mister ed

This might be a stupid question ... here goes ... is managing money an option? There are many formats in which this can be done, taking on some private funds, working for an institution in some way, all the way to setting up a fund. Get the legals right so you can continue to trade for yourself as well. Any thoughts on this from anyone who knows more about it than me (ummmm...that makes everyone qualified:rofl:)?

Sorry delay James - 750+, and is quite active http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/LinnSoft/

Hi James, I have been using Investor R/T for about 4 months now. Extremely happy. I use the basic package plus the MP/VB add-on. Reliability is 100%, charting is excellent. But the thing that most impresses me is the support. I can work out most things but if I have a problem I do not want it interfering with my trading hours. There are at least two modes of support, one is to contact the firm directly, which I have done, and have got speedy, professional responses each time. The second mode of support is a Yahoo User's group. Get this, I asked a question on the Yahoo group on a weekend and got a response from Chad Payne, just a few hours later - on a Sunday! That's great support. Is there room for improvement in the product? Yes, there is. My broker data feed integrates with many software packages, but not I R/T - I have requested this integration and will see how it goes. I currently feed it eSignal but broker integration would be fantastic.

Apparently SnagIt does record video of your actions on the screen (see attachment). I have never used it for that purpose, so can't vouch for it, but for a free program it could be worth trying first? I have the non-latest version of SnagIt, which is made available by its makers so that you can try it and if you like, upgrade to the paid version. Nice business model. So SnagIt for free is available to download from here, the registration key is: YW6RC-4YMK6-SZBBD-C2MCW-Q9D96 I hope this still works, of not let me know and can try to find alternative.

OMG - this is coming along sooo fast - what a great resource the original thread is BUT what a great resource this summary is too ... thanks a lot James.

Do NOT be short...

3 days later, hits new highs...

Thanks Piggyback (good name for a Wyckoff trader!); the thread has been held together by the efforts of PivotProfiler, and his outstanding efforts have been complemented by plenty of other notable contributors - I am sure they all appreciate your kind words. Your mentor's name, Joel, has been mentioned a few times in this thread and always in a good way. I appreciate you sharing your personal story and while no two traders will share the same story I think the 'lightbulb effect' of being introduced to, and then gaining an understanding of, Wyckoff analysis (of which VSA is a part) is a common link amongst those of us who participate how we can in this thread. Maybe you could stick around?

Hi Abe - sorry for my scaremongering post! Let me admit a bias, I am with BF on favouring eminis... There are two types of brokers in FX, the market makers and the ECNs. The market makers are where the customers trade against the MM (notwithstanding that the MM may well hedge customer trades so neutralising this effect somewhat), the MM provides the liquidity but the risk (well, one of the risks!) the customer runs is the MM triggering stops etc. and generally behaving like a bucket shop. Having said this I think some of the MMs are getting better, realising that they can make money from a customer in the long-term as well as the short-term, so behaving less like a bucket shop. I think the improvement is also coming from some tighter application of regulations especially in the US. This makes MM brokers located in the US probably the best. Also, avoid any MM broker with 666 in the phone number :haha: The other type of retail FX broker in the one that customers are shown prices coming from banks and the deals are routed through to the banks. These are the brokers that use ECNs - article here is a good run down but it might be a little dated so check the named brokers (and there some others not named here too). These types of brokers usually charge some sort of commission (better way of saying that is the commission is usually visible, not hidden in the spread) and their spreads can be a little wider than the MMs at times (an MM can provide an extremely tight spread if they know which way your coming from ... anyway a spread is sometimes irrelevant, you're only looking for one side of it right? I don't know anything about IB sorry... Have you been to the website Forex Factory? I think its a really good FX site, probably the best I have seen. I use their economic calendar even though I don't trade FX ... FX people generally seem to value good economic analysis/info.

OK - will have a think about those and be back.

Yes - see what Browns wrote. EuroDOLLAR is an interest rate contract. Eurodollars are US dollars on deposit at banks outside of the United States; the Eurodollar contract prices the rate of interest paid on these deposits (its more complicated than that but thats the gist of it). The name 'Eurodollar' has been in use a long time before the Euro currency was created - Eurodollars have nothing to with the Euro currency at all.

Ranj beats me to it...

My thoughts on the 22nd as the last bar (please keep laughter down to a small guffaw)... And, of course, this is all with the benefit of hindsight. There has been a sustained move down since just before the 14th, on huge volume, with the highest volume of all on the 22nd (ignoring the 23rd here). Highest volume after such a big move down suggests capitulation to me. There is a long shadow/tail, the price closed towards its highs (well, at least in the upper quarter). Big effort to fall, result - close is strong - not bearish. There must have been good buying on this bar. My rudimentary knowledge of Wyckoff analysis has got to tell me this is NOT a bearish bar and I would be looking for buy opportunities on the following bars. My inner-candlestick guy is screaming at me that it's a fantastic looking hammer too - and taking all that background into account is making it even stronger (try as I might to smother him with Wyckoff I cannot shut the inner-candlestick guy up).

