Anna-Maria

If your signals, triggers offer you a potential entry & you can justify it by weighing up the ancilliary information at hand, then execute it via smaller size? You're correct, in that I can't answer the question with a definite yes or no, because I'm not you! and I don't know exactly what your overall perception of the trade/area/risk etc is. If I miss an ideal (potential larger swing) entry then I'll either wait for price to confirm it's directional bias on the hourly or bat it back via the smaller frames on an intraday opp with a view to checking the intent. But that's just me. There are various methods you can adopt if you witness prices struggling on the ladder at the s&r zones, even when it's trading within a defined trending phase. If your "rules" state you don't enter until a time overlap phase has played out, regardless of the price journey, then you have to obey your rules - period! otherwise, how will you judge their effectiveness?? That's not to say rules can't be tweaked or assessed if you're missing too many opp's. But you first need to establish a template & attempt to include/exclude guidelines & parameters. This will offer you structure. Once you're familiar with your base structure, & your understanding of levels, supply-demand zones, & how they impact on important levels + your price aid assistors etc, then you can begin tweaking & adjusting them to fit with your take on the activity? It's a "time & experience" tutorial. You simply can't rush or fast track it. Which is why familiarity with your instruments is crucial to forming an appropriate method of playing them under differing conditions. If your structure & awareness are up to speed, then your control & decisions become enhanced, even when you mess the entry up, or the entry simply fails to kick on. Structure instills discipline. But if you try second guess your trade plan or begin ignoring your basic template(s), you'll be building up trouble for yourself farther down the line. Because once your signals begin failing you (on a mini loss run or drawdown), you won't be in a position to accurately & quickly adjudge what's going on?!!

Worth watching this level (9650-60) as it was Fridays high zone. It's also shy of a lower top level on the 240m @ 9730, which the Cable Bulls really need to threaten to garner support for a push back towards near term highs @ 9914. Could become mired in range clack if the Stateside data prints neutral.

Chipping out a bit more on the low of this neutral bar just underneath the R3 pivot zone. It's also the 38.2% level of the earlier larger Fib calc chart. 5min chart also showing exhaustive behaviour up here, see how it reacts to Asian/post London levels. We have Consumer Confidence numbers printing at 10.00am EST ahead of a tranche of important data this week. Traders will be jostling for position ahead of the more 'observed data', which could cause jittery balances around these lower hourly range s&r levels.

One of the positives about Forums such as this is the fact different views, information & perspectives can be shared & exhanged between traders & players. If something catches the eye or sparks an interest, then it can sometimes improve or enhance your already competant outlook? It can also have a negative impact. Too much time & effort can be wasted trying to integrate someone else's views on particular scenario's? You then get distracted & lose control/focus. I guess the compromize is to explore something which rouses interest & test it seperately on a sim or demo to check it validates your own personal comfort zone & can actually fit your style. Anything from the way you look at basic technical positioning/entries/profit targets to trade management/size & risk matrix etc require very careful & precise consideration. If you're applying a method which currently suits your outlook & it's returning sufficient profits & bottom line positives, then I'd be very cautious about integrating something which you haven't thoroughly tested & explored first. It's great to share individual perspectives etc, but you need to remember that what suits one, won't necessarily suit another - no matter how good the reasonings or application appears!

It's purely dependant on the level & the current area of price Steve. Usually within a defined range zone it equates to a 70/30 split. 70% booked at 1st level & 30% trailed. At potential key levels, such as y'days weekly support or a typical level which we consider merits a decent kick back towards the dominant larger trend direction, we'll book sufficient profits to allow price to prove us wrong. Therefore the scale out will be reduced: ie, 20-30% booked, remainder trailed. It affords us a b/e trade at worst scenario, with the option to chase it back if it dies quickly. It really has to be adjudged on it's merits. You can't stick to a regimented percentage, otherwise you reduce & dilute potential profits when price breaks out or reverses back into the dominant direction? This is where each trader needs to define their primary objective? Are you essentially an intraday player, seeking only to take advantage of the pops between your designated levels - or are you looking to trade the larger swings, where your intent is to capture a decent % of the potential move? Only you can determine that stance. Which is why it's crucial to adapt any ancilliary advice or someone else's take on the technical map to fit your comfort zones? It's fine to add a little of this & a bit of that to your own strategy etc, but the hard work then commences by seeing if the different ingredients blend with your template.

