Soultrader

Tin, On your chart here, what is your criteria regarding entries? Im a little mixed up with what constitutes a confirmation signal. If the first bar is on low supply volume and the second bar pierces the upper 2/3rd range, this would indicate a long signal.... so basically the third bar is not necessary for a setup? If so, what makes a no follow through on the third bar a indication of further sell-off? Wouldnt there be cases where the third bar may be enclosed within the range of the second bar but then price lifts? Im trying to figure out when you would cut your position loose, because from my observation in these situations I find it hard to tell and prefer price to let it do its thing or stop me out under the low of the first bar.

Hi Tin and brownsfan, I do enjoy your posts very much using candles and volume. This is one of the things I have been studying and adding to my strategies lately as well. Regarding the 2 bar reversal, what is the difference between the 2 bar and a bullish englufing pattern? Is it due to the addition of volume analysis? The chart brownsfan showed brings up a question I have been pondering for some time. "Tests" on low volume or no supply bars are extremely powerful. However, there are times when a no supply bar will fail. In other words, volume will show no supply but price will drift lower causing a rush of stop orders causing further decline. Do you have any filters that you add when playing a long or short at a key S&R level on a "test"?

Hi infoist. Please dont be hesitant to post away. We traders can communicate through charts Welcome aboard.

I actually do not use pivot points across Japanese stocks as they do not work. The indicator is a trend following indicator in which I try to hold a position to capture intraday trends. The key here is to identify when the markets are chop vs trend. Some stocks tend to trend very well while others only move swiftly due to institutional orders. Unfortunately I can not post many charts as I am taking snapshots from the office and emailing them to my house. I currently do not have a charting software from my house. Walters trend following indicator looks fairly smooth and nice also. However, I cant code much stuff into the insitutional platform through Reuters. (personally... its a piece of crap charting software and they charge like $700 a month for it) The best I can do now is to input data through excel and chart it. Hence, I have customized Nikkei TICK, TRIN, and PC Ratio.

There seems to be a problem still when posting longer posts. I am looking into this problem now. Thanks

Here is my input. Each market has their own personality and I think it is important to read the tape differently accordingly. For example, on the YM you might want to pay special attention to big lots while on the ER2 it might be better to read the flow of the tape. The YM is a jumpy contract full of emotion due to the tick size. Therefore you need to be able to filter out the noise that will appear. On the other hand, big contracts in which the tick size is bigger tend to be less jumpy. For example, the big Nikkei with a tick size of approx $90 is pretty clear when it comes to tape reading. With each bid/ask approximately 400-600 lots each, you can easily spot out 300-500 lots vs little guys, strenght at resistance due to tape, weakness at support, etc... Now with the 30 year bonds, I have found tape reading to be pretty useless as it is too thick. Perhaps the flow of the tape is something to read instead. Tape reading takes tremendous time to learn. Only an experienced eye can really use tape soley to trade in my opinion. I think the biggest difference is the amount of time traders spend watching their platforms. Do you tend to watch charts most of the time throughout the day? Numbers? Sectors? I spend a good 50% or so of the time staring at tape for various markets. It has become a habit in which I have become extremely reliant. Now this has been turning me into more of a pure tape reader as time passes. The only downside to this is that I do not gain some of the insights that other traders do that stare at charts. One other way to filter out noise is to identify what type of day it is. Trend vs rangebound. Who is involved? Short term traders? Longer term traders? Once you are able to identify this quickly, tape reading will become easier because now you know what to look for. If short term traders are involved only you might want to look for lack of demand on tape at tests of the high or previous day high. If volume is good throughout the opening range, maybe you might expect a break to the upside so tend to look for the flow of the tape and big lots that come in right before a key resistance level, etc...

There was a few bugs still present on the boards and thought it took some time as my coder was on vacation, we have managed to get them fixed. Candlestick Corner - The threads now appear under latest threads Arrow - It will now take you to the latest unread post. Edit Post Hang - There was a few problems with quick reply and editing post. This has been fixed. Front Page Latest Thread - What used to show the first post now shows the latest post. There is also an IE error problem that I am trying to fix at the moment. This should be done shortly.

This is a continuation of this thread here: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f34/ichimoku-kinko-hyo-2358.html#post18052 I have been experimenting with this indicator with equities and have found them fairly interesting. What I have done is filtered out the clouds and applied only the 9 period and 26 period moving averages. Also note that the moving averages are not the classic type which uses the average of the closes. The Ichimoku version uses the midpoint of the spread of each price bar. What you get in return is a fairly smooth moving average without the chop. I have found this to be more efficient compared to regular moving averages. What I am doing is adding the 9 period and 26 period Ichimoku moving averages as a confirmation tool in combination with volume spread analysis and market profile (mainly where price is relative to value). The reason for this addition in my trading is due to the fact that volume in Japanese stocks can not be trusted like the futures market I have been used to. Shown below is the indicator applied to the Nikkei futures in action. (I dont use this for futures but is just an example) Notice how smooth this tool is and very easy to identify the trend. Alot of strategies can be born with this tool. This is just an introductory post, but further insights will be added and comments are welcome.

