Jump to content

Welcome to the new Traders Laboratory! Please bear with us as we finish the migration over the next few days. If you find any issues, want to leave feedback, get in touch with us, or offer suggestions please post to the Support forum here.

  • Welcome Guests

    Welcome. You are currently viewing the forum as a guest which does not give you access to all the great features at Traders Laboratory such as interacting with members, access to all forums, downloading attachments, and eligibility to win free giveaways. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free. Create a FREE Traders Laboratory account here.

enochbenjamin

Tweezers & Shooting Stars

Recommended Posts

My bread and butter trades are scalps of shooting stars and tweezer tops into some sort of resistance.

 

Ideally one of the two candle formations will occur after a nice price move up to resistance. Today there was a $1 move up in oil that gave a nice shooting star in to resistance.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=18430&stc=1&d=1264630340

 

If I am on top of my game I will short 3 contracts with a 5 tick SL. I will take the first off at 8 ticks, the second at 13 ticks and the third off for 21 ticks. In crude oil (CL) my main vehicle thats $150 risked for $420 in profit. I almost always get the 8 ticks so even if I get stopped out before hitting my next two targets it is only a loss of $20. Very low risk trades.

 

The beauty of oil is that there are 3-4 opportunities to take this type of trade almost every day.

 

I define resistance as any level where price will pause and give you a bounce. In crude oil it is rare for price to just blast thru these levels. Usually price will approximate the level and quickly bounce. Then it may test the level again, completely retreat or blast thru. I am only interested in the initial bounce and tweezers or a shooting star into any resistance level give me the confidence to take this trade.

 

Please feel free to comment and/or share how you utilize tweezers and shooting stars.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
EJ - can you explain how you enter b/c I'm not sure how your entry level is identified on that chart. Are you anticipating the candle pattern to form or do you wait for some sort of confirmation?

 

Thanks.

 

It is a little easier for me to enter with a shooting star. I already know and am watching the Resistance levels. In the above example the pivot was 7489 and the second standard deviation was just a few ticks away providing a resistance zone (for me). So as soon as I see the price retreating and the shooting star forming i will enter. I enter before I get confirmation as to keep my stops as tight as possible. In the first chart I posted you will see my stop was 7 ticks and not my standard 5 - that was because I did not catch it fast enough to have my stop above the star.

 

If you want confirmation you could wait to enter below the close of the shooting star candle. This increases the amount you have to risk and is much harder with tweezers.

 

If there is a confluence of resistance levels (R1, 2nd SD, 00, yesterdays high) at/near the same price I have been known to set a limit with a wider stop to account for an overshoot. Then once the overshoot does or does not occur I quickly reduce the stop to 5 ticks and let the chips fall.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just wanted to point out that all of my examples will be shorts at resistance. I am a directional trader who firmly believes that deliverable commodities have built in selling pressure so no matter how bullish the markets become there will be ample selling at almost every level.

 

Also for some reason support levels are more "grey" than resistance levels so my tight stops do not work as well at support. I would love to hear from others so I can learn if this is a bias I have or if there is some consensus on the issue.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
EJ - do you have an EL code you can post for the vwap bands?

 

Unfortunately i do not. I discovered VWAP here in the Jperl threads. You might find code over there.

 

i use x_trader and vwap is a standard feature. please note that all vwaps are not created equal. I have tried it in several software apps and found only three to be accurate: X_trader, Ensign Windows and Investor R/T.

 

To be 100% honest I do not really understand how SD works - all I know is that after observing it for over a year price rarely goes much further than the 2nd SD. Since trading is a probabilities game knowing that the 2nd SD is a price extreme gives me a little edge. Add a significant resistance level and vavoom! (felix the cat)

 

Now if I could only be so disciplined to only take those high probability trades :doh:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
EJ - do you have an EL code you can post for the vwap bands?

 

Nothing to do with trading - but where did u get EJ from? I have never been called EJ before. My first name is Enoch and my middle name is Benjamin. Just curious???

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Nothing to do with trading - but where did u get EJ from? I have never been called EJ before. My first name is Enoch and my middle name is Benjamin. Just curious???

 

I guess EB would be more appropriate. I just grabbed the E and the J I saw in your name. Easier than typing the full thing out. ;)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
..... ..... can you elaborate?

 

 

I really dont know what the intend of the person who coded those bands is/was, maybe for their use that code works fine.

 

That said if the intend is to have the bands above/below the VWAP by x SD then it is not accurate. See the screen shot below. The VWAP is accurate but the bands are not accurate, they dont line up.

 

Regards,

zunaa

5aa70fc758900_WVAPBands.thumb.PNG.d9262762585b6a14b8b860fc3fad9d3b.PNG

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I really dont know what the intend of the person who coded those bands is/was, maybe for their use that code works fine.

 

From what I seem to recall, the intent by the programmer was to have the tool match what Jperl was demonstrating in the Market Statistics thread as close as possible. Comparisons were made to other implementations and it most closely matched the Ensign ESPL code used in the Market Stats thread.

 

What are you comparing in your screen shot?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
From what I seem to recall, the intent by the programmer was to have the tool match what Jperl was demonstrating in the Market Statistics thread as close as possible. Comparisons were made to other implementations and it most closely matched the Ensign ESPL code used in the Market Stats thread.?

 

Fair enough, I was not aware of this fact. My comments were made in reference to someone asking about VWAP Bands in post that was not involving Jp work.

