roztom

If you look at a composite you will see brackets of CHVN with CLVN in the middle back to CHVN on the edges... kind of like backwaeds "C" CHVN's at top & bottom of "C" and CLVN in the middle of the "C". I find the CHVN's are important for defining where price was accepted... These tend to bracket CLVN's.. The market tends to move from one area of acceptance to the next... I don't stand in front of CHVN's or any of the nodes but I do combine the CUM Nodes with the MiroComposites which give me a much clearer idea where the key levels to do business are.. In responce to your comment about CHVN areas being choppy, I agree.. One thing when trading arouind CHVN's there is typically a 3 pt rotational harmonic in ES which is often seen when trying to traverse CHVN... I trade from 3 levels... High Level COmposite to MicroCOmposite then yesterdays profile and then taken into account todays Open type and where it is in relation to yesterdays VA and then after IB switch to today's development... As N, mentioned..context is the key and the CHVN's are an important part of the context... BTW, this is not a rebuttal but a response to your comment about CHVN's... I had also drawn a similar conclusion about them but have changed what I expect to get from them and how I trade them...

Todays trade was interesting Haver 2 shorts...first off open with test of MCVPOC & CLVN 91.25...target was 89 - 90.00 area Thursday IBH... outside shot to CHVN 87.75. Took second short at test of OSL 95.75 & holding after scales for 89.00 area still... Will look for long against 89.00 ish risk area dwn to bottom of chvn area to 86.50 ish... Working on structure to manage runner as you know... Feel free to ignore trades posted after the fact...just showing trade mgmt ideas... Scales on shorts Fri LOD, CLVN 91.25, target below..

Well, I saw what you wrote.. looks like you're making trouble.... I have a contrary opinion... but I understand why you might have your opinion. There is no right or wrong... or is there.... :rofl:.

Josh: I can't begin to tell you how many times my confident hypothesis is thrown out the window by the times we through globex to RTH open... However, the areas of interest I have are still valid if the underlying cash instrument has not been trading (ES). One of the things that I do is have several hypothesis...but the opening type and where it opens in relation to the previous range is key. Since I know that I don't know I accept that any trade I take is 50/50. I may have a statistical edge but the next trade is 50/50.. a coin-toss. Having a plan let's me focus on execution. If the market does not hit my target areas I can still trade based on interday price developement but I have to stay conscious that my areas might still be tested at some point. How the market plays out is somewhat random but my trade and trade management is mechanical.. No right or wrong on this. It is one of those items that needs to align with the trader - like a pilot's flight plan. They don't make it up as they go..they just execute the plan..

Trading Plan: I wonder how many traders actually put a plan together for the next day.. We all have heard about trading plans but some are I'll buy when it's right and sell, etc... I want to share just a bit about what I do... Mind you, I was for years one of those guys who would just show up and "do it." Things really changed for me when I put a plan together, like a pilots flight plan. Areas of interest. What I would do when/if the market got to a specific number... areas to do business in... I find that when I am in the noise that it is much more difficult... Sure if the day develops and I see continuation set-ups or rotations I can trade those but that, imho, is not where the real $ is... The key is to get on the edge of a inter-day swing and try to align with a higher time-frame trader - the OTF. I also know that no matter what that my job is to execute the trade when it appears where I expect it to... not make it up as I go.. The trading day is about execution not planning... Obviously I create several hypothesis coming in and then adjust them based on Globex..then I know what I will do.. The only other variable is where we open in relation to the previous VA and what Opening Type it is which helps give an advanced peek on what day-type might evolve... I'm not saying this is necessary to make consistent $ but with preparation, like a military strategist, my campaign is laid out and all I have to do is execute it...

Things seems to have gotten quite lively here...at least you will not fall asleep during the trading day.. I can certainly relate to LVN's being more important than HVN's since they represent aggressive activity. However, HVN's represent an agreed upon fair price... Friday we tested MCVPOC at 1392.50..this is the dividing line between two micro-composities..a key level... Buyers were activated at that level when it was tested from above Friday morning since the market made vertical movement up into a new area where we should see it pause and potentially bracket... ACH (Josh)... This market was very strong with only some profit taking going into the close... Hope you are all doing well...stay alert, wear a helmet..

I ordered it and also Trading by the Gut... They are sitting here is the shipping box - unopened... I am hoping to get to them soon.. unfortunately between trading and having my Victorian Home rehabbed (Nightmare on Elm St) I have my hands full. It is amazing the things that can influence trading... I have to "clear my head" before trading... If I'm not successful I cannot connect with the market - it becomes distorted. When I'm in the flow it is easy, when I'm not - I find out after a few trades... :doh: I am looking forward to exploring this further..thanks for sharing your insights.

tuesday evening: APPL suprised to the up... so where are we now... We have moves into the top part of the balance area CHVN 62.75 - CHVN 77.25 ...62.75 RTH LOD. :rofl: I covered my shorts@ 63.50 as posted earlier..I was "hoping" for more downside but... ACH.. The 70.50 CLVN was good resistance this morning for the short and since we breached it in GBX and are building value up against the next CHVN @ 77.25, it looks like depending on how EU goes we might get a shot at the next area up: NVPOC 79.25, CLVN 1380.00 and MCNVPOC: 82.75. CHVN 87.75... MCNVPOC 92.50.. A bunch of reports tomorrow & FOMC... not muct time to trade so probably between 7:30 & done before Big Ben... Hope you all are doing ok... Miss Me? :rofl:

WT* ? CLueless on what this is...

I tried a long after closing my shrt against 70.50... GRR reversed and am now shrt targeting 63.25, 60.50 and 56.75 ish... GRRRR :doh:

66.75 line in sand for longs... If we take high then gap fill & potenrtial to 77.00 area... poor high so far... covered short sitting long..will reshort if lvn 66.75 taken out... imho... See U later.

On point N. That is the conundrum.. it must be managed differently so big upside and large loss of open trade profit if it goes against... it is contray to my comfort zone but that is where the larger $ are made... Yesterday is a good example of a potential 48.50-49.00 target against a 54.00 ish exit... just something to try to figure out..the upside was really there but having it come bk to B/E was not the way to go...should have gotten at least 3 pts out of it..but that is not as important as recognizing when the structure is breaking down for the short... work in progress... TX

That is the rub.. I am trying to hold them for more of a daily target..yesterday was the lows 4/10 @1552.50 with the clvn @ 1348.00. - so a potential exit in that area... which we didn't achieve. The issue with that is then where have things changed to dump the runner.. I am looking at the structure of the Profile for some structure to lean on... to exit.. one of the problems I have is separating the runners management from my short term "hump & jump" (just made that up). The discipline to hold the runner through rotation is the challenge since when we rotate off a potential bottom, I don't know if it is just rotation or the beginning of a reversal... Structurally to exit it might be rotation past mid-point, low of opening range, open, etc... In yesterdays case I was short from 60.25 rode it down to 54.00 and then exited runner B/E - that is what keeps me up at night..I need to find a better way to manage it... A fixed price of 50% or something is not the way to do it. It needs to be structural.. Otherwise I am ok..just a mission I am on... Good trading today.. 70.50 clvn, 77.25 CHVn are going to be areas for short..depending on open/reports, etc.. subject to change..etc..CHVN 63.00 YCL 62.75 & GBX LOw all right there.. IBH 61.50... GRR Catch you later..

HI everyone: A "lovely" day today.. I did quite well with only 2 trades a short off the open and a long on a rotation bk to 58.00 area with exit @ NVPOC 63.25.. I did, however, drop the ball with my last scale on my short runner from this morning..against 60.25 CLVN. I was targeting CLVN 48.00 and did not exit when CHVN 53.50 was not breached... LOD 54.00. I still have to work on managing the runners... I knew CHVN was a key area but "thought" the LOD 4/10 @ 52.50 was easy target with CLVN 48.00 as exit area... NOT.. :crap: but all in all a very nice day.. BTW: One of the issues I have is try to align my "runners" timeframe with a day timeframe while my scales are aligned with interday obstacles... The runner is my largest source of frustration.. since I can let a large open trade profit turn to poop... This is among a few other htings what I have been concentrating on...

My guesstimate: 74.50 - 72.50 it but ACH

Hope you are all alive & well.. /I think mkt has unfinished bussiness at the 88.75 level and that we could test 92.25 - 75 area... Of course we could launch from there but If that becomes the extreme then this could be the top of a pennant on a bear flag... Could be... Good hunting & good trading,

Hi all: Hope you made out ok today... I had a tough time...spun like a top... got some scales but ended up net down for the day... Dem bums...

