I misunderstood a comment from my Striker rep. The round trip cost per micro is still just over $2.00. I am unhappy about it, but I am going to try to make it work. I think I am currently paying just under $5/RT for the full E-minis. Please go to their website(s). Striker.com or GainCapital.com (The above is unrelated to my live AMP account with $.78 RT per micro, for which this journal was written)
If it weren't so outrageous I'd be laughing. I told them the exact same thing. $21.40 would be the equivalent charge for an E-mini. It is not Striker's fault, but Gain Capital. Get with the times Mr. Broker.
We are about to see a lot of consolidation within the brokerage industry with this move to zero commissions. Some will lose and go out of business and others will be acquired. Things will look vastly different in a few years.
Yes with AMP...But I will go to the Mini as soon as feasable. The Micros need less capital and are great for scaling....but when you pencil it out it makes one wonder if scaling is all that important. If a trader needs larger stops...well there are other questions that he should be examining. Pardon the interruption ss....this is your journal and I am enjoying it greatly. ES P.S. I just bagged 8.75 points with 2 trades in the MNQ...I am going back to bed.
I lost a little today on two trades. Down about $25. The lesson is WAIT for the turn. In each case the market decided to do its own thing (the running of the bulls) and actually didn't care for a second what I wanted it to do. Imagine that! Trade deal negotiations with China posed great risk either direction. After 3 big up days, I assumed (incorrectly) that we had rocketed up high enough. WRONGO...
My newest favorite method of big market analysis is "market profile" which is nothing more than a way of trying to determine "Where is the true value in the market?" Several of the guys in the chat room I am in use it, and here is Peter of ShadowTrader.net who does a free weekly video. https://www.shadowtrader.net/the-trade-deal-damp-squib/ I especially liked his discussion this week about VPOC stacking, beginning at the 7 minute mark. A "Point of Control" is the highest volume node of the day, and a "Virgin POC" or VPOC is one that remains untested during RTH (regular trading hours).
In my experience, Naked POCs, you are calling them Virgin POCs, act like price magnets!! And when there is confluence with other geometric and/or specific price tools, they seem to be almost magic! One of my favorite POC trades is when there is a Naked POC beyond an opening gap... tip: use the POC touch for exit, not the gap fill itself . Of course, you need to have some valid setup or method to be playing for the gap fill in the first place. I find it interesting you've taken interest in POCs. None of your charts even have a volume histogram! I use volume extensively in my trading. My trades are also all-in, all-out, flat at eod. However, I trade minis, and time-to-time currency and ag contracts. Micro-gold is interesting too. Anyway... following your posts. What sets you apart IMO, from most of the conventional wisdom ET'ers is something you posted... You don't need _THE_ high or low of a move to have a good trade. A good trade is one where you follow YOUR rules and plan, win or lose. You speak of small wins. Many here can not take small loss, OR small win. Trade On!
I am still very new to volume profile. Value Areas (and the 80% rule) and POCs (some call them COTs) are intriguing. I have actually used something very similar on an intraday basis for 5 years and just made the connection with the daily time frame a couple months ago. Ready for the epiphany? 1) The market is always seeking true value. 2) The market will stay in the same range on an hourly basis or even a daily basis for 70% of the time. 3) If significant enough, news or earnings will drive prices out of the current range into a new value range. This is usually a prior area where investors have determined found true value. These trends are the powerful moves we witness everyday. 4) Reversion to the mean works great on an hourly or daily basis until #3 kicks in and a trend begins. 5) #1-4 kick in on all time frames, from daily charts down to 1 tick charts. The fractal nature of the markets is real based on human emotion of fear and greed. 6) I have been talking about trading in ranges for many years now, and nothing has changed except volume profile has allowed me to see the exact same thing on a daily or multi-day basis. Here is a link to a 2013 post I made on MQL5 when I was trading FX. https://www.mql5.com/en/forum/10647 "How to identify and trade in a RANGE." 7) Most traders are looking for that 30% of movement that happens after a breakout. Great! I am learning finally how to trade the range expansions, but 70% of my trades are still REVERSION TO THE MEAN. And because some ranges are small, I have many small trades. And in the biggest ironic statement of the day, "some days I knock it out of the park with base hits." This was probably more that you wanted... LOL, but I love writing about trading almost as much as I like trading. I am not sure why...
So if the full epiphany was not obvious, here it is: Ranges (#6 above) have boundaries and mid lines. These range boundaries are like the VAH and VAL of the daily volume profile, and the mid line is like the POC. If I trade within this context, then I should stay alive for many more weeks.