You have to love this market ... My wife asked concerned: what happened with the DOW? I've just smiled: who cares? 50 min / 5 trades: +11.5 points!!! - no sweat
(I've already read Spydertrader's replies, and I hope you don't mind me commenting too.) I sensed frustration in your post ... From what I recall reading in your previous posts I think that you're not yet at the level of expertise to try to pin point turning points, so your expectations should be trimmed a little. If you shorted at 1502 or 1501 you should've made anyway a couple of ticks or more, and you can't expect to make the full bar at this stage, except by chance. At my level of expertise, I wouldn't have reversed there. To me the 1250 VE bar is the peak of a red gaussian. The fact that the bar was 3.5 points wide and closed above its opening is not significant: the price moves up and down in a channel, and the time sampling could catch it anywhere. Neither one of the bars that followed showed green volume strength either. If you want to learn how an expert would identify a peak with an accuracy of 1-2 ticks read one of Jack's descriptions of using 2 pairs + spike. <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1670549 width=512>
This had me smiling indeed The awesome thing is that this method actually reduces risk and increases reward during high volatily. Where the rest of the market sees risk, we see profit.
Sorry to disrupt the posts about today's session. As I've been reading through the journal, I've come across a kind of subtle ambiguity that I could not find mentioned specifically (if indeed it has, I await your rebuke, Spyder). In any case, please look at the image attached. Same bar formation, different volume patterns. I've seen posters draw strict tapes through the first two bars. When the low of the third bar violates the tape RTL, with price subsequently moving back up, technically it seems a 1-2-3 formation can be annotated and a new channel started. I've also seen the tape RTL rotated out to remove the violation on the third bar, as seen by the second taped formation in the image. I presume the reason for this is higher highs and higher lows. In this case, the tape is still a tape, with no 1-2-3 channel wrapped around it. This is confusing because it blurs the boundary between two fractals. As spyder and others have already pointed out, it's critical to remain in the same fractal. Moving between limbs, trees, and the forest can be very confusing unless you have thorough knowledge and intention of moving in and out of different fractals. The volume formations are also different, the first is for change, the second is for continuation. I'm not sure if the first volume sequence requires the 1-2-3 to be formed, or if a widened tape is still ok. Thanks, RoughTrader
If I'm not mistaken, TS timestamps the close of the bar rather than the open...that could be what you are seeing and account for your "5-min delay".