Trading breakouts

Discussion in 'Strategy Building' started by gifropan, Jan 12, 2010.

  1. NoDoji

    NoDoji

    Nothing in the "failed break" chart you post even resembles a breakout trade. First of all price is in a downtrend and secondly it never even breaks through previous resistance. What you'd be watching for here, if anything would be a new break through previous lows, or an eventual reversal signal.

    The most common meanings of "breakout" are:

    - a break through a previous high in an uptrend or a previous low in a downtrend.

    - a break out of a consolidated range (the best breakouts in this genre are out of a consolidated range on low volume in the direction of the previous move).

    Absolutely. That is what breakout trading is about. In the "failed break" chart Konviction posted the trend has reversed and you're now selling rallies that fail to break thru the 20-bar MA with conviction or selling breaks thru the previous low.

    AAPL is a rock solid breakout trading vehicle. Today it put in a morning high of 219.62 and I was all over it on the breakout. Long at 219.64 and I'm not gonna say where I exited because it's just plain sad. :eek:

    AAPL had breakouts thru previous resistance in an uptrend today. This is an awesome strategy for stocks with high short interest or stocks that have made strong runs and gathered a lot of very recent short interest from early shorts, who short too soon for no other reason than "it's too high", and certainly before an actual short signal has been put in. Some recent examples are BIDU, GMCR, NFLX, ISRG, and DECK. ( I used to frequently be one of those early shorts until I learned my lesson, which is: it's much easier to surf if you move in the same direction as the wave.)

    A nice intraday example of a "narrow range consolidation on low vol breakout" is AIG today. It mills around on low volume for over half the day, then as soon as it breaks thru the high of the range, it's off to the races.

    I agree that there are many failed breakouts, and you do have to sacrifice some soldiers in battle. However, a failed breakout is readily apparent and your tight stops in these types of trades lets you have quite a few scratch trades or small losses that are more than made up for with the big fat moves on true breakouts. In fact, a failed breakout is one of my favorite reversal signals when it occurs after a long, strong move in one direction. (Look at AAPL's final attempt to make yet another new high today between 2:15 and 2:25. After a long uptrend like that a failure to make a new high late in the move means longs will want to take their profits and the patient short-sellers will have their moment in the sun.)

    This price action translates well to swing time frames as well. For example, GMCR consolidated in a range between 80.00 and 85.00 for nearly a month before breaking out in the same direction of the previous move and making new 52-week highs. Ivica sniffed out this one perfectly last week: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=156582&perpage=6&pagenumber=8
     
    #51     Mar 9, 2010
  2. GG1972

    GG1972

    Checkout C and EL almost perfect lots ofvothers are cup and handle
     
    #52     Mar 10, 2010
  3. Yes it does. Price opened higher and closed higher than the previous day. Especailly to someone looking on a 1hr, or a 5min chart, that would very much look like a breakout.

    Price is in a downtrend?..according to who?..you?...markets are created because everyone has a difference of opinion :) . Look at 21.00 level....this year we broke, and closed above 21 (resistance) and now pulled back... to me, and others, this is bullish, and a chance to buy at discount prices... http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=CBI&p=D&yr=0&mn=7&dy=0&id=p14164536509 ..still bearish?

    What resistance?... 23.50?.. again, very subjective. A breakout trade is always against the previous trend...thats why its a breakout... its b-r-e-a-k-i-n-g out of a trend, and into a new one
     
    #53     Mar 10, 2010
  4. NoDoji

    NoDoji

    I considered it a down trend when price broke below the previous support level just below 21.00. I define am uptrend as higher highs and higher lows, and that breakdown through previous support violated the higher low part of the established uptrend, so now as a trader I'm looking to see if that was a failed breakout (the break thru previous S) or an actual reversal.

    The way I read the chart was that previous R was around 21.80 (hard to tell the exact prices).

    We seem to be defining breakout differently. You define it as a break out of a trend into a new one (I call this a reversal), and I define it as a breakout to a new high in an uptrend or a new low in a downtrend, OR a continuation of the existing trend out of a consolidation phase.

    Your chart also shows how powerful a failed breakout is. At the very end of November price breaks thru the previous support level, but not very far before reversing and making new highs.
     
    #54     Mar 10, 2010
  5. GG1972

    GG1972

    Analysis paralysis is what you got--did you ever get LMT? that was one I gave you buy you tend to argue everything and piss off people who try to help others with your stupid non sensical arguments.

    You were waiting for BDK too @72.50 keep waiting one day I assure you it will come back --one week one year maybe a decade from now
     
    #55     Mar 10, 2010
  6. Yeah, 80 was the suckers play on LMT. I've already been in and out of the stock at a nice profit while he's waiting for the stock to "weaken". LMAO. Good call by the way. I use PNF charting and LMT came on my radar as well.
     
    #56     Mar 10, 2010
  7. uh huh, sure, ok. See I have something called patience. I don't go out and buy on impulse like you do. And I could really care less if lmt comes down, I got 100+ other stocks on my list, and holding some I think will be nice winners over the coming months, like FCX.
     
    #57     Mar 10, 2010
  8. nodoji...by your definition, this would be a breakout trade?
     
    #58     Mar 10, 2010
  9. NoDoji

    NoDoji

    Yes :)
     
    #59     Mar 10, 2010
  10. So on the same chart, you'd be going long as it broke highs at 48...price ran up, then retraced all the way down and broke below the previous highs (blue line).. is this a breakout to the downside then?..would you take it short?
     
    #60     Mar 10, 2010