Pepperdog

I was hoping someone here might be able to help me out with this: I have setup a number of custom columns in a quotepage to track ES/NQ regular trading hours (session 2) previous day's high, low, close, VAH, VAL. These values are assigned to V#'s using the SESST and Profile indicators with a session 2 override. All of my charts are 24-hour (session 31). I then have horizontal lines set by the V#'s placed on my chart and updated automatically. The problem I have is that the horizontal lines, apparently because they are based on session 2/RTH data, do not automatically update until the next session 2 begins. In other words, Monday's RTH/session 2 data will not update on my charts until 9:30 EST Tuesday when Tuesday's RTH/session 2 opens. But I'd much prefer the values update at the close of the session 2 they are based on versus the open of the next session 2. Maybe there is just another better way to place the prior day's session 2 high, low, close, VAH and VAL on a 24-hour chart? Thanks for any insight anyone can offer.

Chad, I love the profile tool, but ran into a possible issue with the latest version. I've setup a button in a separate pane to add/remove the profile indicator on my charts which was working fine until the latest version 9.2.7. Now, when clicking the button it will add but not remove, i.e. clicking the button I've setup to add/remove profile will just keep adding them one on top of another. Of course they remove just fine using delete element, but it is a bit of an inconvenience from what I was doing in the past just using the button. Nothing has changed on my end except upgrading to v9.2.7 this morning.

Interesting thread. As it turns out, I've been working on an NT indicator in C# to track "trade intensity" in a way that may be similar to what is described in this thread, actually bid - ask volume delta, i.e. derivative of volume delta: d_Delta/dt. I'd be curious to know what UrmaBlume and other's opinions are on a suitable time interval. So far I have been tracking on a per bar interval on very fast constant volume charts but I don't feel this is fine enough resolution to really see the spikes. Still a work in progress.

I'm mostly an ES trader, and only recently gotten into Market Profile and so far I really like what I am seeing. I'm still a relative noob, but it seems to be a fantastic way to see the bigger picture. Anyhow, I also watch some other futures contracts, mostly the EuroFX (EC/6E). I'd like to setup my TPO chart for this contract, but I am not quite sure how to define the open and close times? CME lists the floor session times as 7:20 AM to 2:00 PM central time. Should I set my TPO chart to these times? Should I split the chart for afterhours outside these times and RTH for these times? Should I just run a 24-hour chart?? Thanks for any wisdom/advice anyone can provide! J

Thanks Jerry, I'll go back and review the later threads a 3rd, even 4th time! Up until the last few months, my trading has been pretty newbie-ish, and I really appreciate the time you've spent on these threads. With these new perspectives and tools I am very certain I will be taking my newbie self to the next level. One thing I am seeing over and over, regardless of the skew, is the vwap and SD lines will repeatedly act as major or minor (failed) support and resistance on virtually every instrument I've been following. So it would seem to me that these levels serve as "decision points" for market forces beyond my comprehension...can anyone provide some insight? Thanks, J

I've been reading and studying these threads with great interest. Thank you Jerry, and everyone else for new perspectives I have on price action. I think I understand most of the trade setups. I've also noticed some very interesting things lately by watching how price acts around the VWAP and +/- standard deviation lines, independently of PVP. One thing I've seen lately, that I am not clear on, is that price can be trading below (or above) both the VWAP and the PVP while the skew is opposite of the direction price is moving. Of course, over time the VWAP should eventually "catch up" as the price continues to move away, causing the skew to "confirm" the direction of the market. I guess this situation would be considered a break-out, the more advanced trades? From my somewhat basic understanding of the trade setups, I would anticipate waiting for the skew to "catch up" with the direction price is moving for the "newbie" trades but often it seems that is after *much* of the move has already happened -- it takes a while for my VWAP/skew to "catch up" (assuming that my calculation of VWAP and PVP is correct which I am pretty certain of.) I'll see if I can come up with some screenshot examples, but I've seen this happen quite a lot over the last few trading days on the ES with the massive selloff we've been seeing. So maybe these recent days aren't really great representative samples! Can anyone comment or clarify? Thanks, J

