Reading Charts in Real Time

[Rustie 10]

Nuther quick chart with a funky range. And a stop out. Tough.

[Marko23 10]

I have never understood why so many people at TL care so much about how I represent my data. Maybe you should also be picking out what clothes I wear, too! ....

 

I never made any suggestion regarding your representation of anything.

But your reply is outright arrogant to me.

 

While reading in some other threads I found this post

 

Two things changed my life:

 

1. I designed proven setups and built a trading plan

2. I took all my indicators off

 

In science there is a principle called "Occam's razor". One may apply that to trading too. In my opinion that helps to see a clear picture of a market.

[thalestrader 14]

I never made any suggestion regarding your representation of anything.

But your reply is outright arrogant to me.

 

Come on. now, Marko, this is not that kind of forum, and this is certainly not that kind of thread. Don't let yourself be so easily insulted. I don't think Richard's post was arrogant at all, and if you took it so, I can at lest say with confidence that he did not mean it to be so taken.

 

I thought his post was downright funny!

 

I have never understood why so many people at TL care so much about how I represent my data. Maybe you should also be picking out what clothes I wear, too! :haha:

 

That's funny!

 

Peace.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Cory2679 11]

Hey guys,

 

This will be my last post this week...I have to go holiday shopping in a few minutes...

 

I've just been "getting ready" to go live recently. I've got my desktop setup the way I want it, I think...

 

Across I've got the EJ, EU, GU, UJ...down I've got the 15 minute "normal view", then the 15 minute zoomed out view, then the 4 hour zoomed out view. I'd like to throw a range chart on there, but they will start to get crammed. I've got a huge monitor so the 12 look all right. My fxcm platform is on a separate computer (my laptop).

 

If I want to view a different chart, such as a daily or maybe a range chart, I'll just have to use one of the charts on there, then change it back.

 

I welcome any suggestions on how to improve this/things I'm "missing."

 

Originally I set it up to just have 4 bigger charts (1 chart per currency pair) that I would change the view of if I wanted to view a zoomed out chart, 4 hour chart, etc., but I like this much better.

 

Random note: I've noticed that sometimes adjusting the scale makes things clearer. I've included 2 charts of the GU...the first looks like a mess (in my opinion), and once condensed a little, the second is more readable.

 

Like others have said on here, I wish ninja had a fixed scale option. Looks like it's coming, though.

 

Next week I'm going to "formally" demo trade, then go live on my $250 account the next week.

 

Happy holidays!

 

-Cory

Edited December 23, 2009 by Cory2679

[daedalus 10]

I think you've done an awesome job cory and approached this as good as anyone could.

 

I love the fact that you're willing to go live on a small account and can accept that maybe you don't have everything figured out yet and you aren't willing to risk an entire account. Thats smart thinking - and thinking most traders don't use.

 

I think you'll do fantastic. I think my workspaces have worn off on you though!

 

Good Luck, Happy Holidays, and Happy Birthday!

[thalestrader 14]

I think you've done an awesome job cory and approached this as good as anyone could.!

 

I second that sentiment!

 

Just remember to credit any successes to me and any temporary set backs to Kiwi.

 

I wish you well, and Happy Birthday!

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

Continuing to track the EJ ...

 

Tracking the EJ like NORAD tracks Santa ...

 

Official NORAD Santa Tracker

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[daedalus 10]

Came across a fantastic learning tool for anyone in this thread and wanted to share. First off - thanks to RichardTodd, as it was his fantastic blog that got me onto this new site.

 

The site is Nasdaq Day Trading Simulator - Practice Makes Perfect - Tradingsim.com

 

All it is is a market replay website for Nasdaq stocks. The awesome thing is you can pick your stock, select your day, and then speed up, slow down, pause price action as it unfolds. I've been using this site to just go say pull up a 1 Min AAPL chart and speed up the data 1-2x and then just mentally watch it unfold and say, I would want to be long above here, short below there... etc.

 

Watching price is essential to learning how to trade (and this method for sure) but sometimes watching price unfold in real time is boring simply because it unfolds so slow most of the time and waiting for that HL or LH pattern to confirm could take hours... but if it takes seconds you can get that much more practice in and really train yourself to see.

 

I have really improved my "eyesight" using this website and think you all could as well.

 

Best of all - there are no ads, its completely free. Hope this helps you all get some additional training in over the holidays!

 

Cheers!

[Gabe2004 10]

I have really improved my "eyesight" using this website and think you all could as well.

 

Carrots will do that too.

 

:rofl:

 

Gabe

[DaKine 10]

Hi Thales,

 

6e/EURUSD finally got to targets but if you were playing it the whipsaws were enough to drive you nutz. The first b/o only got to the previous swing H then tested the lows of the congestion if you were in that trade would you have SARed or just took the stop? Then when your stop got hit and if you did reverse what appeared to be a breakdown was actually just a fakeout and a return to congestion. Then another test of the lows and fake b/d to shakeout weak hands and suck in some shorts before rocketing to targets... Would you have played the b/o of the larger range?

