It is probably pointless to ask such as revealing question on ET. But how do you traders that consider yourself successful trade order flow? This is trading order flow to me: Look at a screen for 3 years everyday. Suddenly i start making opinions based on the order depth and momentum. But there is nothing scientific about it, nothing quantifiable. Is this reading order flow? I mean it works for me cause i have good trade management, but can anyone actually define what it is to read order flow?
I mean in the pit we could watch a guy walk in and buy 50 wheat market, walk back to his desk with his clerk still on the phone and it is pretty obvious that they are going to buy 50 more. So as a local what do you do? You take whatever paper is left in the pit and bid it a penny higher. When the broker with the 50 lot comes back use sell it to him a penny higher. Thats trading order flow and having an edge! You guys that talk about order flow out there have must better technology me, because you can't do that trading globex ags. All of the iceberg and algos and autospreaders make it basically impossible to even identify order flow on a consistent basis.
http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f34/discretionary-trading-reading-order-flow-2222.html the first post in this link is a good explaination of what I try to do on a daily basis. I think any rookies out there should learn as much as possible about what this guy is talking about. More so than reading charts, more so than know fundamentals.
my hats off to those whom are trading these markets they are awfully thin and tricky as we wind down the yr www.oliverbrowntophats.com/TopHat_History.jpg ps that is not me ... but I have in my lifetime been in a rolls and worn a top hat
wow ... such violence ! http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vnxMWiIpL._SL500_AA240_.jpg those bean / corn vs wheat spreads sure have been as nutty as old crop / new crop beans in last 24 hours whomever is controlling order flow is one tough whale www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQonowKNo0s I hope he or she does not think of themselves as masters of the universe ... as there is only one that we all know http://racked.com/uploads/2008_3_woodyaa.jpg
ok ... will the few here with any intellect care to explain the overnight action in the grains ? seems like one fat whale decided to drop a load of coal in someone's stocking by the fireplace