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This is getting messy! As you can see there may exist more areas of S/R, but I am going to stick to the extremes tomorrow. So, for the game plan: No different than friday, short 30 long 13, but I'm guessing it may not be that easy this time. Depending on the strength of the bulls or bears, one might have to enter earlier then 30 or 13 to get the trade this time. On a different note, it could be a hell of a break out day.

Did as soon as I got home, but what do you have against selling at support?

As noted above , the range for today was 30 to 13 for today. This turned out to be one of those ideal support and resistance trading periods. I initially shorted 29 and was stopped out, but 30 was still the level to be short as you can see below. Then I waited for 13 and found a great entry at 15.50, in which I moved to break-even a little later. Unfortunately for the trade, I had to go to a job interview, so I set my target at 29.00 (DBPhoenix suggested 30, so I played it a little safer ) and humorously, it was hit. Now that I review, my realistic exit for that trade was somewhere between 25 and 23.50, had I been trailing it as I normally do (the short, red lines are my usual stops). The true signal to get out would have been the triple top at 25 (remember from my earlier post that I was looking for a possible short at that level). In any case, it was a very nice trade that adhered completely to two levels for the day. Last, if you look at the far right of my chart, you'll notice that shorting 30 again would have put the trader further in the black. Some days it just seems that easy.

Things to watch for tomorrow: It seems obvious that the range presented is 1730 to 1713. With that in mind, a break of either should produce a lot of energy from traders. On the other hand, a reversal at each is very likely, which is what I like to trade. 1725 presents itself as a possible short, in which the trader would be looking for the next reaction to occur at 1713. 1713 presents itself as a good long, in which the trader would be mindful of 1725 and 1730 as possible exits. If we get below 1713, it seems that we should "get choppy" between 1705 and 1700

Today was a rather disappointing day with my entries, as I was stopped break-even (+1 tick) one time and stopped out -1 point two other times (not to mention that it seems like most of the action happened after my quitting time of 11:00 am). Overall, my day ended with -1.75 NQ Points. My post is to provide insight into my pre-defined levels (shown in gold below) and how I had to flexibly adapt to keep with the market. I will use a 133 tick chart for display purposes, as well as to fit the overnight session (I use 30s or 1m during day). Two levels were added prior to open: 1705, for the obvious R provided before the open and 1702 due to the R that it provided before yesterday’s close and the overnight S. Ironically 1702 acted as a midpoint (or POC for MP guys) during the AM session. Trade 1 (5-second charts posted below): Short 1705 based upon very quick price action on 5s chart. I know this is very aggressive, but I find that aggressive is generally the best way to be in the first hour, especially at extremes. As noted in my figure, I moved the stop to break-even (my rules when price moves 2 points in my favor). Trade 2 (5-second charts posted below): Short 1705 based upon price action again (look below). A double top even confirmed the trade, of course that was after I was in. Unfortunately this trade didn’t initially move 2 points in my favor (didn't move to break-even) and stopped me out fully, almost to the tick, before moving 7 points in my favor. Trade 3 (5-second charts posted below): After this range was in place, I had to at least try the short one last time, and unfortunately sometimes you just miss all of your opportunities for the morning. At that point, the market didn’t know what to do and I can’t trade squiggly, two-point ranges for last 20 minutes (until 11:00 am). Missed longs: You may notice my aggression to the shorts, but had I given that same attitude to the longs, I would have been black for the day. The break of 1699 at ~9:55 a.m. threw me off and I looked left to see where we would be next. I already had 1696 posted but I didn’t take into account the swing low overnight at 1697.50 (this was also confirmed by DbPhoenix in the chat). I then added it and had I been quick enough, a long at that level was completely reasonable as it provided a clear price action entry on a 5s chart (see below). This was simply personal hesitation, which I plan to iron out with experience. Conclusion: I feel that the most important point of this post is the fact that each level was in place before price had made its move. With the right buy and sell signals, one can really profit from trading these predefined levels. In addition, it really puts you into the action. You are trading price, not indicators or averages, but raw market material.

