Soultrader

GCB, TPO is basically just a term used in market profile that represents the letters plotted for the profile. Instead of saying alphabet, market profile refers to it as TPO. A TPO print in the first 30minute will show the "A" alphabet plotted in each price level it trades during the first 30min. The next half hour TPO would be a "B". At the end of the day, you count how many TPO's or alphabet exist above or below the POC. If there are more TPO counts above the POC we have seller control while more TPO counts below the POC indicates buyer control. For example, if you take a look at the YM 30min chart from todays session.. you will see how the A, B, C, D period could not lift above the previous period. 9:30-10:00 would be A, 10:00-10:30 would be B, 10:30-11:00 would be C, and 11:00-11:30 would be D period. B period could not lift above A period, C period could not lift above B period, and D period could not lift above C period. This indicates a market that is not willing to auction higher. Instead it was showing weakness as the profile developed. So picture this: A A AB ABC ABCD ABCD D D This is just a very simple profile picture of the first 4 half hour periods on of trading on YM. Notice the profile showing weakness?

hi Bocatrader, The commisions are negotiable with Infinity. They dont have any software/platform fees but they do offer good rates. You can contact Khurram at k.naik@infinitybrokerage.com directly. He is working with members on Traders Laboratory directly for those who are interested in the Infinity AT platform.

Why do price lift and why do price decline? It has nothing to do with indicator crosses or price pattern breakouts. It is a simply law of supply vs demand. If there are more sellers price will decline until selling dries up and finds buyers interested in price. Price lifts because there is more demand and will continue to lift until buyers start to find price unfair. End result for ER2. Feb. 27, 2007.

Please Read First: "The stronger the trend, the greater the distance between successive balance areas. As the auction ages, this distance decreases. In the late stages of a trend, price may continue to rise but the next balance area will often be resting on top of or within the prior, lower balance area." - James Dalton from Markets In Profile - CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO Charts created by Tradestation

I honestly do not know GCB. I mean what about ETF's as well? Is that a zero-sum game? I understand what you are getting out in terms of everyone is getting something out of the market. But I do think Jason was referring in monetary terms. One loses money while one gains money. This is definitely not a new concept to trading but has me thinking in a very new way. Strategies can be based on trader psychology. The shorter the timeframe, the more we see the shift in trader emotions. (through the constant swings in the markets) If traders buy at VAH for example but price fail to lift, those traders must sell to limit their losses or from the pain of loss. This will create selling presuure in the markets hence a short opportunity exists through their mistakes. Thus we see more probability of price cruising to VAL. Or if short term buyers exist at S1 and lifts price, they will need to sell eventually before the close to lock in profits or if they have hit their specific exit point. Which means we are expected to see sell orders by these traders in the near future. Hence, when they sell is a good time to short. Price will only lift further when new market participants step in to buy. So we need to see fresh buying either from the short term buyers or long term buyers. I know this sounds extremely simply with the basic concept of supply vs demand. But I have never fully incorporated trader psychology 100% into my trading. It was always about price action in terms of "market is making a higher low" or "buying volume exists at S1" but never entirely thinking about the traders who bought/sold earlier and will need to liquidate/bail. I truly believe that once I am able to master the trader psych side in price, I will be much better spotting out better trading opportunities. I hope this makes sense.

Perhaps we can ask him the next time he stops by in the chat room. I am also very interested in picking up his book as I have not yet read it myself. I have decided to take a deeper look in understanding the psychology behind price action. I am slowly starting to realize that all these pivots, fibs, etc.. may not be the ideal way to trade. They only work because of the imbalance of supply vs demand at these levels. I figured the heck with them... might as well keep a chart naked with volume only and determine supply vs demand and the psychology behind the losers. (of course I am not ready to do so yet but perhaps in the near future?)

agrawal anish, There is an excellent interview by Jason Jankovsky on trader psychology. Do you see the TL! Audio link on our top navigation bar? The interview is in the audio player (second audio down as of this posting). You might want to check that out.

Feel free to add more "To be a successful trader/investor, your intellect and emotion must work as a team, which is easier said than done." - James Dalton from Markets In Profile -

No problem here nasdaq.

slableak, youre charts are severely messed up. Perhaps you can fix that for us? Speaking of getting in before breakouts, it is a setup I do enjoy taking. But I find it a little risky. You are buying the top or bottom of the range. You can either use an extremely wide stop or will get stopped out prematurely before the move. What I like to see is price hugging the upper range or lower range for 3-4 bars on a 233 tick chart on YM with buy/sell volume being equal. (using volume delta)

For those of you that missed it. Check out the interview on trading psychology with Jason Jankovsky through our TL! Audio. It's given me new insights on my trading. What fascinating is his setups are based on trader mistakes. I have yet to completely organize my thoughts but will keep this thread updated on some new ideas and trading strategies.

Can you verify to see if the status is turned on or off? You might want to try reinstalling the TTM Div indicator last.