Here is a list of some upcoming numbers that are expected to affect the markets. Good to stay alert to these as the markets may get volatile during this period.

Yes, that is one of the biggest problems I encountered with some Japanese stocks. The information through tape and Level 2 can not be trusted. I can not rely on momentum off the tape (order flow, etc...) and due to the nature of stock in Japan which tend to gap every single day based off US markets, market profile (in terms of value area) is not efficient. I have a couple other theories I am currently testing out but will need some sort of indicator to confirm price action. Volume relative to price action has been extremely hard (almost impossible) to read intraday as well. I am going to explore further the usage of these custom moving averages and will keep traders posted for those that may be interested.

Have you taken a look at the Live Charts menu button up top? Its live real-time Forex charts. Might come in handy.

That chart is actually one I just took off the net. Picture that chart without the clouds and only the custom 9,26 MA. Im looking for crossover setups combined with support and resistance levels and perhaps candle patterns.

Any traders use this interesting tool I came across today? "Originally developed by Goichi Hosada pre WWII, a newspaper journalist (published in 1969) who wanted to develop an Uber-indicator that could provide the trader with various levels of support/resistance, entry/exit points, direction of the trend, and strength of the signal." What I particulary found interesting was the use of 2 moving averages. The 9 period and the 26 period. However, instead of using the close it uses the midpoint of the spread of the bar. The indicator itself has further rules to it as it uses "clouds" as support and resistance. Below is a snapshot: Now, I am not fan of indicators as I only rely on order flow through tape with futures. However, some of the techniques I use in futures can not be applied to equities in Japan.　Therefore, I have been looking around something more automated.... hence the search of this tool. I have been testing around with the moving averages (Ichimoku version) and have surprisingly found some useful setups. I was wondering if anyone is familiar with them and can comment on them?

We used to have an indoor ski dome in Tokyo over 10 years ago. It eventually went bankrupt. I saw a few documentaries on Dubai, it is indeed an amazing place. But unbelievably expensive to go to.

This is an upgrade from a previous pivot point indicator created by Ant located here: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f46/soultraders-pivots-for-tradestation-488.html Formula: R3 = R1 + RANGE R2 = PP + RANGE R1 = (2 * PP) - LOW PP = (HIGH + LOW + CLOSE) / 3 S1 = (2 * PP) - HIGH S2 = PP - RANGE S3 = S1 - RANGE All credits go out to Antonio (ant) for releasing this indicator. This indicator now plots the labels like S1, S2, etc.... except midpoints. If you prefer to use a different formula, simply edit the EL code in the indicator. Autopivots.ELD

Thanks darthtrader. I was actually searching for a good options book. Will check that out.

hahahaha :haha: Was she just nervous or was that for real?

Added a ton of new smilies :):rofl::\:helloooo::fight: :cheers: :puke::boxing::bang head::yes sir::coffee::thumbs up::idea::evil tongue::cinema::applaud::did I say that?::groove::shocked: :beer: :hmpf: :www::ciao::security::security::haha: :crap::doh: More to come...

lol.... okay, okay. I will find some fun ones. I thought the old ones were too much for the board. lol

One of my own personal complex I hold is my lack of book smart due to my limited educational background. Many traders on this board have the academic knowledge and the wisdom through years of life and trading experience ahead of me. Although I have been told that I am extremely street smart, this is something I have been working hard to grow. It has been a life of academic catch up for me the past few years..... thank you very much for sharing your posts PYenner and the responses Dr. Janice. It is through these readings that my knowledge grows in creative ways and allows me to originate thoughts and ideas on my own.

Hi browns, How exactly does this work when mortage rates are going up for home buyers. Was the 2% not a fixed rate but an interest rate adjusted floating rate? Was there any deals at that time when mortage rates were fixed? I know a few people straight out of college about 2.5 years ago who purchased a home in Chicago on a 30 year loan. Im curious to know what happened to buyers like them.

Hi, What you are asking is a little too vague in my opinion and not sure if anyone can provide you any tips or advice regarding it. It sort of like asking someone what stock to buy, at what level, and where to exit. It is best you start by explaining your strategy, methodology, etc... and then receive some feedback to improve on it.

Hi alleyb, You can upload pictures using this attachment button: or if you already have a picture uploaded, simply use this button .