This is getting a little messy. Even though the 88 long worked very well yesterday, it was more of a reversal at 86 (flexibility lesson). We are clearly in an uptrend, as well as creating a range with 92 being S. Tomorrow I am looking for shorts at around 1700-1702 (permitting we stay below it over night) or of course a long off those levels (depending on the set up). In addition to that, it is possible that a long off 92 will be a nice trade (one can even expect price not to reach 92 which would all the more strengthen a long at who knows.... 93.50?).

Time for the wizardry: The levels should stay nearly the same as yesterday (Monday), but now we have a new high to work with. I'm keeping my highest level at 88, since we are now below it. If we do break higher, hopefully a nice setup (break out or retraction to 88 support) can occur at that level. Otherwise, I am level-less above 88. I decided to use a 10 Range to get a real clean look at S/R. This works much better than using a 5000 or 10000 volume chart at the moment, since my data feed ends up smashing all the previous months into an inch of my screen (makes sense if each bar is a certain amount of volume and this is the "new" contract).

If that is the case, then you are still using a chart (250 tick) to see levels of support and resistance. Then using your T&S seems not much different than using a 1 tick chart for entries. If that is the case... I'm not as amazed, but still impressed. I get the general idea. Furthermore, just like using the 1 tick chart, you are truly reading price action, as compared to the 1m charts where you miss anything inside the open and close of the bar. Anyway, no need to post an example, as I didn't realize you also used a 250 tick chart.

If you can trade off nothing but Time and Sales and be consistently profitable, I'd be really impressed. Could you elaborate on your elite talent? I'm curious.

Yes... But you're sort of late to the party. FAZ and SKF seem to have had their insane runs. They even had to do a reverse split on FAZ to raise the price, which in turn crashed it further down. I'm not a foreseer, but I don't think people would "freak" as much as they did about banks as they did during the housing crash. I mean, think psychologically... things drastically frighten people the first time... a little less second time .... a third time though?? Look at the peaks on FAZ and SKF to illustrate the less and less fear (smaller peak on second "scare"in Mar) It just doesn't seem logical to short something like financials that has been so beat down and given billions to support itself. You are seeking leverage... Would increasing your shares really be any different? Unless your scraping the barrel for cash (and would be on margin), I don't think you have any issue with just increasing size. Can I ask, though, besides the recent rally (and of course "what goes up must come down"), what really makes you think the market is going back to those "scary" levels?

This seems insensitive... Was your post really necessary? Anyway, Cowcool: Please take the advice given to you. I lost at least 30% on my account (money I DID NOT need to live on) in the past and it does teach you a lesson. The obvious thing here is that you don't know what you're doing and it is really a hard thing to admit... I know from experience. I think the best advice was to get a job. Guarantee yourself some income, especially at a time like this. Then in the evening or late at night... work on looking at charts, strategies, theories, etc. If you can, get a trading platform and do some market replay stuff. SIM a swing trading method. Whatever you do will help, but don't risk that money, please. You need to be responsible now, not a hero. I don't even know you, but you definitely made me depressed with your post. Good luck to you and your family.

Was it always "Marketing Scientists" at the top or was it "Market Scientists"? Marketing sounds like we're good at pushing products or something.

Maybe this is pertinent? I've had nothing but trouble with TradeStation since I've been with them. The primary reason I joined was for the $.01/share stock trades, but as for futures, I do not see an advantage to having them over anyone else. Plus you pay for data (monthly)! I closed my futures account last month and will be closing the equities account fairly soon. Conclusion: I don't like them And also, from a former computer tech: back up your data.

This is what I started calling a "late" trend line, but don't seed that into your brain; it's just my new term Anyway, if you were to see a reaction here, it would seem only coincidence, seeing as it would probably be the level of R (around 1640...?) that people are reacting to. If you look back through charts, you may notice the same occurrence: late trend lines end up meeting price at a point of R. This doesn't rule out that some traders may be reacting to the trend line while the rest react to the level of R. In any case, I would consider these historical trend lines as more or less an interesting occurrence, but nothing to get serious about. As I said, S&R probably has much more bearing on the outcome.

Anyone else drink anything with resveratrol in it? I checked out a bunch of research on it and so far have found good things. I decided to start taking AIO, the new product by Ceres Living, since they compensate you for referring it to people (as well as getting a discount). Let me know if anyone else is trying it or wants to. Here's a site I threw together (brushing up my web development skills) to give a better description: http://www.aio-ceres-living.com

Good thing I downloaded it to my hard drive, right?

