Here is an idea... the channels you are drawing are really the key.. they show the turning points of the market... perhaps you should one day... try trading based on the channels alone.. w/o any other indicators except for volume? like today instead of waiting for the 'rocket' at 10:45 i would have been in much better shape (by about 3.5pts) by getting short when my uptrend channel broke instead of waiting for a rocket signal....that is the area i need to become more comfortable in...sometimes i am afraid of getting whipped or not confident enough in my trend lines...just need to keep working on it and get more comfortable. thanks.
this is the condense version of Jack stuff , skeptic of Jack was busy trying to find flaw with his grammar thus never able to articulate this concept, thank for spelling them out.
both on entries, BUT on exit depending on the trend channel, macd xo i may not wait for BOTH to cross over...exits only. but i definitely wait for the 5m bar to close if the only negaitive is the stoch.
dawg, for a beginner trader (i.e me!!) this is just great stuff . appreciate your work and thanks! i follow this journal with great interest.
I traded with trendlines before reading some of jacks stuff and coming from my point of view much of what he has presented has been a great addition for me. I did not use any indicators before, but have found that using the indicators have been a great way to help me stay in my trades longer and usually gives me a double confirm on my trades and reversals. What I was seeing was that I was not staying in trades long enough when I traded. So the indicators give me a continued reason to stay or get out of trades. I am still trying to figure out the order of importance I want to base my trades off of. My number one is still my trendlines, but I get confused when say a MACD crosses down yet the stochastics continue to stay over bought. Right now I just use that as a indication to be alert for a possible end to the trade and reversal and then wait for the stochastics to also follow thru for confirm. Also I am still playing with the 1 min charts which I did not look at before -- only looked at the 5 min. But it makes sense to look at the 1 min when the 5 min looks like just big bars of nothing. I am still trying to figure out how to do trades if any based on the 1 min when this happens.
choppy day. big time struggles. 1. trend line break long macd was positive, stoch had left short zone and down trend line was broken...long @ 877.50. stoch cannot not aboe 50% (10:10 and 10:15 readings - trend still down) mkt reverses and exit at 875.50. long @ 877.50 sell @ 875.50 -2.00 day: -2.00 16 days: +36.25 2. rocket long (early entry) 12:50 s(76.19, 77.48) macd hist +0.45 entered this rocket earlier then normal...saw a triangle break upward and increase in volume so i entered earlier than i normally would...doh! stoch leaves zone and macd xo so i exited. long @ 800.50 sell @ 879.50 -1.00 day: -3.00 16 days: +35.25 3. bo of convergence (triangle formation) 1:25 bearish engulf on increasing volume...1:35 looked like triangle/centering was breaking out down got short on trendline break....low volume was big concern...market quickly reversed...exited short @ 878.25 cover @ 879.75 -1.50 day: -4.50 16 days: +33.75 4. rocket short 2:40 s(25.00, 24.12) macd hist -0.43 short on the break @ 877.50..looked good until verly low volume inside bar at 3:00 (volume 1,982) next bar was increasing green and trendline break...so i exited....promptly thru computer out window and banged head on table. short @ 877.50 cover @ 878.25 -0.75 day: -5.25 16 days: +33.00 ugh. not a good day for me....after good day yesterday maybe i was trying to push something that wasn't there...not sure. very disappointed. i am going to stand in the corner...i need a time-out.
the problem i run into is i don't have my range until 2:50(1-2-3 pts)...how can i know that earlier...i can always find it later, but it is too late. like 2:25 was a rocket...loser 3:15 rocket signal...loser