What is Your Trading Style/system?

[SwingTradinJay 10]

I guess there is no such thing as an ideal time frame or system.

Sorry for calling scalping BS. It's easy to get carried away when you see a trending market...but we know trends don't always last! I'm going to keep my scalping tools sharp as well as trend tools...double edge sword.

 

Any way you can make a profit is good I think. When the market goes sideways scalping is helpful. I've been looking at scalping, and the nice thing is the tight stops. I'm seeing the same patterns on the smaller timeframes, and the only thing different is how much points you can milk out.

 

My most consistent gains were in scalping actually...But that's because I wasn't so darn greedy by letting winners run, but always cutting losers fast. There's benefits to scalping, that's for sure.

 

By the way: what would you define scalping as? 50 trades a day + ? or any amount of trades done within a few hours?

[dkny919 10]

I scalp the eur/jpy pair during new york open hours, I primarily use the time sales window and a 1 min with a tick chart to base my trades.

[SwingTradinJay 10]

Anyone here use a Heikin Ashi Oscillator (HACO) to pick off trades? It can be used for scalping, trending, and everything inbetween. I had to pay for the indicator, about 10$, but it has paid for itself easily.

 

Here's a screen shot, eur/jpy 1 min chart and 2 min chart, indicator set to 200/200 up/down trend.

[Jene 10]

Forex trading styles are base on two main fields of studies: technical analysis and fundamental analysis. For better understanding, you must be well aware of both style feature and characteristics. Forex trading style must be base on the Candlesticks, you must look out for a hammer, doji, head and shoulders pattern, 1-2-3 formation, double top or bottom etc.

[rossini 10]

Well, since I gave up trying to "let my winners run and cut my losers' I have averaged 300 points per week .. scalping. Other bad advice I have dumped include, "Don't average down" (99.9 percent of the time averaging down has allowed me to get out of jail .. with a profit) One key aspect of my style is to trade small .. £1 per point (spread bet), which I intend to increase after several month more of trading profitably. The reason I trade small is so that even if my position goes bad by 100 points, I'm not sweating .. well I am a bit , but only when I average down. Anyway my style/system is three weeks old, and I'm consistent for the first time in 2 years of trading.

 

That will work fine.....until it doesn’t. Be careful or you will blow out! The time it doesn’t let you out of jail free is the time you are so far under it will be almost impossible to make it up. Scalping and letting a trade go 100 pts against you is just crazy.

 

I scalp with the trend and use mean revision on a longer time frame. For scalping I use a disaster stop that is entered into every trade I make. 95% of the time I cut the trade with a very small loss if it does not do what I expect. The other 5% of the time I get stopped out at my disaster stop which is what it’s there for!!!

[Thunderdog 10]

I scalp the ES e-mini contract.

[jack411 10]

Anyone here use a Heikin Ashi Oscillator (HACO) to pick off trades? It can be used for scalping, trending, and everything inbetween. I had to pay for the indicator, about 10$, but it has paid for itself easily.

 

Here's a screen shot, eur/jpy 1 min chart and 2 min chart, indicator set to 200/200 up/down trend.

 

Hey Jay,

 

Where did you buy that indicator?

[Eric Johnson 10]

Hi, I am looking into a few new areas now, and wanted to see if anyone had some comments to share about related systems.

First is finding a fairly reliable relationship between cross pairs following each other. I mostly trade 5 minute bars and am looking for 20-30 pip runs. Like on Thursday before New Years, the EUR/ USD lead with some dramatic moves, then about 30 seconds to a minute later the AUD/USD followed direction.

Next is the EUR/JPY, it oscillates in a trading range of about 15-25 pips often. If I see it stretch a range, and the other pairs (AUD/USD, EUR/USD, or USD/JPY) are not moving quickly, then I fade the stretch of the range. The spread is wide, but it is paying on the demo.

Thirdly the beauty of the USD/JPY to follow through on channel breakouts for 100 pip runs.

These are all new ideas that I am demo trading, hope somebody has some insights. I have been posting some of my used strategies on the technical trading thread, and will update it with some of my hourly bar swing trade methods in the future.