 

 

Thanks

[thalestrader 14]

6e/EURUSD finally got to targets but if you were playing it the whipsaws were enough to drive you nutz. The first b/o only got to the previous swing H then tested the lows of the congestion if you were in that trade would you have SARed or just took the stop?

 

When price reached the previous swing high, my stop would have moved to break even. I would not have stopped and reversed, because that would have been a third trade with nearly the same entry point. I am referring to the short you mentioned yesterday, which was a reasoanble short, albeit unfortunately timed.

 

Then ... what appeared to be a breakdown was actually just a fake out...

 

No such thing as fake outs. Price impulses or trends, and price consolidates, ranges, or otherwise chops. Price gave you two break even trades to get your attention that it was in a chop zone. If that wasn't enough, price produced both a higher low and a lower high, a clear indication that price was stuck within a range that was bounded by the last real high and last real low, and that you should take your cues from the last high and low.

 

 

Then another test of the lows and fake b/d

 

Again, there is no such thing as a fake out, fake break out, fake break down, fake break up. Everythnig price does is very real. We should not make ourselves feel better about our misreading price by accusing it false inducements. I tried that for many years. Trust me, it got me no where, and it will take you there as well.

 

Would you have played the b/o of the larger range?

 

Absoluely! There was no other play to be made as price was in the chop zone and a break out trader knows to take his or her cues from a break of the last real high or low, whichever comes first.

 

I made some notes on the chart of the EURUSD. Print this one out. Anyone who is having difficulties with getting chopped up, print this chart out. Anyone who still believes that "false breaks" exist, print this chart out. These two little guidelines, i.e. 1) two opposing trades back to back at nearly the same entry point and/or 2) the production of a LH and a HL which establishes price in a range between the last real H and last real L, will save you much heart ache.

 

By the way, I did not just make these up here and now. I have repeated both of these criteria of a chop zone repeatedly through out this thread. You only need one to conclude you are in a chop zone.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[MidKnight 12]

Across I've got the EJ, EU, GU, UJ...down I've got the 15 minute "normal view"....

 

Hi Cory,

 

I was wondering why you are tracking it across several pairs? I'm sure you can recall my little exploration with this type of trading. Tracking multiple pairs was the main criticism with what I was doing. I'm very surprised Thales is not bringing your attention back to that considering how much focus this point received back then.

 

Happy holidays!

 

-Cory

 

And you too - stay warm

 

With kind regards,

MK

[thalestrader 14]

Hi Cory,

 

I was wondering why you are tracking it across several pairs? I'm sure you can recall my little exploration with this type of trading. Tracking multiple pairs was the main criticism with what I was doing. I'm very surprised Thales is not bringing your attention back to that considering how much focus this point received back then.

 

Hi MK,

 

I think Cory has been spending the last couple of weeks annotating the H's and L's on only the EURJPY:

 

I'm watching the EJ this week...here's an annotated chart.

-Cory

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

Here is my chart showing how I think this may play out over the coming hours. Though this is a 60 minute chart, I would be looking for a short indication at the upper resistance zone using the 15 minute for trade entry, should price follow this path.

 

Here is the current EURJPY. Price rallied to within 14 ticks of the resistance target, and we now have a short opportunity presenting itself on the 15 minute.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Cory2679 11]

I was wondering why you are tracking it across several pairs? I'm sure you can recall my little exploration with this type of trading. Tracking multiple pairs was the main criticism with what I was doing. I'm very surprised Thales is not bringing your attention back to that considering how much focus this point received back then.

 

Hi MK,

 

I think Cory has been spending the last couple of weeks annotating the H's and L's on only the EURJPY:

 

^^True. Furthermore, I'll be "formally" demo trading all of next week with these charts...

 

Next week I'm going to "formally" demo trade, then go live on my $250 account the next week.

 

...so if during that week I decide that I think that 4 pairs is too much, I will trade fewer pairs. When I say "formally" demo trading, I mean I'm going to treat next week, just the 1 week, as if I were really trading real money...actually entering all my trades into the demo account, etc...just to get into the swing of it before I go live.

 

-Cory

[thalestrader 14]

Hi Folks,

 

Here is a familiar pattern from the 4 hour EURUSD.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Cory2679 11]

I've got my desktop setup the way I want it, I think...

 

Across I've got the EJ, EU, GU, UJ...down I've got the 15 minute "normal view", then the 15 minute zoomed out view, then the 4 hour zoomed out view. I'd like to throw a range chart on there, but they will start to get crammed. I've got a huge monitor so the 12 look all right. My fxcm platform is on a separate computer (my laptop).

 

After playing around a bit...

 

This may not work. 12 charts on one screen might be too small...

 

If I had money to blow on computer hardware, I'd really like to have 1 screen per currency...maybe 2-4 charts per monitor of each currency...but no such money at the moment. It's not needed, it'd just be a luxury.

 

Also, I'm considering going live just trading 1 pair then gradually working in the others. We'll see. I feel like I did well and could get a good "feel" for the market if I was just focusing on one. I almost feel a little overwhelmed, in a way, going from 1 to 4. I dunno, we'll see. It certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

This is really my last post this week! You won't here from me again 'til Monday!

