Soultrader

Hey ant... sorry about that. I just fixed it. Could you remove and upload the attachment again? Thanks

Thanks for the resources. I had a chance to learn with Alex Benjamin for a little bit. He's one of the best in the field.

Okay guys. See you then.

Im using a 15minute MP chart... just noticed the POC is off by a few ticks. Are you using a 24 hour chart or a gap chart?

Ok cool. See you there MrPaul.

This is for the ER2? I have 12161 for the YM on Ant's indicator. You can double check it here: Daily Notes for Day Traders | Pivot Points for Index Futures and more

I'll be in the chat room from 9:00am - 11:00am eastern on Oct. 26, 2006 for those who may be interested. Please reply and let me know so I can make sure I'm there. Thanks

An article I found over the net by Brett N. Steenbarger called "Remapping the Mind: Cognitive Therapy for Traders". Article is in a word format. Steenbarger.doc

Do you mean how to obtain the tape for your trading platform? Thats just a time of sales. All platforms should have it.

Hi Winnie, I'm going to talk about the YM only since this is all I trade at the moment. On Tuesday, Oct 24, we had a small victory by the bulls as the markets closed slightly higher than the open. However, I dont quite like to apply the last 30min action into the final market profile structure. If we take a look at a profile chart, the market is in complete balance with overlapping value from 10/23. We broke above the 12100 mark and after the second day above it we now see a clearer picture of the markets. It seems like there is price acceptance in this new zone. I wouldnt necessarily say there is complete buying control.. more like balance. So based on this information what you need to do is develop a trading plan. Where is a good buying point? Shorting point? Should I play the ranges? Or should I play the breakouts? Trading requires creativity but theres a limit to what type of setups you can develop. Also don't apply market profile word by word from the textbook. Play around with it and be creative. Okay, going back to the chart. I see several opportunities. First: the 10/23 VAL looks yummy. Possible bounce? Or play the breakdown to 11200? Second: Notice the point of control of 10/23 and 10/24. They are very close to each other. I like to refer to them as cluster zones. So if price bounced off the 10/23 VAL, I would look to exit at this cluster zone around 12155 - 12160. Third: Are we likely to see price consolidate a little more? If so, fade the VAH or perhaps the 10/24 high. If not, play the breakout of the 10/24 high. This is an example of understanding how to filter pivots. The 10/24 high is right above the VAH. In my opinion going long on the break of the VAH is risky. This is just a basic method to develop a simple trading plan. Now do you see why I need to do my homework? Also dont think this is all I do. I analyze the daily charts and intraday charts as well. I just wanted to show you what I see just by glancing at the market profile charts. Bad idea... good to hold some kind of opinion but divorce your ego from the markets. You are trying to make money, not trying to be right. Stay flexible and trade as if you were surfing. Ride the waves and dont fight it. Btw you can just call me James Hope this helps.

I use market profile to help me understand market concept. In order to apply it to real-time trading you need to start practicing with it. You will eventually feel comfortable applying it into your methodology. 1. I watch VAH and VAL as well as any cluster points. Do a quick search for "pivot point clusters" and you'll find a good amount of threads on this topic. 2. I am not a scalper. I like to place 2-5 trades a day at high probability trading points. 3. I do my homework to identify these high probability trading levels as well as understanding the language of the markets. The homework allows me to create a trading plan or a roadmap for the trading day. Trading blind is a sure way to lose. What else besides do you use market profile? I ask because I think traders combine a set of methodology that do not work well together. Soultrader

Totally agree with you guys..... but its almost impossible to convince indicator based traders that price action is the holy grail. Its like a religion... traders find it hard to convert. I had a discussion a few weeks ago and openly stated how indicators are useles. The response I received was unbelievable. Traders were actually defending their unprofitable systems!

Hard to say... I cant imagine a big shot trader being caught on the wrong side under these market conditions lately. One must be crazy to short on a large scale right now. Also, not much liquidity in the overnight sessions. I cant quite picture anyone fund/top tener trying to cover during this period. He'll end up losing alot more money than if he just waited till the opening on Monday.

This is one book I keep on my trading library shelf at all times. Alot of intelligent and insightful content from a true trader. Alot of his methods have become popular amongst the trading public. He points out that successful trading requires a balance of both technical and fundamental analysis. His 2B method is priceless and has helped me develop trading setups based on it. His rule of drawing trendlines is something novices should also learn. These two rules were probably the highlight of the book. Simple but yet powerful. I recommend this book to anyone who has yet to read it. Well worth the price.

I would like to think so... but I can never outsmart the market.

Hello Gordon G Point 1: Theres a couple of key levels I like to watch. Daily pivots, weekly pivots, monthly pivots, previous day high and low, VAL, VAH, open gaps, and globex low/high. This may seem like alot but what I do is filter the key levels from the insignificant levels. The way I filter them out is impossible to explain... just comes from the years of experience. Point 2 & 3: Im not a scalper at all but if I was to scalp, I would rely on the tape only. Point 4: Now this belongs in a completely new thread Point 5: How do I interpret the tape? Very simple. Memory. I can remember certain number of lots that took place at certain price levels. Of course this is just short term memory but I tend to be able to remember key lots at key levels. I use no tools... just a time of sales with size and price.

I like to keep my trading as simple as possible as well. I like the way you trade. Very similar to the way I process market information.

One of the better tape reading videos I have made. Its a little long so I divided it up in 3 parts. Please give it a few minutes to load. Also the charts are wide so make sure you maximize your browser. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Charts created by Tradestation Prestend by Traders Laboratory

Unfortunately this is not an easy topic to sum up in a few words. Each trader has their own method of seeing whether a breakout is valid or false. I can explain a few things that I look for: First I check to see if there is a line of resistance right above VAH. For example, if the previous day's high is right above the VAH pivot, I would watch carefully of the actual break of the previous days high. Sellers like to step in at the previous days high and could lead to price falling back into value. Hence price rejection. Watch market internals. Did the TICK make a new high with the breakout? If so, there is a high probability that the breakout is legit. Is there a TICK and price divergence on the breakout? This is a warning signal. Is there a TRIN range breakout? Anytime the TRIN breaks out of its range to the downside and price breakouts upwards, this is a powerful signal. Volume is also a good tool to watch for on breakouts. Watch out for the 1-minute wonder bars though. To me this is the most important. The flow of the tape. I am a tape reader and base alot of my decisions based on tape. Unfortunately this is not an easy topic to talk about. But watch the FLOW of the tape on a breakout. Is it running smoothly with decent size lots? Or is it just the little guys buying and big lots being sold on the bid? There is alot more things you need to watch for on the tape but this is just the basics. Hope it gives you an idea.

How would you define smart to begin with? One difference I think is the ability from one trader to another to process the same information.

Thats what Ive been hearing lately. The swings on the ER2 is supposed to be a whole lotta fun The YM can be dead sometimes so Im thinking of picking a new contract to trade. What else do you use besides MP to trade the ER2?

Sorry about that guys. The problem existed in FireFox. It has been fixed now (small coding problem)

I found the problem... are you using firefox? Ill try to have this fixed asap.

Okay didnt realize it was todays chart. I hardly pay attention to the ER2 although I am slowly getting lured into it. Its scary how MP works perfectly sometimes. Which is why I can never agree with a trader telling me the markets are random.

Here you go %TREND Definition