More is better...Part of the issue is what is the skill level and psyological stability to execute consistently... the other part of the issue is can the individual invest time vs. $ to develop a plan that has a statistical edge and the plan includes entry, risk, trade & exit management. I suggest that nobody put a dime in the market before having those components in place.. Otherwise, it is like driving at the Indy 500 to see how fast the car can go before installing the brakes.. an accident waiting to happen.. In my mind, the amount of $ is commensurate at a percentage of risk... Ex. if max daily loss limit is $1,000 then you need $50,000 for 2%... for me I like to keep my risk to about 1.5% so just extrapolate. ,etc depending on how many contracts and money management... etc. Percentage of capital at risk should psycologically let you be free of emotional attachment to $. If you trade undercapitalized all kinds of demons emerge from the dark side... For a perspective, I think a 3 lot (ES) is minimum to maximize scaling which actually reduces risk. I trade in units of 3's, unless I am trading shorter rotations then units of 2's.. Time of day also affects size but that is another topic.. I think undercapitalization is a major reason traders fail... also if they trade $ before they have SIM'd long enough they will be throwing precious capital away... Some, of course, will disagree saying the only way to really learn is to just jump in... To me that is like throwing a toddler in a pool and expecting it to swim... Hope this answers your question..

LOL..Tx..I thought a true relic had shown up... Tx for the posts anyway..apprec it... :doh:

Yes, Yes.. As mentioned previously.. it is trade management where the real rubber meets the road... most spend their time on recognizing a vaid edge or setup and then executing it consistently. This is a major challange in itself but once you put the trade on, then what? If you executed a coin-toss with proper money management, risk, scaling out, profit management, etc you could probably make money. The profit would be made by proper trade management of the random winner and of course managing the risk on the losers. If you can define a statistically valid "Edge" that you can execute consistently then you need to add how you can manage and keep the yield... this area is typically the last to be addressed yet it is why most fail in this business...they never get there and never know why.. Another item that professional traders do is to trade around their positions to create an edge: ex. if long reducing their theorhetical average..that means if you buy at $100.00 and you can scalp around your position and take $20.00 out now you are theorhetically long from $80.00 which gives you more edge to stay in the trade... this is advanced but it is what professional traders do to improve their position... and "reduce" risk.. not suggesting anyone do this unless you have a skill set specifically for it... I support myself full time trading exclusively ES but I can trade any market... the process is the same outside of the specific idiocyncricies of the product, etc. Tough business, rewards commensurate with the challange...

Assuming you might have been responding to me, if not then please disregard, I think you missed the point... it's not about OP it's about the process of alignment... I have not criticized OP...my comments are related to the learning process and the challanges of getting distracted trying to replicate anyones descretionary process.. it is a note to newbies and those who are not yet successful.. It has nothing to do with the OP... I hope he does bring value ...

I'm with you on that.. like you I am extremely passionate about trading... and frustrated for those trying to find their way.. When I speak to new traders or they ask me for help I really can't help them too much, only in generic terms unless I sit them down in front of a screen and mentor them... which is not in my interest since I trade for a living and I am not a vendor... I have seen so many good people come and go in this business over the years and they ran out of time and $ before they ever had a chance..they piggy-backed someone elses plan - whether good or flawed and went down with the ship... My trading education spans many years, much frustration, huge financial investment including lost accounts, computers, software, system design, professional money mgmt, etc, etc. You are correct on what is the point of the forum and don't why we don't just discuss the weather... If you are who I think you are (Phantom of the Pits), I read your stuff 10 - 15 yrs ago - is that you? I wish I could help more but I found that these forums are very limited... and can create confusion and conflict without really helping and helping is the purpose, right? I don't want to take this off-topic and do not mean to hijack or dimenish the OP's objective..he is certianly entitled to post and I hope it goes well for him. My concern is for what the reader and newbies hope to gain from it and that as with all these threads that they don't chase the illusive butterfly .... but stay real and folow an educational plan and not waste time with descretionary processes with a very low probability of replication... As you say: Love

Certainly agree... Anyone who has been trading has seen this all before... my comments are really not about the OP.. and as you say what is posted and his credibility will soon be known. My comments are that time is a precious commodity if you are trying to take trading beyond a hobby or fantasy. It is a tough business and requires the individuals "best," as we have discussed elsewhere. I have certianly spent my time over the years doing "research." Possibly where my skill-set is today is a confluence of some of it..most of it comes down to blind alleys, deadends and lost time.. good vendor marketing and illusion... Posting of trades for the most part has little value unless there is substantial detail - something that a forum like this can't accomodate. In addition, outside of mechanical system trading, one cannot replicate descretionary trading... or recognize market behavior like short covering vs. initiative buying, etc.. that takes screen time..no way around it... There are plenty of live chat rooms out there - what is the success rate for traders in those rooms? There are plenty of vendors, what is the success rate for their products? The only value I see, outside of the proverbial: "If I get one idea out of it, then it was worth it," is to suggest to newbies that yes it can be done.. Well it can.. probably not from anything you will find here.. I am really reflecting my search and the time I have spent in this business and what my experience has taught me... The OP did mention tools that I use..however, you cannot learn them from a forum and they are already out there.. I want to encourage members to get there hands dirty, roll there sleeves up - get on with it.. Sure, see some trades, if credible great.. but don't get distracted trying to "plug & play" it doesn't work.. I know why many are here..they want help, some want trades calls, some want comraderie and some genuinely just want to help. Trading is a lonely profession..I get it..that is why I am here... TL members should explore everything but not keep going on tangents and not think that what they see can be replicated... without the work to understand what it takes to do so. I will certianly visit this forum after trading hours to see how it goes and possibly contribute if I can... but I've never seen a successful trader not have to fight for it and truly learning this business to the point of generating consistent income is akin to becoming a fighter pilot... Those of you who have made the turn to profitability know what it takes.. unfotunately it will not be revealed here... but it should be stimulating nonetheless...

Posting of trades is a great exercise for an individuals ego. Look at the "attention" this little thread is getting - just like them all... This will be a blip on the "screen." Whatever value there may be in what is posted here is really not that relevant.. There is no secret sauce, no special insight, no magic indicator or combination of tools that can be replicated by the mass. Haven't you all been here - seen this before? This is not a commentary on the individual or their posts on their trades but more on the behavior and hopes of the readers of these forums... How can anyone communicate what is behind a trade? Trading is not Black & White..it is always shades of gray. In addition, if an individual puts several tools together and may be able to execute those based on their individual psycology and alignment - what does that have to do with you? By now we all must accept that all the tools work in trading at different times for specific individuals... Charts, Mkt/Vol Profile, some screen spaghetti. The issue is can they work for you? Chart Reading - takes time, screen time..same as pattern recognition.. Mkt Profile: Punt - complex and not a stand alone tool Volume Profile: Deriviative of Mkt Profile Screen TIme: Limitless Psycological Alignment: a Lifetime No matter what the OP can or cannot do is not the point.. the point is what are you doing to improve YOUR trading? Looking over a successful traders shoulder might have some value - assuming they really are successful. Other than knowing it can be done how does that help you? We already know it can be done. If you are not successful do you know why? If not what are you going to do about it? This Thread has a snappy headline...will get a lot of us to stop by and create a buzz... how much do you think it will help you accomplish your goals? I submit not very much... I suggest you get back to the business of focusing on your charts, process and psycological alignment and not try to mimic something that cannot be explained on a forum like this let alone successfully in a live seminar... assuming it has any true replicable value at all.. The answer lies within you.. You have to have the tenacity to sort it out and find it. If you are constantly changing what you do, chasing the next "new thing", hot poster, etc. then you are lost and need to rethink what you are doing and find your way. If you've been here - done this and find you are running in a circle chasing the magic combination to unlock the puzzle then stop chasing an illusion. In the end, this thread will be among the other "methods" buried here... on this forum.. a flash.. YOU hold your own answer..nobody can find it for you. Wouldn't it be nice if someone else really could could do all the work and just throw it on a thread and then you could "take that one tidbit" away and convert it to value ? Success in trading will not be found here. It is sitting right there within you - your job - unlock it.. Get on with it.. Lay out an educational plan.. Do the work.. Just don't kid yourself that any forum is going to change what you do or lead you to the promised land..life and trading is not that simple, IMHO. Best of luck..I hope there is something you can take away from here that can help you along the path... but I doubt it...

IOnteresting day today and towards the late afternoon based on making higher lows I thought there was a higher probability they would squeeze the shorts.. On the other side early in the morning session, I thought there was a high probability to get down to 65.00 since there were stops resting there...all together a bit of a conundrum going into the close... I did get short this morning and caught most of the initial swing and did have several shorts from the upside rotations to pick the stops during lunchtime..those are pretty consistent opportunities in my book but they suprised me that they couldn't get further down to test the early lows better so I was not on the final short... The market was coiling but seemed in Neutral until the longs through in the towel... I did not get long, though I considered it, but based on the overnight rejection and the reaction off the Michigan numbers plus my suspicion that the rally yesterday was a short squeeze, I stayed away from the long side. the other reason was I didn't see a spot for good trade location.. just me... Hope you guys did ok..