Reading Charts in Real Time

[traderbrazil 10]

At this time of day I wouldn't have any orders in, especially not on the Yen pairs, and not on that range. I would rather wait for price to start swinging a bit closer to 7 PM est.

 

Hi Thales,

 

Good morning!

What are your usual time restrictions when trading currencies? I would also assume that this would change according to the currencies being traded.

 

Many thanks!

Leandro

[thalestrader 14]

Hi Folks,

 

I wasn't feeling well yesterday afternoon, and last night I suddenly felt downright awful.

 

I may be absent for a day or so until this passes. Heading back to bed now. I hope you all keep the discussion going. I'll do my best to respond to any questions when I am up and at it again.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Gabe2004 10]

Hi Folks,

 

I wasn't feeling well yesterday afternoon, and last night I suddenly felt downright awful.

 

I may be absent for a day or so until this passes. Heading back to bed now. I hope you all keep the discussion going. I'll do my best to respond to any questions when I am up and at it again.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

 

We'll hold the fort while you are recovering.

Get well soon.

 

Gabe

[Gabe2004 10]

Hi Thales,

 

Good morning!

What are your usual time restrictions when trading currencies? I would also assume that this would change according to the currencies being traded.

 

Many thanks!

Leandro

 

Having thought about this a bit, I realize that I rarely am willing to enter a new currency trade after 2-2:30Pm EST, and almost never between 4PM EST and 7PM EST except on Sundays, which can be very good during Sydney and pre-Tokyo.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

 

Hopefully this answers the question while Thales is away.

 

Gabe

[Gabe2004 10]

Isn't this beautiful.

Now how do we make $ with it?

 

Gabe

[traderbrazil 10]

Hopefully this answers the question while Thales is away.

 

Gabe

 

Thanks for the input, Gabe!!

[Cory2679 11]

Hey guys...

 

I probably won't be posting any trades today...I just wokeup (seriously overslept)...and my brother just called and is coming over with Japanese food. The later it gets, the less I want to put a trade on...I don't like the afternoons very much...

 

I've got to get it back in gear...I had such a good day Monday!

 

Feel better Thales!!

 

-Cory

[thalestrader 14]

USDCAD is at a point, as seen here on the four hour chart, where an opportunity may present itself one way or the other.

 

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

 

Hi Folks,

 

My daughter woke me to look at the USDCAD, and since I was up, I thought I'd post an update her.

 

Feeling awful still, so back to bed with me.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Gabe2004 10]

I am not too happy with myself today.

I saw this trade about 20 minutes after the breakout and I told myself that if it comes back to the breakout point I'll get in.

For some reason I was not paying attention and next i looked I saw that I missed the opportunity.

I am writing this just to re-enforce the fact that opportunities can come any time and we have to be fully committed and alert.

 

Gabe

[Don4 10]

Thales,I hope you feel better soon!

 

Don

[MidKnight 12]

Get some solid rest Thales. Wishing you a speedy recovery - MK

[thalestrader 14]

USDCAD is at a point, as seen here on the four hour chart, where an opportunity may present itself one way or the other.

 

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

 

USDCAD is moving as anticipated (not predicted - I'm with Kiwi and I really do think there is a difference).

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Cory2679 11]

Hey guys...

 

Just got on...looks like there's not a whole lot of opportunity right this minute...just waiting for something of a bottom/top of this sharp move...

 

I think it's funny how dead this thread is with Thales out of commission. :o

 

I'll try to post a trade or two today...

[thalestrader 14]

Did you have a short with that first poke down? I did. As Brown said it seemed one f the most promising areas today. Managed to get flipped long....there where plenty of opportunities to do that too.

 

Hi Blowfish,

 

I didn't sell that poke down. I had a sell stop at 1.0370, but it didn't get that low. I think a short at a higher level, perhaps below 1.0415, would have been reasonable to attempt, as I thought price might decline to test that 1.0375 level. I just didn't set the order myself. I guess I may have had a "looking for long" bias at work, as I had been waiting for the decline back to that level since missing the short opportunity on 11/27.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

Thales - this one really sticks out to me as an easier trade due to the strong support identified on the longer timeframe chart. Again, just an outsider chiming in but if these type of setups occur enough I wonder if that could help those struggling to zero in on a particular setup vs. every one that shows up on the 15 min charts.

 

And even if they are only a few per week, just load the boat.