Excellent replies everyone. Thanks for the insight, suggestions and food for thought. Either I can continue to "fly by the seat of my pants" with no defined edge, constant doubt and hesitation, or go through the exercise of relentless backtesting until I can quantify what my edge is. I never really gave enough thought to how important that would be when real money was on the line. Paper trading has always been so easy for me, but I guess that is just the way it is. So with that said, I believe the very first item in my trading business plan is now "Quantify your edge by any means necessary before going full time." Jay

Thanks Brownsfan, and of course you are absolutely correct. In hindsight my original post seems pretty silly. To think anyone can be consistently profitable while stealing a few moments here and there between meetings while working full time is rediculous. Maybe someone has done it, but I'm finding this is a major problem for me and my style of trading. To be consistently profitable will require far more focus, patiently waiting for the correct, high probability trades to appear. SO I think it may be best to take a step back from the hobbyist trading of the eminis for a bit. I've been working on a trading/business plan which I will continue to develop in the meantime. The good news is that I am still fairly young, have no immediate family depending on me, few debts, and plenty of money in the bank to survive if I had to. I also have an opportunity coming to live virtually rent free which is when I will make this hobby a full time business. My current trading plan is still fairly simple, can anyone point me towards some examples of robust trading / business plans? Thanks, J

Greetings all. First time poster here so first off, thanks to everyone for this great site and forum. I wasn't quite sure where to turn for some advice, but here goes... I've recently taken the plunge and began live trading the eminis with real money. I opened a "starter account" after many months of watching, sim/paper and replay trading with increasing success, and eventually very good results after countless hours of screen time. I do not follow a mechanical system, but trade based on price action, support and resistance levels, price pattern recognition, and a bit of intuitive feel. But now, with real money on the line, I find myself often hesitating and second guessing what I am seeing live. Often not taking signals only to see what would have been perfectly good, even great trades, pass me by. I can't quite figure out why I have this fear of pulling the trigger. So far I am up about 10% after around 30 trading days but that is little consolation considering what could have been if I were able to consistently pull the trigger. I am looking for a way, exercise, something to help me get past this. Or any advice anyone can give. Right now, these are what I see holding me back: 1. Undercapitalized, though I could properly fund my account from other sources. I consider this my "learning account" but I have this incredible fear of losing and blowing up that I choose to stand aside usually. 2. Trying to daytrade the eminis while working full time. This is a major problem. Since my work is totally unrelated to the markets, I am not able to devote the focus necessary to be successful in the short time frames I have been watching/trading - I trade using 10k volume for entries/exits and usually 4000-5000 tick for setups/direction on the ES. I am not comfortable holding positions overnight in this market (I have swing traded in the past with moderate success), and not yet prepared to quit my day job but plan to eventually. 3. Increasing frustration with my inability to pull the trigger. Seeing what would have been after the fact, which has been causing me a lot of grief with such huge moves lately and countless setups which I just watched pass me by. I always seem to have this silly little voice inside that says "what if it reverses on you?" Maybe the only way I will get through this is just take the plunge, go full time, quit the day job and devote 100% of my focus to trading the charts and setups as they appear and find out if my winners will far exceed my losers (I am confident this would be the outcome). By nature I am very risk averse, so I am having a problem with leaving the workforce and the "guaranteed" income it provides until I am fully prepared. But I also have a relentless and consuming desire to put myself to the test and really find out if I can do this. Should I just go back to paper trading until I can no longer resist? Should I just take the plunge, quit the job, and throw caution to the wind...give it 6, 8, 12 months and see how it goes? Why do I fear pulling the trigger, and how do I get past this? I think this is something inside of me, conditioning, to favor security over uncertainty (i.e. risk averse). Why can't I figure this out?!? It would seem that fear and greed is getting the best of me! Completely frustrated, J P.S. Thanks for reading!