BF - while you say that a static DOM is probably not a go - what are your thoughts on the chances of getting one-line static DOM, just the best bid and offer that change without scrolling - see attachment.

Abe - I am all for FX trading, you just need to know about some of the less pleasant aspects of it before going all-in. This article I took from here - post number 3 - well worth reading and thinking through. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Tom, Quote: hmmm...let me think about this...what is my commission? (yes, Virginia there really is commission in forex...it's disguised as the spread and the extra commission we do not see is the altering of the price that your broker shows you....)...assume a 4 pip spread OK....I risk $400 to make $1600...wow! but...but...my fee on the sale is $4 x 100 when I sell short & then $4 x 100 when I buy to cover so...it seems I have just paid 1/2 of my profits to the broker. what am I missing here? does this make sense? Yeah, it makes sense to me.... It's called getting RIPPED-OFF!!! The reason most people like Forex is because these jackass brokers tell people they can get started with as little as $500 and open up an account... this is insanity... do the math: 2% on $500 = $10 bucks... what trade are you going to find that carries a $10.00 risk??? Hell, the pip spread 2-3 pips which is $20. $30 dollars... Anytime I see brokers doing this I just light them up on the spot, because they know damn well people are not going to make any money and they are just ripping people off left and right.... it's pathetic!!! I don't blame the innocent people for this (because they don't know any better), this is why they need to regulate Forex. Joe Ross wrote an excellent piece on Forex in 2005 (and it fully warns people about the stupid games the brokers and banks play on retail traders)... this is why you can't trade Forex on 60-minute or less time frames... they will clean you out. Since 2003 I have watched people try to day trade forex and it's not pretty...have you noticed how the Forex "hype" has slowed down? Here's why? Brokers can deceive you about there being no commissions. $30 minimum/round turn (called the spread) is in reality a commission that eats up your capital at an astonishing rate. Even winning traders lose money and end up with negative results because of this outlandish overhead. Trading futures, you should never have to pay a broker more than $10/round turn, and usually quite a bit less than that. Guaranteed fills. True but… The only way a broker can guarantee fills is for the broker to become the buyer or seller of last resort. That means the broker is running a bucket shop. All forex brokers are the buyer and seller of last resort. Brokers do not all tell the truth about volume. They show the volume for all forex trading, which doesn't even come close to the volume they truly have at their own brokerage, which is where you are trading. Volume in currency futures is considerably higher than the volume traded at any single forex broker, often greater by a factor of ten. Leaning. Brokers say they are charging you a 3 pip spread to trade the popular currency pairs. But in reality a broker may be making as much or more than 10 pips on your trades. He does this by skewing prices. Since you are not trading at an exchange, the broker can feed you any price he wants to feed you. He can buy at the bank for perhaps 7 pips less than he sells to you. He then charges you 3 pips for the privilege of being ripped off for a total of 10 pips. Unregulated. Forex may sound like an exchange but it isn't. It exists entirely in cyberspace with every broker and every bank having different prices for any particular currency. There is little or no regulation, even for brokers who register with the CFTC and the NFA. Forex brokers do not have to mark to market each day as do futures brokers. If your forex broker files for bankruptcy or absconds with your money you have zero recourse. No guarantee. If a forex broker does go out of business, you could lose all your money. There are no guarantees and no one standing behind it. Futures brokers are required to mark to market at the end of every session every day. They have to put up cash to cover every open trade on their books. Futures brokers have gone broke, but no futures customer has ever lost one cent of the money in his trading account because of a failed broker. Nor have they had to wait for their money. It is immediately available. You can get exactly the same action in the euro fx futures as you get in the "Euro" forex. Commissions are as low as one tenth per round turn depending on volume, through a regulated broker, trading electronically at an exchange where you know the true price of the currency. What is the true price? A forex broker can only give you the price of a currency as quoted to him by the bank through which he trades. Banks have differing prices for a currency. You never know what the real price is because there is no central exchange through which all prices flow. Besides not knowing the true price from the bank, you can also be deceived by "leaning" or "skewing" of the real price at the bank. Forex brokers commonly lean the prices. Forex brokers are not necessarily truthful. They lure people in with hype and false advertising: "No commissions!" "Guaranteed fills." "24 hour trading:" Who in their right mind is going to trade in the middle of the night unless they have a special need. While it is true that total forex volume is greater than in the futures, futures, volume at the exchange is greater than the volume at your broker for the most popularly traded currencies. The only place where the liquidity differential matters is in currencies like the Mexican peso, the Brazilian real, and somebody's drachma. Those thinly traded currencies may be more liquid in forex. But if you trade anything but the few most liquid and popular currencies, you are going to be paying at least 5 pips, and often more. Unless you have a particular commercial need to deal in Polish zlotys, Indian rupees, or some other thinly traded currency, you don't need forex. You are told by forex brokers that there is little or no stop running. This is one of their biggest and boldest fabrications. The truth is there is far more stop running in forex than in futures, and possibly as much stop running as in the stock market. I have friends who work in forex as well as many traders who of necessity have to trade forex. One of my students is a market maker in forex. These are people who should know, but in case you don't want to believe me or them, simple observation of forex trading will reveal the vast amount of stop running that takes place there. Who is it that runs the stops? Why it is your friendly forex broker. The broker has a vested interest in seeing to it that your orders are filled. Stop running is nothing more than order filling. The broker sees to it that everybody's order gets filled. Probably you have heard that if you are winning regularly in forex, you may be barred from trading. Is this true? Yes it is. The fact that it is true is just another proof that when you trade forex you are trading at a bucket shop. In the book, "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator," we are told that Jesse Livermore was banned from trading at certain stock brokers because they couldn't stand him beating the house. The same thing is true with many forex brokers. Since they are the ones guaranteeing you a fill, they are in effect the buyer and seller of last resort. The truth is that most forex brokers have precious little liquidity at their firms. In order to give you the impression that there is liquidity, it is the broker who gives you your fill. It is the broker who does the stop running that supposedly doesn't exist in forex. But if you are regularly beating the socks off the broker, he will ban you from trading at his firm. Now you know the truth about forex. I challenge any and all forex brokers to prove that I am wrong. I will change or remove anything proven to be untrue in what I stated above. THere is nothing wrong with FOREX on longer term charts, but don't try and trade it intraday or you will expeience all the problems above. This means trade Forex on a 60 minute or higher time frame. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't get me wrong Abe - FX is OK, but what is written above is accurate and you need to be very careful. Unregulated does not just mean the price can move without limits, it also means that when you ask for a price the price is what the broker you are dealing with wants it to be. There are, or course, reputable brokers, but try to find one that is part of an ECN, the prices will be close to the real market adn you will be dealing into a bank rather than with the broker itself as the market maker.