Cool. If you can work a playable strategy around that kind of execution & it fits your profile then great! Sure, you'll get stopped on a fair % of trailers as price chops around inside a range zone, but then as long as you pare off & book a little profit along the way, you're constantly seeking to allow price to tell you what it's intent is? None of us really know when the big moves are about to break out, yeah? As long as we plan for that probable eventuality & can cobble together a safe, positive risk option to take advantage of these occurances, then we're doing all we can to cover the bases. That particular method of execution won't suit all tastes, but as long as you can make it work & everything is in line with your equity/management/risk & psychology then for you, it works!

hokshila, Yes, you could describe it as such. Thing is, I play these positions primarily with the assumption that price is going to attack an upside resistance zone & make it's decision. It's gonna do 1 of 2 things: 1) Attract sufficient support to bust the level & continue to next stage s&r. 2) Hit supply at the upper resistance zone & get batted back to lower demand level where it will look to garner support from the prev buyers for a further punt to the upside. So, essentially we're seeking intent? Who has the field. Who controls the near term strength? London is the majority volume player, therefore nothing will be determined until they hit their buttons. In the interim, price will bob around & look to fake or fade the key levels. It can be a dangerous time slot to engage. The flows are thin & suspect to false pops. One major advantage to this current long off y'days lower confluence zone, is the fact I have the option to short prices back to my entry if the smaller frames begin to display exhaustion or meet decent supply up here at current levels? The (1.96) Round Number will be the key to that particular play however. At the moment I need do nothing. Simply wait until London decides to kick it up or bat it back. 30min & hourly bars are looking ok thus far, so a case of waiting to spot any fall-out on the sub 30min bars to decide what stance to take.

Hi Steve, Yeah, I prefer to have some company on board if I'm looking to execute an intraday position away from a perceived busy level. Trouble with executing during the ghost shift (between NY & London), is the liquidity. Prices have a tendancy to fade off if a mini trend is absent. You can get a move which occurs as Tokyo opens & it can be good for maybe 30-40 pips, then a sharp pullback or fade into the London Open? They're ok to transact as a quick play on the Tokyo price activity, but you need to be mindful that it's only a range play. If I leg in during London or NY (as was the case y'day), I'll maybe book a little profit if the level suggests so, then keep stops tucked away at the relevant technical zone. That way I can allow Tokyo to take up the slack & assess the picture as London comes to the table. This morning prices have nudged back slightly off my R1/2 % zone (9656-9642) & the R1 pivot zone @ 9632. It's not threatening the Round Number @ 1.96 as yet & looks to be attracting some support for a pop thru one of my resistance markers from y'day - so, all's well at the mo. Until a swing or trend becomes established then every trade execution is merely a short end momentum (or range) position. As with the vast majority of our entries, they'll be subject to a partial pare out & trail. No-one knows where or when they'll fully break out into a potential 100+ pip move. But we want to be positioned (with trailers) wherever possible should the occasion unfold. If prices merely bounce off a resistance zone up here around 9650 & shoot back, we'll be able to scale out a little more profit & our remaining stakes will get snatched for a b/e. If not, we'll trail up & look to compound back. Either way, we got our value entry back down below at the prev weeks low/confluence zone & are sitting on a dime a dollar trade!

And of course, if hokshila's done his math this morning he'll no doubt have calc'd the S1/S2 % supports (based on the 9591 NY close of Friday) @ c9557-9543. A good enough secondary reason to fade it back into the range, even for a lazy intraday strike!

I'm peeking at the hourly for the near term resistance stalls torero. As a coincidence? Buk has todays Pivot lines marrying up with a couple of the markers I'm spying. The 9688 zone is also the main Weekly Pivot area, so alongside the natural s&r lines, we have some likely upper side turbulance to navigate should price manage a push North. The demand area below at that Weekly support + last weeks lows was sufficient (in my book) to trigger a long, & the lower graph with the 15m bars displayed a probable lower risk upside trigger. Like I said, the follow thru needs to kick it up with supporting deals, otherwise it's suspect to weakness & the $ Bulls will merely soak up the activity & drive it back thru the confluence supports back towards the lower Daily lines. I sure won't hesistate to book some profits up here if it begins to stall & blow out.

