Quote from metal:
I couldn't disagree more. What I posted and what CrazyAtrader and NoDoji have reinforced is truly a simple method that works. Sure there is a little more to it that I plan to introduce but make no mistake: this approach makes money day after day.
Yes, it does and it seems like pure magic at times.
In the words of Al Brooks, "If you want to compete, you must minimize all distractions and all inputs other than what is on the chart in front of you, and trust that if you do, you will make a lot of money. It will seem unreal but it is very real. Never question it. Just keep things simple and follow your rules. It is extremely difficult to consistently do something simple, but in my opinion, it is the best way to trade."
You have no idea how many times a day I find myself thinking "This is unreal."
How can something that's supposed to be so random and "noisy" keep working?
Who cares, as long as it works, don't try to fix it!
Quote from crazyAtrader:
Up, down or sideways is the correct answer, never use a bias as it's imperative that you are capable of reversing directions when the unexpected occurs.
You don't predict, you react on confluential key areas that are supposed to hold, then you read the PA and determine if they held, broke or faked and then take your trade.
Some prefer to anticipate and this involves a bit of prediction, it's a matter of choice and style, I prefer to react.
Crazy A
It's easy to recognize other experienced profitable traders on ET. They post information that comes from experience, produces consistent profitability, and often causes frustrated traders to want to argue about it
What will happen next based on that chart can be anticipated (price will dip to that that nearby lower TL) or you can wait to see what price does and react accordingly.
What actually does happen next NOBODY knows. But probability is in your favor that if X, then Y is more likely to follow. So you play off X when it occurs.
Now combine "more likely" with positive risk:reward. "More likely" doesn't mean "guaranteed". If you hold a loser or average down against price when it's waving a big red "Reversal" flag, just because a setup is high odds and you believe price will do what you want it to at some point, you not only risk large losses, you miss out on immediate profitable opportunity. A loss that grows beyond normal retracement action means you're missing profits. You're paying money to lose out a new profitable opportunity.
I sometimes anticipate (very tight stops) and sometimes react (higher odds the trade moves in your favor, but you pay a little extra on the entry for that confirmation).
Regardless, this simple (drawing a trend line on my charts takes about 3 seconds, copying it and moving it for a channel takes about 10 more seconds) method of trading produces positive results because the profit reward when trading in the direction of a trend is quite a bit greater than the loss that results if price movement invalidates the positive expectation of the setup. That's because you're looking to enter very close to S/R and if it fails the loss is small; if it holds, the next target in the trending move is not only the previous high or low, but a good push beyond it as well.