Read with interest your discussion of BBs. I use 1 min. stochastics, 3 min. Moving Averages, 1 & 3 min. stoch with Nasdaq futures charts and some Nasdaq level 2 screens. I can't understand how BBs (or moving average envelopes, which are similar) can suggest entry or exit points. My inclination is just to get in and do the actual trading and after enough time you get a feel or sense of the patterns of the stocks you follow day after day. My cousin who's traded for years really likes the BBs in combination with MACDs. There's an exhaustive collection of references, including www.bollingerbands.com, at www.lookup.atomica.com.
Kicking, There is no need to apologize, we all have opinions and beliefs. I can and do respect your search to find what "works for you." BB's are built upon statistics and probability, I am not using them as a stand alone tool, but in alignment with other tools. The amount of familiarity I have with them lends to my belief and understanding of their actions and uses. If it is a real edge you are seeking, you may wish to locate large piercing's of the bands on a larger timeframe than you trade -- identify an entry and try and climb aboard. Have a look and see what you see, from that point, will/do your entry tools allow for an entry? Perhaps you will find an amount of certainty that allows for the risk/reward relationship you spoke of. Piercing's on larger timeframe's carry more weight, i.e., validity than those on smaller timeframes. As an example a daily piercing carries more weight than an hourly piercing. All in all, it is something you like and use, understand or don't, I suppose. Below is a previous discussion on the inherent properties of BB's http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1953 http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=1718 GL2U The aforementioned represents my opinions and experience -Hoyler