zdo

Caveat – The links below are basically a detailed critique of P90X --- I found it provides in depth information (for ‘shoppers’) and certain perspectives on the efficacy of the program and programs like it that all might benefit from… hth begin to dig: Reflection/Critique of P90X review: Part 1 of 3 - muscle confusion confuses the issue begin to dig: P90X Critique Part 2 0f 3 - WIll you really "get ripped"? begin to dig: P90X Critique Part 3A, Alternatives: to P90X's Diet Plan (or any 12 week diet, really) begin to dig: P90X Review/Critque Part 3b: Workout Alternatives and Why to Consider Them - or "Life is Short & we're complex" fwiw - I remain with a net positive bias on P90X, but this bias is far overshadowed by my bias for CST (hardcore, with all three wings). With sounder foundational principles, CST is much healthier and safer in the long run, plus ultimately takes you a lot further in overall performance edge… All the best, zdo

GV is great but, in this particular case, you do not need to use it unless you are comparing the closes of different instruments. (If that, you could also use two data streams on same chart) In EL once you set a variable in holds until you change it or the instance of that workspace ends. So (in pseudo code) you could just do something like If t =1400 then // btw, usually to bracket with if (t[1] <= __ and t[0] and t[0] > __) cat = c[0]; Then from then on just use the var: cat as you need.

Brian, Yes many pairs are so highly correlated that if you sell one and buy the other it’s just a costly wash. … and ‘hedging’ a position in this manner instead of just stopping out is ultimately – in a word – costly! Trading the 'spreads' can be profitable but it requires developing expertise and there are so many other instruments beside fx that are better spread candidates. Btw, there is a ‘correlation trading’ niche – see Jason Fielder, etc for examples (definitely not an endorsement btw) Currency Correlation | OANDA FXTrade InfoCenter Forex Correlation - Mataf.net I also found a cool site on the internet called google the other day hth

Have you checked the reserved word Text_Delete(keyId) ? Setting the Text_setstring to "" / empty string ? Using Text_SetLocation() to move the text far out of sight if condition ? hth

Steenbarger has an archive of great articles. You can check on his site to see if they are still available. Brett Steenbarger Articles on Trading Psychology and Trading Techniques Here is an (almost random) selection of context type articles… Remapping the Mind: Cognitive Therapy for Traders Three pillars of expertise For Those Who Aspire to Greatness The New Psychology of Exceptional Achievement TradingAsMentalWarfare He also has published a few books. I have 2 or 3 of them, but have only skimmed Enhancing Trader Performance… so can’t speak to the books. I requested a review of his latest book The Daily Trading Coach: 101 L… here on TL and no one responded. My take – could mean it sucs, but more likely it’s something great that the pack doesn’t/can’t appreciate. Steenbarger has a distinct cerebral approach that many simply can’t stay with. Throughout his work, the common themes start with self directed (and guided) cognitive type psycho work, evolve to putting in the time / the 10000 hours rule…, on to the importance of ‘perfect’ practice (which is one of the reasons I go on occasional rants about the droves of posters with just months of experience directing noobies to sim when better alternatives are available… don’t get me started), on to implicit learning (contrasted with research and pattern recognition perspectives of development), on to zone trading, on to… He also wrote some article(s) about the ideal ‘environmental’ setups for beginners and the most beneficial attitudes and circuits they can take through stages of development, but can’t place the title(s). Also, a certain percentage of noobie traders would also benefit from studying Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers book. hth

Folks, IbusCane is not replying much so He may be gone already… Literally! But just in case – this is somewhat aligned to the intrapersonal ‘partnerships’ required in trading at high levels, matching your own nature to your own style, … etc [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9g3Q-qvtss]YouTube - Itay Talgam: Lead like the great conductors[/ame] ...also, most noobies should forget Steenbarger's developmental maps - NOT!

Question of the …Sort of a poll: In addition to “normal” intervention through open market operations, the discount window, and lending money to banks and encouraging them to make the funds available to brokerage houses. (like in 10/87, etc) - what probabilities would you assign that the equity markets are now surrepticiously being actively and directly traded by ‘agents’ of the Fed /& Treasury ? Thx

Question of the … In addition to “normal” intervention through open market operations, the discount window, and lending money to banks and encouraging them to make the funds available to brokerage houses. (like in 10/87, etc) - what probabilities would you assign that the equity markets are now being actively and directly traded / manipulated by ‘agents’ of the Fed /& Treasury ?

"It is a painful thing to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself and no one else has made it." ~ Sophocles, BC 496-406, Greek dramatist

A related question - is ndx trading becoming a ping-pong match between institutions and high frequency traders? And when the institutions dial back for the day, so do the HFT’s? This emergent relationship - competitive at best, to symbiotic in the middle, parasitic at worst?

UB, we struggled with adaptivity via time of day for quite a while… surprised you find it useful… finally went back exclusively with MarketTyping algo’s that are good around the clock and applicable to any instrument… use it to move the weighting of systems around much more than to push parameters though...

UrmaBlume, well, DUH... zdo

Is ndx trading becoming, as Tyler Durden describes it, “a ping-pong match between high frequency traders”?

