Just to clarify, are you saying that the MA filter has a net benefit for you at that point where higher lows or lower highs reach exhaustion? I just wish to know what incremental value it brings to your table since it only brought clutter to mine.
Thank you for your attention. Perhaps you may have missed it, but I responded to one of your posts to me elsewhere and I still await your response: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2696773&highlight=bighog#post2696773 I include it here only because it has direct application to the selfless guidance you are providing NoDoji, and I was hoping you would clarify the apparent discrepancy for our benefit. P.S. webpearl59, thank you for bringing bighog's delightful wit to my attention. I missed that little number.
hey i want to ditto the comments webpearl made about bighog and your mentor problem. I'm going on my 2nd read of this journal and it is pretty sweet the info available. Grant it I'm not going anywhere fast but i think it beats the $60.00 book the Dr. put out about price action. His is good but this is easier to read. thanks again. Iwont forget the time you 2 have put into this journal.
The 20-period MA has benefit in telling me where to join a trend-in-progress, and also best counter-trend entry zones. Join a trend in progress at or near the falling or rising 20 MA in the direction of the MA; counter trend when price pulls to an extremely overbought/oversold state from the 20 MA (on my small charts it's 1 centimeter, ha). Counter-trend trades are mainly scalps until 3 or 4 legs in the trend are completed, IMHO, though they sometimes indicate a true reversal sooner.
anything was an easier read than Dr Brooks book. I see where many like the book, Trading in the Zone, thats a good one. Another good one is The Day Traders ADVANTAGE "How to move from one winning position to the next"... Howard Abell From Page 8, Lao-Tse Chinese philosopher: "He who knows much about others may be learned, but he who understands himself is more intelligent. He who controls others may be more powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still." Nod, i prefer to see CANDLES on a childs birthday cake. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxvAZrp9WHk PS: ThunderFlea, thks but no thks, i decided not to read your posts.
Thanks for your response. I just find that the underlying price action tells the same tale if you look for it, but to each his own, eh? You mentioned something about viewing the stochastic as training wheels in an earlier post. Let us know if you ever make the same observation about MAs.
Would you have acted differently had it not been for volume being what and where it was? Would it actually have altered the timing of your entries and exits, all else being equal? Would you have acted differently had you only been following price? And, if so, have you confirmed the net value that volume may bring to your table based on historical and real time testing, as well as actual trading? Please forgive my continued questioning, but I am genuinely curious since I have found no such overriding value in volume as it relates to my own trading. When I had looked at various means of employing volume, I found that, while it might occasionally filter out what would have been a losing trade and confirm a good one, it was just about as likely to filter out a good trade and confirm a losing one. Assuming R:R > 1, such findings suggest a negative net effect on performance, in addition to the increased analytical clutter. However, I realize that these results may be due to the peculiarities of my own method and/or my lack of interpretive skill. And so, I am curious.
+ $757 I decided today I would totally focus, no distractions. I also decided to choose only two trading vehicles to make focusing easy. I chose ES and ESRX as my main watchers for the open. I guess I enjoy trading with Eâs (that's for you Jeg). Shorted ESRX @ 87.98, pullback from lower high. Since price had already fallen so far off the recent highs I didnât go âall inâ, but the setup was solid (overbought, lower high, falling 20 MA) so I put on 400 shares. The trade immediately went in my favor and I sat on my hands, pretending there was a power outage. Finally after a huge selling volume bar signaled capitulation, I tightened my stop which was hit @ 86.08 for +$756.70. For some reason I didnât also short ES at the same time, though it exhibited the exact same setup as ESRX (pullback from a lower high). What a move I missed there! Spent the rest of the day studying charts in 1-, 3-, 5- and 30- minute time frames for the opening 90 minutes and finding price action patterns to help me enter trades earlier and catch many of the large moves Iâve been missing. Cutting out early for errands.
I really have no idea if I would act differently because I've been watching these same charts with these same indicators for over a year now and I instinctively react to stuff I see onscreen, taking it in as a whole picture and working to get better and better at simply responding without thought to what I see. That is by far the most difficult thing I've encountered in day trading. Responding without thought to what I perceive as positive expectancy, and then trusting the trade enough not to move my darn stop too quickly!
Holy Profits! Batman. GREAT trade Nod. Nice to hear you say you are seeking FOCUS. Think real estate, Location, Location, location. Focus works, yes, it is work, it is a chore to keep it up. Look at a chart, decide what you would like to happen, either preset a Limit order or be prepared to go MKT. Focus on the info the mkt is giving you relative to your projection. Get filled if the setup hits, work the trade. Take the results the mkt gives you. Take a break if desired. I will tell you why you did not take the ES trade. Very simple, you were FOCUSED on the winning trade. Ask yourself this question: What would you have focused on if you took the stock trade and it worked and also took the ES and it was losing? I was short and was listening to CNBC and knew the Pres was going to make a speech on banking. The mkt was not down much at the time, then it started to tank.........I thought..........must be bad news from the pre-speech notes (if any), anyway i did fine. Did not catch the whole move naturally but sweet enough. Point being: I focus on a single trading instrument because it is my child, it is my mate, it is my friend. The days of chasing wild women (trading stuff) are over, i am perfectly happy being a single bachelor with a partner. ES is my partner.. LESS IS MORE Try it you will like it. Here is the usual mantra from newer traders when their favorite instrument starts to trade slow and dull................I need to find a new mate. Soon as they do that, quess what happens? Right! You get a day like today and they miss the boat. Focus, on less. Have a good Friday. PS: Try also to just use a single time frame for orders. It is a lot easier to focus on a single chart. The brain can in this game give FASTER, accurate feedback to the mouse finger when it has LESS inputs to muddle through.