Has anyone ever made a trade WITHOUT looking at a chart first? I bet the answer to that question is very-very few. Now i said: Made a trade, not an investment, totally different ball game. When a trade is made it is surely either one of two processes, one being a pure guess derived from looking at a chart and assuming you know where price is headed next. This is speculation in it's rawest form. Correct? The other way is taking a trade based on looking at a chart and making another speculation of where price is headed next, same as before. BUT, this time when you looked at the chart, there was no raw guessing. You now do not guess, you PREDICT where price is headed. This is being far less speculative and more precise in your speculations. Add to this second process the PREDICTION where if indeed you are wrong, (and at times surely you will be), you will pre-place the prediction of where the STOP will be entered. Already it sounds like the game is less stressful just reading the above..... The gist of all this is simply this: there are just a very few REAL spots on the chart to make "ALL" the decisions that are even possible. Forget the tons and tons of esoteric whiz-bang puffed rice indicators which are just derivatives of a few basic entry spots anyway. What are the basic entry spots? That is the QUESTION? Here are a few of my thoughts to the question. Pivot Points, Moving Average crosses, Range Breakouts, Hooks (for continuations) etc. MOST, MOST other stuff comes from those basic, basic simple stuff. That to me is why the basic stuff WORKS, because it is the nuts and bolts of the entire game......surely a lot of other thinkers will agree and disagree. ..... Case in point about other indicators being a derivative of something called by a different name. support and resistance is really nothing but pivot points, etc.
I make trades without consulting a chart sometimes. A certain quick-flip setup based on the tape, or an obvious arb opportunity. I know a bunch of guys who scalp news stocks and never look at a chart, trade off the tape only. BTW, the very good traders that I know use no indicators at all.
is not trading off the tape only.... just another derivative of the same basic technical techniques? No indicators at all.....interesting.... How about internalized technical indicators?....commonly referred to as intuition.
This is done more often than you probably think. There are particular consecutive trading days during the year where stats show the market (Dow, S&P and Nasdaq) has not had a losing duration for many many years. Same is true with other markets (Eurex, Euronext, Treasuries et cetera). These are facts, exploitable and no charts are needed...just historical data quotes. All you need to do is know what day to Open your position and then what day to Close your position (position trade or swing trade)... That's easy once you figure out the stats and you don't need any charts to manage the trade. Here's one particular fact since 1990 in which there has not been a losing duration... The SP has not had a losing duration between Oct 26th (Open a Long position) - Nov 14th (Close the Long position). 16 consecutive winning years (including this year) with an average gain of +31 points (not including this year)... Then if your trading size...leave a few contrats to milk the trend for the year end rallies that occurred in some of those years (including this year)... +31 points is just scratching the surface. There are many more winning streaks in the market (Longs and Shorts)...often referred to as Seasonal Tendencies. Also, there are others involving intraday durations on particular trading days. Once again...charts not needed...just historical data quotes. Here's the question...what are you going to be doing next October 26th ??? By the way...there are traders that do read charts but don't use indicators... Just something to think about before this thread gets deeper into the usual indicator discussion. Mark (a.k.a. NihabaAshi) Japanese Candlestick term
Most of my trades are placed without looking at a chart. I've developed a trading system that I apply to about 60 small cap stocks and trade them intraday. Tradestation generates b/s orders and I place them or sometimes let it place them automatically. DS
I have a system that enters positions automatically for me without me consulting the charts at all. I often exit the trade and never look at the chart. In fact in many instances if I attempted to bring up a chart and analyze it, by the time I got it loaded and looked at it the trade opportunity would be gone. I know it's not everyone's game, but hey , it's a trade not an investment right!
Once i looked at a chart......but didn't know what i was looking at.....crazy lines and bars...but was anxious to get my beak wet.. Made a trade .....was down 4K in 20min
I do it several times a day....currently! on the two PICS that I am trading. Never need em' I put 10 charts up to make it look like I know what I am doing. I am not joking. and I am profitable now for nearly one year. But I could not trade without my spreadsheets. Thank you Excel. Michael B. Has anyone ever made a trade WITHOUT looking at a chart first?