Im not familiar with jprl work, All though I know of a trader with that handle that used to log in a trading room which I participated in. from what I recall, he posted charts with somehting similar to VWAP and some SD bands. Yet I dont know him personally i.e. My focus was Price Action with a concentration on volatility and him being very focused on Statistics, our style of trading was very different so we didnt really have much in common to talk about. I guess The only thing we did have in common was Voltility. Thats as much I know of him.

 

 

What are you comparing in your screen shot?

 

The screen shot shows the ELD you referenced over my VWAP and (3) SD Bands. This why I said that ELD is inaccurate... That is if ones intent is to project SD bands from VWAP.

 

 

 

Regards,

Zunaa

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The screen shot shows the ELD you referenced over my VWAP and (3) SD Bands. This why I said that ELD is inaccurate... That is if ones intent is to project SD bands from VWAP.

 

How do you know that yours are correct and not maybe the other one with yours having the incorrect SD Bands?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
attachment.php?attachmentid=19215&stc=1&d=1265998573

 

 

What are you basing your S/R levels on? Just wondering if these are major levels (ie. daily monthly) or just intraday levels? Earlier you mentioned you use VWAP intraday as well, correct?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
What are you basing your S/R levels on? Just wondering if these are major levels (ie. daily monthly) or just intraday levels? Earlier you mentioned you use VWAP intraday as well, correct?

 

I use VWAP + pivot points. The green line was S1 which because price was below acted as resistance.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Date: 31st March 2025.   Trump Confirms Tariffs on All Countries, Sending Stocks Lower.   The NASDAQ continues to trade lower due to the US confirming the latest tariffs will be on all countries. In addition to this, bearish volatility also is largely due to the higher inflation data from Friday. The NASDAQ declines to its lowest price since September 11th 2024. Core PCE Price Index - Inflation Increases Again! The PCE Price Index read 2.5% aligning with expert forecasts not triggering any alarm bells. However, the Core PCE Price Index rose from 0.3% to 0.4% MoM and from 2.7% to 2.8% YoY, signalling growing inflationary pressure. This increases the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will maintain elevated interest rates for an extended period. The NASDAQ fell 2.60% due to the higher inflation reading which is known to pressure the stock market due to pressure on consumer demand and a more hawkish Federal Reserve. Boston Fed President Susan Collins recently commented that tariffs could drive up inflation, though the long-term impact remains uncertain. She told journalists that a short-term spike is the most probable outcome but believes the current pause in monetary policy adjustments is appropriate given the prevailing uncertainties. Although, certain investment banks such as JP Morgan actually believe the Federal Reserve will be forced into cutting rates. This is due to expectations that the economy will struggle under the new trade policy. For example, JP Morgan expects the Federal Reserve to delay rate cuts but will quickly cut towards the end of 2025. Market Risk Appetite Takes a Hit! A big factor for the day is the drop in the risk appetite of investors. This can be seen from the VIX which is up almost 6%, Gold which is trading 1.30% higher and the Japanese Yen which is the day’s best performing currency. Most safe haven assets, bar the US Dollar, increase in value. It is also worth noting that all indices are decreasing in value during this morning's Asian session with the Nikkei225 and NASDAQ witnessing the strongest decline. Previously the stock market rose in value as investors heard rumours that tariffs would only be on certain countries. This bullish swing occurred between March 14th and 25th. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump indicated that the upcoming tariffs would apply to all countries, not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the US. NASDAQ - Technical Analysis In terms of technical analysis, the NASDAQ continues to obtain indications that sellers control the price action. The price opens on a bearish price gap measuring 0.30% and trades below all Moving Averages on all timeframes. The NASDAQ also trades below the VWAP and almost 100% of the most influential components (stocks) are declining in value.     The next significant support level is at $18,313, and the resistance level stands at $20,367.95. Key Takeaway Points: NASDAQ falls to its lowest since September 2024 as the US confirms tariffs on all countries, adding to inflation concerns. Core PCE inflation rises to 0.4% MoM and 2.8% YoY, increasing the likelihood of prolonged high interest rates. Investor risk appetite drops as VIX jumps 6%, gold gains 1.3%, and safe-haven assets outperform. NASDAQ shows strong bearish momentum, trading below key technical levels with support at $18,313 and resistance at $20,367.95. Always trade with strict risk management. Your capital is the single most important aspect of your trading business.   Please note that times displayed based on local time zone and are from time of writing this report.   Click HERE to access the full HFM Economic calendar.   Want to learn to trade and analyse the markets? Join our webinars and get analysis and trading ideas combined with better understanding of how markets work. Click HERE to register for FREE!   Click HERE to READ more Market news.   Michalis Efthymiou HFMarkets   Disclaimer: This material is provided as a general marketing communication for information purposes only and does not constitute an independent investment research. Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of buying or selling of any financial instrument. All information provided is gathered from reputable sources and any information containing an indication of past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future performance. Users acknowledge that any investment in Leveraged Products is characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty and that any investment of this nature involves a high level of risk for which the users are solely responsible and liable. We assume no liability for any loss arising from any investment made based on the information provided in this communication. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without our prior written permission.
    • PM Philip Morris stock, top of range breakout at https://stockconsultant.com/?PM
    • EXC Exelon stock, nice range breakout at https://stockconsultant.com/?EXC
    • UTZ Utz Brands stock, watch for a bottom breakout at https://stockconsultant.com/?UTZ
    • FL Foot Locker stock, nice breakdown follow through at https://stockconsultant.com/?FL
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.