 

-Cory

[thalestrader 14]

If I had money to blow on computer hardware, I'd really like to have 1 screen per currency...maybe 2-4 charts per monitor of each currency...but no such money at the moment. It's not needed, it'd just be a luxury.

 

You would be amazed at what I can do with a laptop.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

After playing around a bit...

 

This may not work. 12 charts on one screen might be too small...

 

I saw your earlier post, but I did not realize you intended to watch those 12 little charts concurrently! How often do you think you need to look at a four hour chart? Have you considered tabs? Simplify, Cory. Simplify.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[RichardTodd 10]

I never made any suggestion regarding your representation of anything. But your reply is outright arrogant to me.

 

Sorry, I was just trying to make light of the situation. As I've posted before, I feel that pervasive "anti-indicator" posts on forums turn a bare chart into an even more sinister holy-grail (one that your peers applaud you for chasing).

 

Whether you watch plain T&S, or you watch five spinning 3-D graphs while sitting in a chair that vibrates at block trades, you are dead in the water until you acquire trading skills. That's where the focus belongs--not on surface details.

 

The reason I love this thread so much is that I know Thales gets this. The course of learning he outlined, and the weekend reading stuff, all revolve around taking time to understand the character of the markets and your own psychology. If only all threads kept their aim so true.

[thalestrader 14]

Hi Folks,

 

EURJPY rallied to within 14 ticks of the anticipated resistance zone in the 131.60's. Price did decline, but only to test the breakout level f the immediately prior base as support, and it has now rallied up through the 131.60's. I posted a short indication last night, that would have been a loss. Of course, it triggered during The Dead Zone between the NY close and the Tokyo open, so in all likelihood, I would have avoided that entry, In the process of taking anyone who had traded it out of that short, the EJ put in a little double top, from which it then declined to test that prior base and BO level as support.

 

In the process of testing that level as support, EJ gave a long indication, thus allowing for an entry into the continuing uptrend. I would expect that the EJ is likely going to rally to the upper end of what is now almost a year long range between a 126.00 low end and 139.00 high end. Any short inidcations in the mean time have a high likelihood of reversing back to long when price declines to test an immediately prior base. For any decline to pick up steam to the downside, a break of two prior BO levels would need to occur.

 

I'll be watching off an on today until we leave for church this afternoon. After that, I will not post until Friday when I post the next Weekend Reading contribution.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[Marko23 10]

...

I thought his post was downright funny!

...

Peace.

...

 

Sorry, I was just trying to make light of the situation...

 

Ok, complete misunderstanding. I'll switch to read-only mode.

[thalestrader 14]

I feel that pervasive "anti-indicator" posts on forums turn a bare chart into an even more sinister holy-grail (one that your peers applaud you for chasing).

 

Yes Sir, RichardTodd. I have mentioned my good friend more than a dozen times who insists on keeping floor pivots and a CCI (though I see him using less and less these days) and a band of ema's on his charts. I know from watching how he trades that he really does not need these. But, as I said before, who am I to argue with a guy who has gone from just making a living out of the markets to making 4 and 5 figure profits on a weekly basis in the space of a year or so, and all because of his confidence in his indicator(s)?

 

... or you watch five spinning 3-D graphs while sitting in a chair that vibrates at block trades ...

 

If such a system existed, I admit I'd like to give it a try! Do I get to wear VR Goggles as well?

 

The reason I love this thread so much is that I know Thales gets this. The course of learning he outlined, and the weekend reading stuff, all revolve around taking time to understand the character of the markets and your own psychology. If only all threads kept their aim so true.

 

When I first started the thread, I had an idea of what I wanted to share and how I could best do it to help other folks. I did not want to make it about my approach, and I did not want to attempt to create a bunch of Thales Clones. I do think the approach stands on its own. However, I also think an awareness of PA as I trade can help any trader, regardless of whether that trader is trading a bare chart, watching for MA crossovers, measuring stochastic divergences, or contemplating spinning 3-D graphs while sitting in a chair with vibrating alerts (tell me that doesn't sound like a fun way to trade).

 

I do think that all you really need is chart to do this well. But I am also aware that trading is a confidence game (think about that phrase), and if it takes an indicator or two or some flashing paint bars or some spinning 3-d graphs to give the trader the confidence he or she needs to make decisions based upon what price itself is telling them, then who am I to try to take that away from them.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[thalestrader 14]

Ok, complete misunderstanding. I'll switch to read-only mode.

 

I would hope you really do not feel a need to go into "read-only." I think your posts have been an excellent contribution to the thread. None of us has complete control of how our words are interpreted once we hit the "SUBMIT" button. This wasn't the first time there was this type of misunderstanding here in the thread, and it won't be the last. Roll with it and keep participating. That's what traders do, right?

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

Edited December 24, 2009 by thalestrader
spelling/typos

[thalestrader 14]

Hi Folks,

 

Here is a familiar pattern from the 4 hour EURUSD.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

 

This is quite common price action subsequent to an ending diagonal.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales