jpennybags

If I've lost interest... I stop. Some days the market just isn't going to give it up (it's rare, but sometimes you have to wait longer than is pleasant). To my experience... it will be there tomorrow... if it's not working; give it a rest. It takes a very steady temperament to trade a market that is trading sideways. The opportunities are there, but patients and quiet observation is the key (IMHO). Some don't have the temperament for such things. Better to back away and wait for the trend to develop / resume.

Really dude... what are you afraid of? Gay... Shmay... as long as you're making money (and paying taxes) who cares. I'm not gay... no wait... after further consideration I am gay... but only out of spite.

MARKETS ARE NOT RANDOM!!! The market moves up... it moves down... but for the last %$^&* time it's not random. Anyone who can follow a tick chart / volume chart / depth of market / time and sales can see that it's not random... it's buying and selling.... it's not #$$^&&^^&^%&&^%^& random.

Still off topic... This brings to mind the recent conviction of James McCormick. The "low life" made millions selling fake bomb detectors around the world. The bomb detectors were based on nothing more than a novelty golf ball finder... these things wouldn't find a golf ball either (a word to the gullible). I found it interesting that among those who had used the worthless device, had actually devised scenarios for what would cause the device to fail... down to the operator's use of after shave lotion.

Someone give this guy a job... probably a barrel of laughs around the office.

Where's the button.....????

After viewing the above... I went looking for a computer simulation of how ants find food sources. I didn't find the particular one that I was looking for but, stumbled across a monolithic manufacturing method for producing very small robots... pretty cool: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxSs1kGZQqc]Pop-up Fabrication of the Harvard Monolithic Bee (Mobee) - YouTube[/ame]

Something here doesn't hook up. There was no application of the brakes. There was time for the truck to have slammed on the brakes... even after hitting the bike... the driver would've been standing on the brakes... don"t see it. No dive in the front end of the truck... no sliding of the rear wheels.

Me too. I'll do my part to keep the "noise" to a low level. Interesting stuff to consider... please continue.

True enough, but I wouldn't dismiss the thought so readily. One can see this time and again, when reading through posts... "we are our own worst enemy". Now, I'm not a musician, so I must consider your opinion as valid (to a point), but it seems to me that improvisation is not like the act of writing. Both are expressive and creative ventures, but the former is more a free flow that comes from years of study and knowing (feeling) how music is structured... something that flows from the underlying music structure (speaking of jazz improvisation)... it always returns to the original theme. Writing is something that comes from past knowledge and inspiration, it is not expressly "in the moment"...no need to return to the original theme... one can stop and back up, and do it over. So, possibly... if you will allow... a trading plan is like a tune, and the way in which it is executed is improvisation (in the moment), but it must return (conform)to the original theme. Look... analogies to music or anything outside of trading is problematic. I just found it interesting that a musician is able to allow a different part of the brain to take control (or give up control) during a free flowing conversation. Of use to trading... I'd say it's worth further consideration.

As I said: "I need to give it more thought". I'm not quite there yet, so I'm just talking off the top of my head (so to speak). If you recall the segment that spoke to improvisation... the jazz musician. The musician seems to be able to damp down the activity in the part of the brain (frontal lobe) that wants to be precise, to be correct, to not do the wrong thing. For a musician to become accomplished in the trade, there must be (seems to me) a high functioning level of frontal lobe activity. The dedication, the hours of practice, the desire to get it right... to play perfectly... all frontal lobe. If I as a trader could find that same switch that allows the musician to improvise... would my trading be more free flowing? Would that be a good thing? Don't know; seems that it may be.

I too had trouble in viewing the link to the BBC program, it can be found on you tube: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2L0t-EN2Yo]BBC Documentary - Horizon: The Creative Brain How Insight Works - YouTube[/ame] Fascinating subject... I found it especially interesting the role that the frontal lobe plays in creative thinking. Ill have yo give it some thought, but seems there is something useful there for traders.

I recently viewed the TED presentation that Bono gave. It reminded my me of a documentary that I saw months ago. It's an hour of your time, but the documentary lends some perspective (also a rather sobering view). David Attenborough : How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth? How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth (FULL) - YouTube

I wasn't asking a question, but making a comment about "forgetting" that the market would be closed. That no one chose to comment is understandable. I trade futures, and have never traded forex. I've been doing some reading about currency markets in an effort to understand better how the currency markets work. I have no immediate plans to break into trading forex though... just doing some study.

After reading several news stories concerning the upbeat sentiment of retail investors, I stumbled across this wanted poster. Sadly, we all know what happens when the retail crowd starts to pile into the market...

It's nothing... just wanted to express my frustration at forgetting yet another presidents day holiday... it's such a forgettable holiday. I didn't receive any commiserating replies on the day that I posted... I must have been the only person who forgot.

Sorry... totally inappropriate. I should have just walked on by.

Good for you. Don't know what will happen next, but "you tell it with such enthusiasm".

Take a 70T chart as an example. If you decrease the number of ticks by half (35T) the chart will print more bars. Likewise; if you double the number of ticks (140T) the chart will print fewer bars. 35T is going to be a faster chart than a 140T chart. I trade the TF contract with various scalping strategies. During the opening 60-90 minutes of the regular session open I may run a 70T chart. As trading volume decreases I may speed up the chart to 40T. As the regular session close nears, and volume picks up, I may slow down the chart to 60T. Someone else trading a different strategy (even another scalper) may want to run an even faster chart... say 20T. We are both looking for an optimal speed that fits our strategy. If you are familiar with the GC or 6E then I would invite you to experiment with different tick values. You'll learn more about tick charts by experimenting than from any lengthy explanation that I could provide.

Someone with the intent of employing fast trading strategies (me) will want to use a faster chart. For someone who is employing a strategy that seeks larger price swings a slower chart would (may) be preferred. It depends on the strategy, the market traded, and current market conditions... which I think was being expressed by the previous posts.

First let me say that I'm no expert on ETF's. I've rarely traded them. I get better intraday moves from individual stocks (just not interested in ETF's). I'm hearing your question, and I think you are lacking some basic knowledge. I'll try not to get too far into the weeds. To your question... "are there indexes other than futures which trade 24 hours a day": The short answer is no... you can't actually trade an index. An index such as the S&P 500 is comprised of 500 individual stocks traded on the NYSE. the price that gets listed for the S&P 500 throughout the day is simply an aggregate of the price movement of these individual stocks throughout the day. The index itself can't be traded. There are trading vehicles (if you will) such as an ETF that are comprised of securities (roughly, a basket of stocks). The ETF is designed and managed to mimic the movement of the actual index. The SPY ETF trades on on the NYSE during the available market hours... regular session, pre market, and after market. You can not trade it at any other time. Please note that pre market and after hours is not the best time to trade. The futures markets are another way to trade an index. The futures markets and the actual index are linked through arbitrage (here we go into the weeds). It's not really important to understand how it works, just know that it does. The futures markets trade 24 hours a day (with exception of a brief maintenance period).

Funny... Yea, could be something like that. I'm sure there are reputable people in the business, but the bad probably out number the good (the 80/20 rule). I have no personal experience with it, so I would not extend to bashing a service that I've never used. Absolutely... buyer beware.

There is a wealth of information on this website. Most full service brokerages have learning centers on their web sites. NASDAQ and NYSE have learning centers on their web sites. With all of these you have to take the time and make the effort to explore. Sadly, many people just want to be handed an answer. You'll learn more and learn more quickly if you take the time. You'll pay up for an advisor (mentor)... nothing in this business is cheap. If you post that you are looking for a mentor, I'm sure someone will hook up with you with either an offer or suggestions. I've seen similar posts come up from time to time and you may be able to gather some useful information from reading those threads.

Just because your spouse believes something doesn't make it true... even if they are always right. An exchange traded fund (ETF) is a basket of stocks that are traded on a given market. If the market is closed then it can't be traded. Trading hours for the NASDAQ and NYSE can be found on their respective web sites. If you want to trade 24 hours try the futures indexes.

This won't enrich your life, but it looks like fun. I stumbled across this while looking for something else... such is the joy of the internet. This a shotgun for killing bugs... uses normal table salt. I tried to capture the video from their web site, but couldn't do it. There are videos on youtube also. Key search string: "bug-a-salt"