Tony Robbins used to extole it's virtues a few yrs back, not sure if any of his recent stuff majors on it?! But he churned out a few decent articles exclusively highlighting it's benefits etc. I know he presented to one or two top tier Banks back in the late 90's & coursed some of the high flyers on the desks as a follow-up gig. Anchoring & triggers formed part of that process as far as I can remember.

If it fails to prop here, there's a bit of Daily support lower down @ c9450 which is the 78.6% zone on that 240m graph + a weekly S1 pivot camp. It's slowly & lazily displaying lower tops on the hourly off last weeks highs, so this weekly support zone is a pretty decent flag for Bull-Bear (near term) strength. Can always flip to a stop & reverse stance if the lower frames signal a stall & shunt to the short side - we'll see huh! ps: Still experiencing hangs & delay's here on posting etc. You guy's finding things a little better of late?

More importantly, it's the long range weekly support area too. The 240m chart highlights the 'confluence' area with that 61.8 line from the recent higher low leg up on Cable. A good buy area with corresponding lower frame triggers - if only to check the resolve back to short term (hourly) range resistance!

That's good to hear, & thank you for your kind comments! If you're able to utilize this or any other information from other traders on here & wrap it around your own style & psychological comfort zones, then all good & well. After all, each trader approaches & executes a given scenario/level from very different angles. Even 2 traders striking from a similar strat with close references will manage the execution & trade differently. That mostly comes down to psychological persuasion, the tools they employ in certain circumstances & attitude to risk. Doesn't really matter what those tools are at the end of the day, as long as they fit your profile & you can find a way to exploit their positive advantages. This game is all about stacking the odds in your favor as often as possible. A good tip is to always try utilize any info you soak up from outside sources & see if it integrates or compliments your basic/generic style (as you alluded to in your above comments). The tips & hints you stumble across may work handsomely for the person extoling it's virtues, but when it comes to integrating it into anothers style, it falls flat. Trial & error, that's what it's about

Glad to see you're finding those percentage levels helpful hokshila. They're pretty good fade markers when the Euro & Cable are thrashing around within their avg range barriers. Obviously, as prices eventually struggle clear & attempt to go on a run, they become impotent. On those occasions, they can act as pullback or thrust markers to engage in the direction of the break (alongside complimentary price assistors of course), when price advances thru them. Buk & a couple of the others like to play their price observations via the traditional pivot calcs, whereas I prefer to keep tabs on the range % levels. But then we adopt slightly differing strats/views on the pairs & execute accordingly - each to their own I guess. Anyway, just be aware they're only helpful whilst price bounces around inside their respective avg daily range parameters. They come into their own after the pairs have printed big outside days & also as prices begin to unwind off the back of a well supported (mini) trend hike.

Although they'll be eyeing the minutes for confirmation (of the Banks hawkish line) Cary, this recent consolidation & continuation leg is all about "the carry" UK hold the gavel now regards yields. It's likely the Bank will raise again to further dampen forward inflationary concerns, whilst the States hold their current peg a while longer (at least). That will put Sterling firmly on the front foot. Similar case with GBP/YEN. The value (for Jap investors) will increase as UK rates extend beyond those of the BoJ too. These moves on the Sterling often get shoved to over-extreme whilst the jawboning & heresay gets ripped around the arena, & then corrects as firms book profits, whilst waiting for any continued moves back up. Also when interest rates are high on the agenda, commercials will begin stirring. They're usually on the case, transacting large order bundles for import/export transactions, also looking for yield values etc. Therefore, the Bank & Prime broker desks are busy with customer order flows - feeding deals thru at 'best price'. Multi flow transactions are generally the cause of sharp & hard thrusts thru these s&r levels. A case of everyone & his budgie clambouring to get in & out at their perceived "fair value" zone.

$/Yen still contained within the 23-38% boundaries of y'days H-L so far torero huh? Today's Pivot also shouldering it into today's close. The Franc is the only one which has offered (us) a clean trigger thus far today, popping off our favored 78.6 of y'days activity, but it's still well blanketed within the week long slop underneath 2500. A sluggish end to the week by the looks.

That was my pointer yeah.

