Thanks, have you seen better Market Profile documentation anywhere else? Is there anything newer that you found helpful? Thanks again,
No, the usual books mentioned in this thread and by bolter & others at http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=63202&perpage=6&pagenumber=1 also from cisco futures.
Here's another MP education site http://www.tradingclinic.com/ I paid 25 bucks to get access to the many MP articles. He has more of a longer term swing trader approach, whereas I use MP primarily to daytrading. You may or may not find it useful. This is not an endorsement..... My recc. is to read Dalton's "Mind Over Markets" book first, then check out everything else. What I have found using MP is that it is not the holy grail (nothing is), but it does get close. However, unless you have a true understanding of MP and auction market theory, you will not consistently profit from its use. Just like a lot of things in life, its not too difficult to know just enough about MP to be dangerous. Just knowing where the VAL, POC, and VAH levels are and using them for s/r, you may get lucky occasionally, but not consistently profitable. You also need to learn how to quickly recognize day types, key reference levels, how to spot initiative versus responsive buying/selling, and many other aspects of MP to numerous to mention here. I followed along with Bolters thread from its inception earlier this year. Although he is an MP expert, he also stated that there are times when he would use other types of analysis to complement MP. He also strongly suggested getting a thorough understanding of MP rather then just trade off the levels. Excellent advice in my opinion.
I monitor price action at MP levels to then look for my trade signals/set-ups. I never EXPECT a specific reaction at a MP level....I just know that I can EXPECT a high percentage of reactions at these levels. When price gets near to MP levels, you could say that I shift into a more focused "trade set-up watch" mode. Price trading down to a MP level of potential support does not zone me into looking for LONG only trades, instead it focuses me into the thought, "hey...there could be a more magnified reaction of price in this zone". So as price trades at these MP levels, I am at a higher state of readiness to take trades in either direction from my traditional signals. For myself, I do not ultimately see MP levels as support or resistance when price arrives to these levels....I see them as price is moving into a zone of higher probability of reaction (potential follow through). I do not get mentally locked into, "price SHOULD bounce here in this direction".....the thought is more of a, "price could possibly have a pronounced directional reaction here". If you use MP levels more as price "reaction zones" versus "directional bias" levels, then you are free to take proprietary signals in either direction with ease.....does this make sense?
This is a great way to put it, as it weakens the prediction bias that tends to come with traditional TA. Plus because the key areas are zones and not support or resistance <i>lines</i>, they reduce the tendency further. I agree that heightened awareness and responsiveness is what is important when taking signals, not cut and dried if x then y type of scenarios.
Dalton's book was written in 1993, a time when the Liquidity Data bank apparently held more promise. You could skip the section on LDB and not miss anything.
Looks like Dalton is coming out with another book in Feb 2007. Looking forward to it... http://www.amazon.com/Markets-Profi...=pd_bbs_1/002-2407296-4772803?ie=UTF8&s=books