Maxcy, You may find that 'Fundamentals in FX' turns out to be an oxymoron a huge percentage of the time. Check out the book Currency Trading and Intermarket Analysis by Ashraf Laidi : Ashraf's Book: Currency Trading and Intermarket Analysis He does a lot with combining yields and 'risk apetite' , etc. I don't have much good to say for his 'real time', more 'technical' work on his site and articles, but the book is a great place to start developing a global fx perspective ... hth zdo

Building an array of setups is a good idea but using pattern recognition has not borne the fruit most of its visionaries thought it would. Since the 80’s a series of commercial pattern recognition programs have come and gone. Just saw a blurb about one in a tv commercial (eTrade ?) recently. The practical application of pattern recognition has several limitations. One is the tolerance / fuzziness of the underlying templates - which in the trading world needs to be variable , looser then tighter the looser, etc.... But how does one intelligently pull that variability off. Second, patterns in a vacuum may show slight statistical odds, but when applied real time aren't so shiny. Third patterns not run in a vacuum, ie those with a contextual layer above the actual pattern require, again, variable tolerance in both the granular pattern and the ‘background’ pattern. Fourth, …. What you’re thinking can be done. It’s a specialty, a niche… and if it's you, don't let anything discourage you... but bottom line, pattern recognition algos in general do not produce extraordinary results. hth

yep, I had a 'direct' line to the floor but they wouldn't answer - which is one thing that scared me off. Called my broker and got through... they advised staying out... and then they called back a few minutes later about the margin increases. Most don't realize how different calling orders in by phone was from mouse clicking them in... I didn't have direct numbers for most instruments and you could hold for a fill on mkt orders (or limits already in) but most transactions on any other types of orders took 3-4 total phone calls... a call to broker, broker called the floor, and they would call IB back freakin whenever with a fill,a nd they would then call you... anyway even a mkt order could take 30 secs to 2 minutes (or more) for a fill and the spooz could move 20 ticks easily during that time in those days... They didn't have tarp money , temp trading halts, or the PPT those days to stop a crash and the program trades had no extreme range filters, etc...

Ah memories (and not analogues btw) Had sort of the same 'how does it just keep going up and up' questions A fairly serious sell off started on Thursday afternoon, the week before, and lasted through Friday. Most thought it was pretty much over by late Friday. They fourcled the margin near the open on Monday, but being a beginner, I still had no idea what was in store ... This was pre internet. I had a live FutureSource satelite feed. Watched the whole thing in shock on 5 minute big SPooz contract. Didn't have the stones to trade it but did do extremely well buying the Dec 30 yr US 2 ticks above the 76.14 lows on Tues night... 9K per car overnight...

Jefferson, Excellent questions. Has anyone gotten the official line from CME about why they did this change? Are all CME instruments included? Thanks, zdo

see post below... site came up with 'error on page' when I posted first time so I thought it didn't take and posted basically the same thing again.

“façade exhausted bulls and broke, beat up bears” was a comment from my blog. But something else is going on - narrowed ‘volatility’ coupled with very atypical slope (ie HUGE movement in short time period and virtually nonexistent scotoperiods). Hm ??

OK - What is a 'goat'?

Your choice...depends on your needs. I doubt if ATR application originators (LeBeau, etc) have made one way 'official' Average will give you the central tendency for all the ranges in the sample (length) xAverage will give more weight to more recent ranges in the sample (length) An exceptionally large recent range will push ATR number higher with xAvg than with Avg... A sample with an exceptionally large range in it will stay up longer with Avg than with xAvg as the large range fades to the bottom of the sample (length) Long length with Avg works pretty well if you're doing any std dev work Shorter length with xAvg works pretty well if you need higher sensitivity to recent activity...etc Which one suits your needs better?

bf, fwiw, I'm 'bloggin' - not specifically about "Measuring Strength of a Move Once in a Trade" but about whether and how to 'stay' or 'no stay' once in a trade... It doesn't use volume but unfortunately it does have lines - but only one active line at any given time.

Bohr makes a pretty case for indicators

Tams, sim piloting is probably the best and most used analogy in the ‘industry’ and your take on it is more grounded and balanced than most. … I will sidestep how loss of money is best not associated with loss of life, or how the consequences of mistakes in flying are distributed SO differently from the consequences of mistakes in trading, etc… I am not against sim either. A below average pilot (or trading) “trainee” would indeed be advised to spend a greater proportion of time on the sim than the real and be subject to a more structured progression. However, when I think about it, I come to the same conclusion as I have about sim trading - The average to excellent pilot (and trader) reaches the limits of benefits from sim very quickly and needs to get up on a real stick! .. and would in the end be a lot better pilot if the time on sim was miniscule compared to the time in real flight practicing responses to real circumstances – even if the ‘real’ is only in a piper cub / tiny FX acct. If you think about it from the pilot’s perspective, most sim in flying has purposes not truly aligned with creating the very best in a pilot. 'Corporate' reasons drive the emphasis on sim in flight… I suspect they drive the emphasis on sim in trading too – to the detriment of individual traders who are attempting to develop. Why don’t we see more ‘first kiss’ analogies instead of sim piloting analogies?