I scalp CL and ER2. I am a very visual person and I created a structure for myself to measure market movement so that my decisions are more mechanical since the same patterns repeat ad infinitum. (most of the time we can't believe it's happening again and we miss the move) I use MA' ribbons as trend indicator, CCI and MACD as oscillators and Keltner channels as extremity indicators. Also Volume and OBV. basically the same ingredients that most other people use. (most of these could be replaced by other indicators of similar nature) The above on 15 sec 1 min 3 min 60 and daily. Also on 89 lot or 89 tick bar charts. In scalping I pay a lot of attention to how the micro swings form and where they exhaust themselves as they tunnel through the resistance of the Keltner bands and horizontal support/ resistance and where the longer timescale patterns resume dominance. In some futures like CL ER2 and the JY these plot beautifully. I pay particular attention to the Volume action and don't trade at all if volume or OBV does not confirm the price pattern or I will be more confident in fading the move. Most of the time I have an expectation what the market may do for the next few minutes given how its behaving relating to the changing parameters. At times I am completely wrong, of course, but in a very high percentage of instances the market is moving around following a script that I somewhat understand and this allows me to operate with confidence and it comes down to getting in and out properly which is more complicated. In scalping prevailing momentum is more important for me then exact price points so I am very flexible when it comes to projecting where a mini swing may end, more like a tennis players gaming the ball while its coming at them. There is more to it but I wanted to illustrate how TA is useful (thanks to good ranges, liquidity and cheap commissions)even on the smallest timescales. Regards, GC
LOL! For entertainment purposes maybe! Her charts are so cluttered with abstract conflicting nonsense you can't even see the price move. http://charts.dacharts.com/2007-07-30/Buffy_5.png st
Constant volume bars, drawn trend lines, and marked swing points are all that are on my chart. Why, because it gives all that is needed. Any more than that demonstrates the inability to read price action. st
I use the same charts whether scalping, swing trading, or positioning long term investments. The only thing that changes is the speed of the chart. KISS is the key to stress-free trading! Indicators are for amateurs. st