Here is a good excerpt from Markets In Profile following up on Pivotprofilers comment regarding the quick and the dead. "Imagine you're at the track.... you make your wager before the race starts and settle in to watch the horse run. What if we changed the rules and let you place your bet after the race is already under way? A totally different side of human psychology would be revealed. Once again, all information must be placed within its proper context - how will your decision be affected if the horse you had planned to bet on is currently in the lead? What is the horse is losing momentum around the second turn? How will your betting habits be affected by this real-time information? We should expect, considering a general understanding of human nature, that the larger the horse's lead, the more individuals will place bets on that horse to win, and that bets on the horse in the back of the pack will evaporate. When you extrapolate this behavior in the context of financial markets, is it really so "irrational"? When you think about it, betting on a clear winner is a pretty rational decision, in the immediacy of the moment. This phenomenon is commonly known as "momentum investing," which is often the primary force behind short-term market movements. And just as the payoff odds decrease in betting a pool more money is placed upon a particular entry, the payoff odds decrease for late-momentum investors as the market explores extremes." - From Markets In Profile -

The TS matrix has become better. I use hotkeys for buy and sell orders. The OSO bracket orders work nicely too. However, I would have to say that the Infinity AT is alot easier to use and probably much faster. TS has given me issues in the past... it does require alot of RAM to run.

Now becareful there walterw I wouldnt say 10-12 pt targets are foolish. Well... yes and no. Let me explain. King mentioned that he trades 1 contract. Now when I used to trade 1 contract my mentor recommended me to take 10-15pt targets. This to me makes perfect sense. You mentioned, "because sometimes you will get a 30 move". Exactly.. only sometimes. For those who trade 2 or more contracts, taking 10-12pts is somewhat too small. I personally scale out half at +10 and try to hold my other half for 20-30+pts. I do this to eliminate risk completely... because I move my stop to b/e after exiting half. King, trading 1 contract in my opinion is fairly difficult. I usually recommend new traders to start with 2 contracts because you can scale out and learn to ring the register. Maybe the ER (russell) provides a better opportunity for 1 lot traders? (because it moves) Brownsfan pretty much nailed it to the point. Maybe adjust your trade setups that can focus on larger moves instead of your 12 pt setups. Unlearn and learn.

Professionals loveeee the previous day high/low. Markets will often test these areas for supply and demand. I also focus on these levels and will not fade any move down to the previous days low if it is right below it. It always a good level to watch

Yea... I played a breakout on the YM today for the afternoon session which failed miserably. I ended up being the sucker who bought the high.

Hi JLOW, You might want to pick up a few good trading books to get the basics done. A good book on pivot points is A Complete Guide To Technical Trading Tactics: How To Profit Using Pivot Points, Candlesticks, and Other Indicators.. written by John Person.

$500 is enough to sit on a $5/10 poker table. Im assuming this is limit holdem? Now I can say this.... poker is as tough as trading. There are plenty of games with new fish around but the higher the stakes get the better the players. I have been playing poker for quite some time, ever since I was in middle school. I am probably a better poker player than trader. But the one thing that stopped myself from continuing to become a full-time poker player was this: "Do I really want to do this for the rest of my life?" The answer was no. Now I enjoy the game of poker and I make some income here and there whenever I play. I have played with hundreds or maybe thousands of different players and there is always one thing in common. The players who win are usually the same crowd. Even in online poker.... I recently visited a poker room where I used to play a year ago. I checked out the high stakes table there and I only found 2 players I truly recognized from before. Its the same as the WSOP. In the 2006 WSOP, an amateur called an all-in made by a professional. Before the call, the amateur said, "Ok! Let's gamble". Now the professional won that hand... and he remarked, "Im not here to gamble. Im here to win!" I have had numerous amounts of people asking me to teach them how to play poker. I have tought several and have seen only 2 player amongst the group of about 10 who are now making money consistently. Even the players that used to win are now washed out... when they going on a losing streak they blame it on the game. They never look into themselves and realize that it is their style of play that needs to be fixed. Now almost always when I am asked to teach them poker.. I tell them no. A winning poker player thinks differently from a losing poker player. No matter how much I teach them and sit at their side during a game.. if the mentality isnt there he's not going to win. I know they are plenty of poker players who make a very good income playing. But whenever someone approaches me and asks me if he should become a full-time poker player... I never recommend it. If you are good at it great! Play on your free time and make that extra side income. But I personally get more gratification and the feeling of accomplishment as a trader. Just my thoughts

When hope clouds your judgement. They say honor your stops. But honor your exits!! CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO Charts created by Tradestation Presented by Traders Laboratory

Hi JLOW, Try this link instead: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/Videos/Market%20Analysis%20with%20Multiple%20Timeframes/Market%20Analysis%20with%20Multiple%20Timeframes.swf

uh oh.. i was afraid you might ask that. I typed it up

I use the same way this site has it: Calculating Market Profile Value Area and Point of Control

Excellent walter. Thank you for this. Playing the pullback of the breakout seems to be the key here. I learned the hard way today

I took mine also Winfred. Mine was a ENTJ. Extroverts find energy in things and people. They prefer interactions with others and tend to be action-oriented. Learning about the markets will be best accomplished in groups or talking with others. They also tend to think on their feet and talk more than listen. iNtuituive traders seek out patterns and relationships among the facts they have gathered. They trust hunches, or "gut feelings" when researching the markets. Chances are, they like using charts as indicators and as such spend a majority of their research looking at historical charts. Thinkers decide things impersonally based on analaysis, logic, and principle. They place great weight on objective criteria in making financial decision. They naturally see flaws and tend to be critical of research. Thinking traders prefer clear goals and objectives. Judging traders are decisive, self-starters and self-regimented and probably trade because they "want to." They also focus on completing the taks, knowing the essentials, and they take action quickly. They plan their trades and trade their plan. hmm.... interesting.