[thalestrader 14]

Hi, I am looking into a few new areas now, and wanted to see if anyone had some comments to share about related systems... These are all new ideas that I am demo trading, hope somebody has some insights. I have been posting some of my used strategies on the technical trading thread, and will update it with some of my hourly bar swing trade methods in the future.

 

I don't have anything new, and it might be a bit boring to you if you are looking for fancy intermarket analysis or indicator combinations, but you might find some useful things in the Reading Charts thread found here:

 

http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f208/reading-charts-real-time-6151.html

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Eric Johnson 10]

Hi thanks for that direction, I will work my way through more of it this week. I like the idea of a live recorded chat. Things like pair interactions are hard to study historically, when even a one minute bar hides what happened in real time.

I can see you have been around the trading world. Is there a general post number area that deals with the idea of a currency leading and following another? Is there any general statements you could make pertaining to my questions?

[Kiwi 16]

Hi thanks for that direction, I will work my way through more of it this week. I like the idea of a live recorded chat. Things like pair interactions are hard to study historically, when even a one minute bar hides what happened in real time.

I can see you have been around the trading world. Is there a general post number area that deals with the idea of a currency leading and following another? Is there any general statements you could make pertaining to my questions?

 

 

I will make a few.

 

1. It is amazing how people trading currency pairs forget that if USD is in 4 of them then all of them will be affected by the relative USD move (think risk). It is true that less active pairs might not make a change immediately (even though the "true" value of the USD dropped say) ... so you might get lag although you'd need to qualify if its tradable and the edge exceeds expenses.

 

2. Its amazing how things that we see don't prove out if we do the stats because of the distortions our perceptions include. Damned shame really. So you need to test any "I think I see" situations. If you're lucky you'll find a real edge that others are not seeing but be prepared to be like Edison developing the lightbulb.

[charles1 10]

Since there are so many approaches that have been published it almost seems senseless to invent your own. i say the only way to know what style to use is to use it and see if it fits you. Trading is personal. Me I like chart patterns and price action, combined with fundamentals to see if it reacts or not, and I don't take my eye of the monitor, because I scalp. I get in just long enough to get the houses money, then I pull mine out and play with the pips I collected. I always reduce my position. If a pattern comes up that I feel has a foot I time it, I let it show me a hint, I pull the trigger knowing my risk. I take my commissions into account cause I could about face at any moment to collect pips. Hope that helped.

[Mr_black 10]

I am reading the Price Action and scalp like a Indian:)

Edited January 17, 2010 by Mr_black

[Eric Johnson 10]

Hi Mr black, What are you using to generate your arrows? Are those swing arrows?

 

I will follow up on my inquiry about using pairs to forecast and compare related movements. I focus on 4 pairs. I have found that the EUR/ USD and the AUD/USD usually travel together similarly. So I watch both of them for major direction indicators that could effect the pair. If the AUD/USD is breaking out of a strong channel up with force, I expect it pull the EUR/USD up with it, even if the EUR/USD is not showing the clear setup to move. Same idea for major support, resistance, daily pivots and formations.

 

For the USD/JPY and EUR/JPY, it is the USD/JPY that is the primary leading market and it's technicals should be given priority. I am focusing in the USD/JPY for it's ability to follow through on a channel breakout with lasting trends. I am not a big squeeze breakout trader, but this is the market I would do it on. The EUR/JPY is a kind of unpredictable follower and I found it difficult to micro scalp it on small ranges. I find it acting technically responsive only if the other pairs are just stuck in messy ranges.

 

Well nothing too specific, but I do enjoy having the pairs to compare, and choose the best one to get the best move. It is nice to get lucky on a delay play, but they are not a sure thing.

Edited January 18, 2010 by Eric Johnson

[markot 10]

Scalping is stressful and before u make solid Day pip ,u may get caught by trend and lose all ..however if u r in right place and right time ....

[ekshay 10]

Scalping is stressful and before u make solid Day pip ,u may get caught by trend and lose all ...

 

Where did you learn that Scalping has to be Counter-Trend ??? :helloooo:

[ekshay 10]

Hi Mr black, What are you using to generate your arrows? Are those swing arrows?

 

Hi Eric. I'm not Mr_Black ... but those arrows aren't "generated". The screenshot is from NinjaTrader, and those arrows are markers of actual trades he has taken.