I''ve spoken with a few traders concerning entries but I'd like to see how many of you go about entering a trade. For myself, I trade swings for the most part. I've used a method where I buy when a strong bull bar (candle) appears that finishes near it's high and the reverse for selling/short resistance. I'd usually enter one tick above that bar. The problem is that this doesn't happen often and I find myself forecasting lots of trades on which I miss out because it didn't have the setup I usually seek. My method is that way because I prefer to enter on momentum, increasing the chance that I'm right. I've heard of others who simply buy or sell in an area and wait it out to see if they're right. IE: Selling really close to the top of a resistance and placing a stop at a swing point. What method do you use?
There's a great list of top threads here at ET and one of the sections if "Technical Analysis" that contains a list of top trade strategy threads @ http://www.elitetrader.com/et/index.php?threads/et-hall-of-fame-threads.204669/ There's another "Technical Analysis" thread where ET members discuss details about their trade strategies @ http://www.elitetrader.com/et/index.php?forums/technical-analysis.33/ The two above contain a few hundred trade strategies alone. Next, if you read the "Journal" section here at ET...some of the journals...the person discusses the details of his/her trade strategy @ http://www.elitetrader.com/et/index.php?forums/journals.29/ Yet, if you're looking for something specific...you can always use ET search at the top of the forum to look up specific trade strategy topics.
for me it depends on the market at the moment I just simply enter on a stop with a tight stop loss someday if the market changes I will try to bargain hunt and enter on a limit again I trade fx and those mkts have been trending very strong due to the dollar and the euro which affects all other currencies, so the "don't try to catch a falling knife" saying goes like a law right now. So I just enter on a stop and hope to catch a trend. I never take a profit. That's the hard one to learn.
"I've heard of others who simply buy or sell in an area and wait it out to see if they're right. IE: Selling really close to the top of a resistance and placing a stop at a swing point." that's exactly my strategy. all comes down to guessing direction and *feeling* when you're right or wrong.
yes, about 10% comes down to just guessing 90% is money management guessing right can make you a lot of money money management always costs you money, like a useless life insurance policy that you pay premiums on each month and you never die and so you never collect but in the end, 10% guessing right will make you money, if 90% is governed by money management to keep you alive when the guessing goes unbelievably wrong.
I try and gauge the larger trend (using a higher time frame), then drop down to a lower time frame and get in on a retracement.
Yes. --Just get tired of reading postings where people say they've missed entries. You'll never miss an entry using a market order.
I always like reading your posts cause we seldom agree, LOL. I can't stand entering on momentum but I do on some entries, momentum entries always cause the greatest risk and smaller profits. It use to be taught in the 1980s you needed deep enough retracement and much lower than recent pivot high cause that is going to be area where price most likely going to challenge first, so you give up couple ticks to get in and you want sizeable amount of points till this pivot high to take some profit, protective stop should be recent lows minus couple ticks. But if you have a shallow lower high, you buying right near recent highs and becomes more of a coin flip of theory whether continuation of trend or reversal, plus the risk is still beyond recent lows. Some markets like ES, financials chop more, but markets like Crude oil and Russell more likely to behave better in shallow retracement. I really prefer to just buy on retracements on a limit, if I get in, I get in, always another trade, but risk is shorter and my plan is often near recent highs of getting out. As far as different kinds of entries, there are so many. I like ones where you have a two tick breakout but platform then will buy 2 ticks better, and get filled often on most markets cept for coffee/cotton lightly traded then use stop and limits to get in, not going to chase much. Say you take trend off five minute charts, use Bollinger Bands on 2 minute chart and get in on/near lower band, but I like having 18ema on five minute chart and price hitting 18ema which on 2 minute price hitting BB so retracement is deep enough. Money management to me has safeguards of preserving capital till better opportunity fits my trading plan. Don't see it as costing me money, that is like breakeven plus one tick profit, where one tick is better than breakeven minus fees. Other day had eighteen plus one tick trades in a row then next three trades made $100 per each, you just never know.