I was wondering how most people use the $Tick indicator. I have been day trading for 8 years the emini S&P and I can never really get a handle on it. Like most I am always looking to improve entries / exits... This is some of what I have been exposed to...I'd be curious to see how others are using it and more importantly how does one determine when a high Tick reading is implying new buying vs a buying climax and the reverese for sells....heres what I do ....sometimes....lol 1) I look for divergences between price and Tick as long as there is 45 minutes to one hour between the readings......stole this from Raschke...seems to work ok 2) If I am long and we get a good high tick ( 800 - 1000) with a good volume push I will exit partials and trail stops tightly...reverse for shorts 3) I like to fade tick extremes but only in the first 90 minutes and donot fade after 2 PM est 4) I have heard people say they watch the first pullback to zero after new Tick highs for buying opportunites but I have found this inconsistent...say with new Tick lows.. Although it is not needed to daytrade effectively I'd like to know if I am really missing something with this indicator..thanks Pitbull
pitbulltrader, Here is a chart...."Data Based Indicators for Trading"....showing the TICK....plus other indicators. I made this chart a long time ago....but I have not used it for many years now. While I believe the numbers are valid....this is my own opinion. Also....since the $TICK is based on the NYSE....if you use it to trade ES Futures....you need to be aware....it won't be perfect. You would need to use it with other indicators....or other information. VSTscalper
Ah yes. The good ole $Tick. I never made any connection with it after a long period of trying. There are good looking divergences in hindsight just like every other indicator but in practice seems like 50/50. You dont need it. There are certain patterns in ES that repeat so often It suprises me that anybody loses money but I guess somebody has to. However, if you havent spotted them after 8 years I dont like your chances.
there are other indicators ... that measure the fear and greed intraday ... some have been mentioned here on ET
I try to use the TICK indicator when my dog starts some itch action on his body using the hind legs. The signals comes one or two times a week but even then it does not work.
well so far there are some hopeful posts and then there are those that bring up questions...I'll try to stay on top of them to keep things legit so we need an answer from Setharb regarding the other fear/greed based indicators and Easy rider perhaps I should have been more clear when I said.. "I have been day trading for 8 years the emini S&P and I can never really get a handle on it. Like most I am always looking to improve entries / exits." I meant I can never get a handle on the $Tick...not the emini....although the first 1.5 years where tough mentally and financially......anyway.....keep em coming......and of course we would all like to see examples of the "patterns that repeat so often" I hope you are a real trader and can actually back up what you say...too many paper traders lurking around...your response will tell us all where you are at...Special Thanks to VSTscalper...cool stuff..
It's nice to glance at the $TICK once in a while to see how the market's faring (I've got a short term MA running on it with an alert that tells me when it moves above/below zero) but aside from that I don't find it that useful (at least for my system).
4) I have heard people say they watch the first pullback to zero after new Tick highs for buying opportunities but I have found this inconsistent...say with new Tick lows.. This provides good confirmation to hop on the morning rally, say between 10:30 to 11:00. Soon as I suspect a setup and see the aggressive buying start I wait for the pull back, although the tick readings may not drop all the way to zero. The later you enter in the move, the less pullback and the higher the tick readings. It is also a method valid for trend days on pullbacks. applying it to any move is not a good idea. I had a well timed short on the 1000+ tick at 1298.50 on Thursday 11:12. If I did not anticipate the move then the tick reading would have been not nearly as helpful. Note this was also successive lower tick reading
The TICK is not very reliable as a standalone indicator but I've noticed that it can help to spot some very short-term opportunities if you not only look at the level (extremes) but also at how fast it got there. When the TICK moves to an extreme and does it very quickly, the move can often be faded successfully. But you've got to be careful because sometimes it can also be a real breakout/breakdown. I keep a 1-minute TICK chart with an alert that triggers when the TICK moves to an extreme (+/- 600) at a minimum speed of 300 points per minute (in a single bar). Hope that helps... Alex