I have never been much of a BO trader but I am starting to lean more in that direction. I understand how important volume is but would be interested in some other signals you look for for FBO.
I work through things with people by starting with the basics, or to say it another way, I start with uncomplicated matters that are well defined and have no caveats. From there on I try to achieve an increasing breadth of understanding where both clarity and no abiguity exist as well. Starting with a level and adding breadth is a sound path to follow. Making money is my orientation. It does not take brains but it does take being sure you are in a balanced rational place. In ET the pitfalls are very significant for all of the above. If you have the proper starting point (most do not and it is not debatable to any degree, either) and you stay on that level and broaden your IQ and do not damage your EQ, you find yourself in a space where you can begin to consciously pair the use of your senses and emotions associated with those senses to learn about the pragmatic operation of the market. This statement is not one that can be grasped by most people here. Further most people here do not have a proper starting point. No one can just say I want to begin to do trading and then embark on a successful pathway. It does not work that way at all. Before people begin to develop an interst in trading, they usually do something else first. Many will never understand this either. So many people have been afflicted with the vast array of detrious ou there, that usually it is impossible for them right from the get go. Grinding in any person, there is a continuous stream of stuff that further impairs them day after day. In ET, the mechanisms of operation are biased strongly to failure because of the above. There is only one way to grow into excellence after making he proper beginning. You pay attention to two things: what is happening and what is not happening. These two sets are peers. All signals come from these sources. By having a foundation and broadening it under circumstances where you have balance, you may then begin to raise your pragmatic consciousness. Otherwise you are trapped so do not expect to get the job done. Neither arzoo nor you are trapped. In the last 12 months I have suggested a variety of constructs to deepen the consciousness. None of them are rcognized by those who are "still waiting for me to keep my promises". To move you ahead to see signals and see them properly and see what items are not signals, I need to put you in a place that is very clear, comfortable and consistent. You will be there as we go along. So signals come in two types: what happens and what doesn't happen; so do non-signals. Four subset classes, in other words. BO's occur from (after) centering. The glossary for centering is that price comes into balance as it is damped by decreasing volume. Damping comes in three forms: under, critically and over. All apply and knowing which one is in effect is an example of deepening after having broadened yourself. After centering, the leading signal of price BO, is a volume BO on the trading fractal. Volume BO occurs within a bar on a prorata basis. FBO's are a result of failure in the above process. It happens in two ways: A required element does not happen; or an unallowable element is interjected and cancels and negates the pre BO process. What this means is that a FBO is determined prior to it's manifestation usually. All FBO's begin as potential BO's and they are determined before or at the latest, during a BO. The most common FBO signal is insufficient/continuing increasing volume (monitored on a prorata basis). Your two preset market tools, reversal and exit, cover the base. Use a DOM vernier to lead the prorata volume monitoring. As the BO arrives you will see the depth changing in a way that shows trades are secondary to add/delete action. Head fakes will be present on the opposite side of the price BO direction that will be coming up. Volatility on the leading index of the one you are trading will be in compression. After failure you will see alot of head fakes popping off the DOM side they are on. Discount the DOM stops that are showing on the away (below) side of the Bbid/Bask columns FR's (Failure to Resume) are a parallel set to FBO's. There is a pairing as well BO and FBO is thought of a pair. FR's appear similarly Resumes come from an assortment of formations (flags among others) and their other half, FR's, relate to them as do the BO/FBO pair. Today on ES there are several each of the four items: BO's, FBO's, resumes, FR's.
What you are going to be finding here more and more is that what I say to be helpful is negative. There is some dumb idea on ET that anyone can work through problems in trading. It is not appropriate for people who are screwed up to continue to think they can get it right. The same applies to screwed up people who critique best efforts of balanced people. Anyone who is making a best effort to grow and who is not operating from a screwed up IQ/EQ deserves to be protected from critiques from screwed up commentors. You will notice how you comment to posts. Substantive no; otherwise, 100%. Value to anyone, zero.
I couldn't agree more, Jack. Your long-awaited explanation of BO and FBO signals was a model of clarity, and I'm sure that everyone found it to be extraordinarily helpful.