Much Nicer trends today. Note: If all one ever did was trade the FTT's on equities and futures, you'd make a very nice living. - Spydertrader
You'll make believers of us, yet. Thanks for these annotated charts, Spydertrader. My annotations are getting closer to yours but I don't yet have the feel for when to pull the trigger. I'd like to start using IB's demo account to try trading the ES in Jan sometime, if only to stop the temptation to pick positions in hindsight! Do you have any insights on how to set stoplosses? Are you continually involved in positions, flipping longs to shorts? (If this should be taken elsewhere, let me know. I don't want to sidetrack what you have going.)
Spyder or anyone trading real time channels Drawing the channels in after the fact is easy sometimes. I find drawing the channels in real time is difficult to impossible. There are plenty of bars in real time that could qualify as point 1,2 or 3 or as FVT's and BO but end up being neither. Do know real, reputable people profitting off of Real Time signals provided by Real Time Channels? I can see the merits of channels used in conjunction with other TA tools but as a standalone trading method I have a problem with all the false signals that channels may show.
Well I'm real and reputable (well kinda reputable) I've traded FTT's now for about a week and love it but that being said I have a lot of trading experience and I do use other tools but I know that most of the guys in the chat room trade only with channels and all are happy.
With all due respect (and I really do not want you to take this in a negative light), you have more work to do. You need to make the shift from probabilities and statistics, from Sharpe ratios and profit factors, from wins and losses to the realm of execution. The faster (and more accurately) you can recognize the FTT, and the quicker you can take action needs to be your focus. Forget stops for now. Before anybody decides to misinterpret my words, let me be perfectly clear: You need to train your brain still, and not worry about the trade outcome. If you feel you are ready to move to simulated trading, make sure you follow the simple rule set for the FTT. Trade in the direction of the FTT until. 1. You reach another FTT (then reverse), or 2. You reach and FBO (then exit [beginner]), or 3. You reach a BO (then hold). The above advice works for both equities and futures (as well as many other markets). IF you find you made an error (you thought you had an FTT, but it turned out to be something else - HVS, CCC, Dip, Hitch Stall, etc.), then you want to immediately place yourself back in the same direction prior to your error. Immediately debrief your decision-making error, and then move on. At this point, it isn't about stops, or losses, or even proper execution. You are testing your input analysis and decision-making ability. Later, you can work on the third facet (taking appropriate and timely action). At that time, you can bring stops back into the equation. After you can nail the FTT's at each and every turn, you'll see why your question with respect to stops falls under the heading of 'old thinking.' Again, once you make it 'over the hill' to where you can 'see' in real time the changes about which I speak, you'll understand why I said, 'you need more work' above. I hope you find the above information useful. Good trading to you. - Spydertrader
The channels you see in my attached charts are drawn in either in advance (night before) or in realtime. If you scroll down to the bottom right of each ES chart, you'll see I captured the screen shot within three minutes of the futs 4:15 PM Eastern Time close. I only add the icons and arrows after the fact. I do not recommend drawing channels in hindsight. I do not feel it helps the learning process. the market often looks far different in real time than it does in hindsight. - Spydertrader
Spyder, My midlife crisis, a few years ago, I quite my job and day traded the eminis. Gave myself 6 months or so many $ to decide if I could make a living. 6 months later after losing by budget I went back to work. My wife said that I should of bought a Corvette instead. There are alot of sharks out there. My question is what does 3 minutes of the futs mean? thanks,