...and the patterns signify supply and demand which are formed by the players involved. The entities trading gold, oil, volatility, currencies are very different and that's why so is their behavior. Bottom line is, if you only adjust a strategy for volatility, it will never work on all instruments as you suggested.
On ES a very good inflection point is 5 points off the RTH open and again at 10 points off the RTH open. How you trade it and build your target/stop is entirely up to you but it is where I trade.
Thanks for a real good question. I like give an analogy of charging our mobile. Day traders charge the minds with their own unique ways of perceiving the market pulse. This is like charging the mobile battery from live line. (Battery is trader's mind. Live line is market pulse. Mobile is day trading platform.) Once the market opens day traders test their perceptions, through trial and error basis causing the swings on chart, and will focus ONLY on chart and not the live news and events because their minds are completely pre occupied and not receptive for new perceptions. Once the market closes their minds would have exhausted and ventilated their perceptions and become empty minded ready to create new perceptions based on today's day trading experience and news and events. Battery is down and connect to live line to recharge. Again once they reload themselves with new perceptions and become fully preoccupied once the market opens next day. Mobile always operates through battery not through live line. Day trading always operates through pre occupied perceptions of day traders and not through live market pulse. I don't expect everyone to see what I see. It's my personal insight.
Hence the day trading chart patterns are the same regardless of the instruments. Only the scale, volatility, differs.
Trading is 50% data/patterns and another 50% is psychology of trading, trader and the mass. (The mobile recharging analogy is psychology of mass) Professional traders are mostly master of all these departments. With partial skills we may get into top 10% of the trading mass. With all round skills one can entrain the top notch 1% club who make more than 25% ROI per month consistently.
I wonder the percentage of day traders that actually earn 25% ROI/month consistently. Do you base 25% ROI on whole account or on each trade or summary of all trades per month.
Trend trading psychology The psychology of trend basically is a trial and error approach of testing the perceptions about the market which causes swings. Trends are unpredictable. Yet swings give solid clues. The probability of a trend to continue, reverse or pause are equal (100/3 = 33.33%). The latest two swings that give clues about the fate of day's trend are 1. Macro swing 2. Micro swing The event of a macro swing increases the probability of either trend to continue or reverse as it tries to break the trend pause. Betting on macro swing is an edge than betting on day's trend or trend reversal. And the micro swing gives a final confirmation of REAL ATTEMPT to breakout either with the day's trend or against it. The principle based day trading strategy studies the intensity of macro and micro swings for a more safer and effective bet. "Betting on macro swing" is a suggested trading psychology. The principle "never lose your money" is a suggested trader's psychology. "The mobile recharge analogy" is a suggested mass psychology. All the three suggested psychologies : trading, trader and mass are embedded in the principle based day trading strategy. Hope a six year old can understand this.