Great post Ant. I would like to add my inputs here as Ant brought up some great points and steps of a mind of a discretionary trader. First, I think relatively new traders can become overwhelmed with processing a ton of info and market data to make a decision to enter/exit in a split second. Perhaps this is why many traders fail to become experts in discretionary trading. But all it takes is experience, pouring over charts, and thousands of hours of screen time tick by tick. In other words, it can be done. Here are a few of my thoughts on what makes a good discretionary trader. I think electronic discretionary trader share similarities between floor traders. While floor traders have the advantage of reading emotions and psychology directly on the floor (also order flow), discretionary traders can also read this behavior through price action (charts). Like ant mentioned, price rejection vs price acceptance, understanding where stops are, spotting short covering vs long liquidation, order flow through tape, etc... Luckily for electronic traders, we can draw lines, fibs, etc.... all these handy tools available directly on our charting packages. What Im trying to say here is that once electronic traders understand the behavior of the markets (whether it be through market profile or pattern recognition) our edge is no different from the edge of floor traders. (only commission costs) Listed below is a few things that I apply in discretionary trading. Speed of execution is important and it all boils down to making a buy/sell decision by processing all these information in a matter of milliseconds to seconds. (may duplicate Ant's list) 1. Understanding the type of market. Are we seeing a balanced market? Is there only short term market participants trading? Are we seeing short covering at the opening due to the fact that the past few trading sessions were all decline? Is today long liquidation? If so, why would you support and look for a long setup when you know a few thousand contracts may still be on the sell side? etc... In quiet morning sessions, short term traders may be trading against each other only. However, any range extension in the afternoon with price acceptance will indicate longer term market participants became convinced and stepped in to buy or sell. Doesnt this indicate traders trying to hold overnight positions? 2. Once identifying the type of market, how will you play this market? If its balanced, you may consider fading the previous day high/lows. Or if the previous day range was wide, you might look for single run trades instead of homeruns. If the markets broke out of the previous day range, you may look for pullback strategies. Did the markets rally in the morning with internals bullish? Perhaps you might want to capture a retracement after profit taking clears. Discretionary trading is all about strategy, strategy, strategy. And thinking of a new strategy 3 steps ahead of your opponent. You must have a plan on what to do before the markets react. 3. Pattern recognition. This does not have to be Market Profile pattern recognition. As a matter of fact, I do not even use a real-time MP chart. Instead I can simply visualize a mp chart of candlestick charts. Howevever pattern recognition in terms of candlesticks is important as well. Not 3 bar reversal patterns, bullish/bearish elgufing, etc.. but a group of bars in general. For example, if price is testing the high of day but I am not seeing that many sellers and candles are sort of clustered up at the top of the range... this pattern indicates strength. I may buy before a breakout and sell to breakout momentum traders. Recognizing candle formations in clusters is what I am referring here. 4. Trading psychology. We are not trading the markets. Day trading futures is about trading other traders. Whoever outhinks their opponent is going to win. Therefore it is important to understand the psychology behind price action. Now some traders may do this through candles which is good. Others might spot higher lows/lower highs and determine whos winning, bull/bear confidence, etc... But traders need a way to understand the confidence, pain, euphoria, of traders who are behind each price move. 5. Think alone and not with the herd. If stop placements are at the same locations with the herd, if entry levels and exit levels are the same with the herd, the professionals are going to eat your money. I dont recommend anyone to try to catch a falling knife (though I tend to find catching bottoms easier than tops) but you need to be a few steps ahead of the herd. 6. RULES! Yes, I think discretionary traders need to develop strict rules. NOT on trading setups entirely but on risk and money management. New traders who go down the path of discretionary trader without proper money management are going to fail. Lets say you use 2pt stop on the S&P and get stopped out 3 times in a row? You are down 6 S&P pts all of a sudden. What are you going to do next? New traders are most likely going to continue to trader throughout the entire day to make up that loss and likely resulting in a combined loss of over 12 S&P pts in one day. Now that is financial suicide. So money mangement is important. You should understand your discretionary trading to a point that if you experience 3 losing trades in a row.... you are probably not in sync with the markets today and best to reassess your strategies and maybe come back in the afternoon to approach trading. In other words, discretionay traders with proper money management should become more defensive if you are experiencing a string of losses. You may decide to trade more conservatively for the rest of the day and look for that 1-2 setups that you know are good instead of trading aggressively. Discretionary traders must realize the days when things seem off from days when things are hot. Sort of like Michael Jordan where he would go on scoring on hot days but on cold days will look to assist other players more. You can still make money on cold trading days! 7. And finally VOLUME. If you have no idea how to read volume, I personally think you need to find another job. lol Ever watch bloomberg and see the market analyst pulling up a candlechart with no volume? I would fire him on the spot. Volume is as important as price. Those two should never be seperated. Happy trading

I really appreciate all your valuable posts walter. Regardless of any trader who contributes valuable information, there will always be traders who will find it more or less useful than others. Once again, I think it is about how one absorbs that information and applies it to trading or life in general. You have my sincere appreciation.