!