This should help (to be careful the next few days) 1:20 AM General Due to current market volatility the day-trade margin has temporarily been raised to 50% of the overnight exchange requirement.

Ahhh...sorry Monad, my mistake. Can I ask what instruments you are trading? If US index futures there is a website that provides the figures (VAH POS VAL) each day before the RTH open,

No, the Value Area High, Value Area Low and POC cannot be calculated from the previous day's HLCO. VAH, VAL and POC are Market Profile terms, and to be honest to understand them it would be a great idea to read some of the introductory posts you will find here at the Market Profile forum. Very educational indeed and well worth the time spent. In brief, the value high and low are plotted around a central price referred to as the Point of Control (POC), which is the price that traded most frequently during the day according to time at price (so there is no way this can be calculated from the OHLC data). The POC is the longest line of TPOs on the Market Profile chart. The VAH and VAL are plotted so as to contain 70%, or thereabouts, of the day's trading, again as measured in number of TPOs (so again, they cannot be calculated simply from the OHLC data).

Had a brief scan through so far - impressive work James, and a lot of work too. Some comments (meant to be constructive) On this page: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f67/vsa-official-summary-3288.html?pg=2 the reference to 85 % of volume being professional activity ... I think you will find this disputed later in the thread...I (personally) think it is a statement of faith, not supported by the facts - I think it should be either 1) deleted from this summary, or 2) a note made that the 85% assertion is questioned by many. PP himself has said this assertion is a leap of faith, I believe it is as it is not supported by facts or logic. By the way, we are equating professional activity with smart money, not with fund managers - fund managers can swing huge volumes but they are not necessarily smart money at all. This page: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f67/vsa-official-summary-3288.html?pg=4 LOVE IT! - have referred to this list a few times, now I know where it is from! Still going through it...

Wow - its looking VERY good James ... Having a read through of your thread now ... be back

How many of us noticed this? Most ever visitors to TL in a day occurred yesterday (22Jan07). Well done James!

Hi Monad The Point of Control (POC) is the price that traded most frequently during the day according to time at price. The POC is the longest line of TPOs on the Market Profile chart. Not sure of the maths, but the POC sticks out as the longest horizontal line when one is looking at a MP chart. Hope that helps?

Those links to the CME info on index futures limits are pretty useful, quite good information in there and, unusually from the CME, easily understandable. The overnight limits are 5% down OR UP. This is compared to the limits that apply during RTH, these are only applicable on the downside - no upside limits during RTH.

Great thread thanks to all the contributors. For me, I have limited experience in the index futures, so I decided against trading it today. Hard decision, felt like a coward - and hard to admit it too - but I did not want to incur the increased risk of gap moves against me today. Looking forward, as my experience in index futures increases I will be better able to take advantage of a day such as this.

OK - back higher - there was actually a lot of volume went through at that limit price. It is overnight so volumes are not huge but this was relatively large - looks to be about 16,000 contracts (give or take) went through at the limit.