I believe my rules should be very similar to yours: I do create a new supply/demand line once the higher highs or lower lows are formed. Many times, though, I leave that original lines there (as seen in my picture and I also believe that is the same trend line as your purple channel) and notice that price still gets a reaction at those areas. This is clearly seen on my daily chart. I would never use the "late" trend lines for an entry, but it is interesting to notice what happens at them.

I'll try to add to that a little, Drav. You chose S&P, so I'll go with the DOW here. You must admit that there is still a bull run here. Maybe this is the big shake-out before another huge drop, but you have to play the probabilities. In this case I'm going to stay bullish with permabull, TOG. There are weak factors throughout the market though, since a few companies are not making higher highs in this latest explosion. As for the daily chart: Broken down trend Up channel seems to be perfectly in tact now Choppy down.... explosion up (referring to last swing) And now the montly: Up channel definitely in tact Latest breach of support looks more like a shake-out On both Charts we exist at major Resistance, so I would assume that this week will cause some slowness for the buying. Truthfully, I feel there is another down move (a significant one) around the corner, but you have to stay with what the market is currently telling you... and from these charts, that is still up.

Jon, Even though I and basically about everyone in chat disagreed with your exit strategy (letting +10.5 risking break-even), I want to pay you some respect for that. You did this, not because you're some crazy ******* that was betting high, but because in your research and testing, you found that you made more by letting price hit your target. For that I say Kudos! Had it gone break-even, you know I would have been the first to say, "Why the hell didn't you set a stop at the last swing!?!" In any case, good trading. -- Bill

I think he's trying to make the point that guru's aren't always right

A great point you made in this paragraph, and it really exemplifies the simple need for screen time. If traders were meant to just become mechanical in their trading, lazy suckers with forex robots and the scum bags who design them would be ruling the market. Obvious that is not the case. I have a strong appreciation for your sense of the market, because it was developed through a long duration of screen time. Staring at charts in real time, basically getting a feel, or intuitive sense, for the market. I assume that many times you can already know what is going to happen without having a trend line broken, indicator cross, etc. and this all can come from screen time. Thanks for the inspiration!

Considering that trading, especially day trading, can be very demanding, I'm not so sure that it is a good idea at all to trade from work. I know from experience that you cannot comprehend or get into the feel of the market if you're constantly losing focus by helping a customer, tending to a family member, cooking, etc. The market is not generous and it requires your FULL attention. If you cannot provide that, don't trade. You're trading against a variety of people, and believe me, a majority of them are not losing their focus and are very determined to get money out of the market from less focused, less experienced traders. If however you can set side 1-2 hours, to completely shut yourself off to the outside world, you may be ready to engage in some trading, but you have to be completely transfixed by the market action. This might mean waiting until 6-8 pm to trade some forex pairs. Either way, price action is all the same, so you'll be getting better and better. Also, I'm not sure about your job, but I know if I traded during work, I'd be completely out of touch with both my job and the market. It is simply too much for one person to handle. And if you're trading on a lunch break, I do not envy you. It's a break from your job... enjoy it! IMHO, of course. Good luck to you all.

Just looking over that last trade. I see that you got long well after the trend started to form and it was past the midpoint of that range you have there. Price just seemed to be in the middle (I believe that is close to the POC in Market Profile terms). I know the wise tend to trade at the extremes and in this case I think you can see why.

5 second.... 1 tick.... 3 tick.... definitely the way to go if you want to see whats happening at key levels. Use that and a nice size larger TF and it feels like being on top of a mountain, but with a telescope... you see it all And you will also get a more detailed view of the volume spikes, as Atto pointed out today in chat.

Today made up for the week. Ended with +20 YM Points on Tradestation and -1.25 NQ points on Ninja. That leaves me with a whopping $25 profit for the week. Even so... its profit! The main thing this week is that in 95% of my trades, I stuck to the plan. I did miss a few good points and I took one trade I shouldn't have, but overall it did not hinder my performance. I also became more flexible around levels, as I should be. Doing that helped a lot, not only with entries, but with psychology. I wasn't baffled today when the YM pushed above the level I wanted to short, only to fall soon after. In other words, I let the market do its thing and "went with it". I got the entry later and profited from it.