I don't need to e-mail you or go underground & whisper warning signs etc. Just think about it for a second or two! These guy's draw a huge audience into their pen, yeah? For which they charge each subscriber a large mug of $$'s for their services? Their prime audience are small pockets of under-cap retailers who no doubt, are executing via the "traditional" mainline dealing desks. You think these (broker) desk jockey's at the shops don't know about these price pump merchants?? Why d'ya suppose they all put the skids under the 'bracket order trigger' on their platforms, not guaranteeing fills/stops etc? This Felix character (& his hoppo's), if they're ACTUALLY triggering these trades themselves (which is highly debateable), will have access to tier 1 platform execution. They'll also be wired into high grade squawk-relay terminals kicking out the data release info + a couple dudes with a programme matrix on hand to assist with pricing in the skew regards the actuals v/s consensus readings on the Grade 1 data, in order to get a feel for the spike (& any follow thru) potential which the data prints. So, they're already several levels above you regards their software/hardware machinery + (if they're ex-Bank) they possess infinitely more experience of the playground. Hell, we can't always catch a fill even on the secondary spike - & we're hauling our asses round Prime Broker facilities, so god knows how the average retailer shooting off a low key retail shop board can boast of all these wonderful pip collections LOL. And to boot, we know what we're doing (most of the time). Another thing: What happens if/when this dude closing up shop?? Where do you go then? Do you have an in-depth understanding of what he's looking for on every possible occasion if the data prints slightly out of synch? How does he prepare for any anomalies in the number? What back-up does he/you have if his station locks up?? Which alternative station will he/you hedge against in that scenario? What kinda relationship does he/you have with your rep at the broker?? Do yourself a favor, go get a proper education & learn about the internals & externals which affect your favored market. Experiment with a cross range of timeframes & tools to give you a flavor of what might suit your PSYCHOLOGICAL persuasion. Do as Ez mentioned & demo a few strategies to get attuned to the climate. You have a whole sackful of grind ahead of you if you wish to persue this business on a realistic levlel. And it's gonna take you a whole lick of time!

Biggles: Pay close mind to Ezduzzit's post (No 8), & his following comments re; trading the Euro if you're intent on persuing these instruments. Euro is the big dog of the $ Indx, & tends to truck along in the middle lane (unlike it's lower weighted cousins). It therefore lends itself to a more sedate journey & adheres a little better to the tech's. I haven't read any of the mainstream books out there, so can't really pass on any reccommendations personally, but Buk has just informed me who this Felix dude is Stay the hell away from these characters! Unless of course you want to continually donate your hard earned to the snipers & sharks who circle in wait for all these poor, unwary feeder fish roaming the FX sea's at chow time LOL. Great post Ez about covers the important points!

Felix?? As in the cat? What's a "Felix"??

It's pulled back 38.2% of the days shunt, currently snoozing at the 121.20 level torero. Looks like it'll sniff the big weekly fugure @ 122.0 if the $ boys get their way. Some pretty heavy supply lurking up yonder though, so that could well see one or two fist fights!

Wow!! You've just hitched your saddle to the bronco & you're looking to trade Yen via the news? Are you sure - are you really sure? Just joshin with ya. It's certainly not an impossible task to chip away at these babies striking via a data angle (strat) - a little ambitious for a rookie, but not impossible. What type of strat are you looking to deploy & why the Yen if you don't mind me enquiring. Best of luck to you by the way

I guess you'd have needed to have been party to that conversation to appreciate the reasoning behind that blurb. I think I better decline to comment for safety reasons Yes, there's quite a bit of news out across the board this week. You certainly need to stay alert when these data prints hit the tape. They can spike & bounce price all over the board if they either disappoint or skew heavily to the + side of consensus.

Not nearly good enough! Vulnerable to the blow-off, & the lower top failure on the spike was the trigger for me. Short-term support at the 650 zone, so a good area to scale out & again, run a b/e stop on remainders to check the post-data flows. Looking for todays pivot as short end destination (scale a little more out) & maybe compound into the short for a visit to the S1 area. Anyhow, we'll see what the traffic's like should they decide to thump it back a ways. I'd prefer to see the back of 650 pretty sharpish to be honest, otherwise this could well just 'range' into the late London action.