 

Also - due to the strong support on the 4H chart, I wonder if this will get some serious steam behind it where you can use the 15M to time the entry and now use the 4H to manage the exits. Just some more rambling and observations.

 

One of my circle of trading colleagues trades only S/R off 4 hour charts. He trades six or seven different pairs and gets 0-6 trades each week.

 

I think you are right that someone haveing a tough time with this approach (or any approach, for that matter) could only help his or her cause by limiting oneself to initiating trades only in the vicinity of tests/breaks of longer term S/R.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

I am not too happy with myself today.

I saw this trade about 20 minutes after the breakout and I told myself that if it comes back to the breakout point I'll get in.

For some reason I was not paying attention and next i looked I saw that I missed the opportunity.

I am writing this just to re-enforce the fact that opportunities can come any time and we have to be fully committed and alert.

 

Gabe

 

I saw that too Gabe. You should really take a long view of that chart and see how price acted from the preceding large rally through that choppy decline to the point you note through this the 200+ pip rally from that sequence. I think you can learn alot about how to differentiate a potential runner from a "take whatever you can" opportunity. Nothing is certain, but not all sequences offer the potential.

 

I'm fading fast and just waiting for my wife to take me to the doctor (I haven't been to the doctor for a sick visit in at least a decade, but I feel terrible, so time to bite the bullet).

When I feel better and have time, I will try to mark up an EJ chart to show you what I mean. But you should definitely decrease your bar spaceing and take a picture of the EJ from its 126.xx low through this morning.

 

Best WIshes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

Would you be moving your initial stop to above that swing high since it formed?

 

This was break even, but only because I'm sick and we closed it early. Otherwise it would have been a small loss at the point you notoed.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, if you could recommend which chapters to read in O'Neil's book (the sections you took your daughter through) ...I'm sure chapters 1-2 are a must ("The Greatest Stock-Picking Secrets" - includes the 100 charts & "How to Read Charts Like a Pro and Improve Your Selection and Timing").

 

Those two chapters are all you need for our purposes here. I do not use the volume analysis as he does. But study how price bases and then breakout. Even though those are daily and weekly charts, you will see the same activity on your 15 minute charts (all time frames really). Rally and base, rally and base.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

Hi Folks,

 

I tried to catch up the best I can. PM's will have to wait until I feel better.

 

If anyone posted a question or comment that I misses, just wait until I am back all the way and bring it to my attention.

 

Best Wishes to all,

 

Thales

[forrestang 10]

Not sure what will happen but based on this wondering if follow through to downside occurs, there is pending news as well.

 

If something develops will update.

 

----EDIT-----10:08est

no real follow through on that one as you'd like to see with a BO.

 

----EDIT------10:16EST

Break below 2nd picture red line should provide some movement. Will explain as soon as i can but trading and posting is a PITA

 

----EDIT-----10:23EST

Finally some movement, particularly after the red line was pierced to the downside.

 

----EDIT------10:43EST

Blue line was entry, red line is tightened stop. green line is target need one tic to push through.

Edited December 3, 2009 by forrestang

[Gabe2004 10]

Potential EJ short.

 

Gabe

[Gabe2004 10]

Potential EJ short.

 

Gabe

Based on the 1min chart, the trade would have been entered, STP would have been moved to BE but TP1 was probably not hit so the trade would have been a scratch.

 

Gabe

[Gabe2004 10]

Based on the 1min chart, the trade would have been entered, STP would have been moved to BE but TP1 was probably not hit so the trade would have been a scratch.

 

Gabe

 

Asuming the trade would have been re-armed TP1 was going to be hit and also the point at which I would move the SL to BE has been reached.

I moved the point where the BE should have been activated away from the TP1 by the spread +1 to avoid the possibility of hitting the BE move point while missing the TP1 as occured earlier.

 

Gabe

[brownsfan019 17]

Just when I thought your charts could not get any more ugly gabe, you find a way to provide something even more hideous to the eyes.

 

Can you really trade in real-time from those things?

 

[Gabe2004 10]

Asuming the trade would have been re-armed TP1 was going to be hit and also the point at which I would move the SL to BE has been reached.

I moved the point where the BE should have been activated away from the TP1 by the spread +1 to avoid the possibility of hitting the BE move point while missing the TP1 as occured earlier.

 

Gabe

 

SL was hit @ BE+1 on the other 2/3 of the trade.

Just to be clear, I did not take this trade.

 

Gabe