I have a 10-tick chart available and I used it for a day or two a while back (I believe I called some live trades on CL Redux on the day I used it). I rarely reference it now because I see as much detail inside the 5-min bars as I need to by cross-referencing a 1-min chart. Iâve been working to make trading as relaxing as possible so I can stay focused and allow my trades to reach target without micromanaging; drilling down too low in the time frame makes me nervous.
I traded ES actively for a while last year, and I now trade it occasionally after the CL pit close. ES can have some decent moves in the final 30-60 minutes. CL presents so many intraday trading setups that itâs a full time job to trade all of them, and my edge is dependent on me trading all of them, so I donât look at much else during the work day.
Thatâs why Iâd like to see some videos of how he trades wide range/chop days. CL can turn and retrace a large move in no time. The videos I watched were nice defined trending moves where you can easily scale in off the HL/HHs or LH/LLs until the trend breaks down.
Using trend/channel lines with CL, I can often capture more than the trending move itself because I take off the trade at an S/R level, then get back in at a better re-entry price. Once you do this long enough, it becomes a natural process. I generally use limit orders early in the channel, then wait for confirmation after the channel has held through a couple touches (it takes a few moves to create the channel in the first place). As it matures it will overshoot, and eventually break out, so using limit orders at that point means either wider stops or more failures.
I recently sent my friend a video of the price action of ES during a strong trending day. You can gauge the strength of the trend by how brief the period of consolidation is around :32 of the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdbSikEtjDQ
Quote from 1a2b3cppp:
A "guru" will post a chart like this:
Yet at the first trendline bounce (red circle) there was no way at the time to know that's where the trendline was gonna go, so there was no possible way to know to enter there.
Thatâs why the guru is a guru! Secret advance knowledge of where trend lines will form!
I believe the reason for this is that each time a S/R level (swing high/low, moving average, trend/channel line, ledge, etc.) is tested and holds, the excess supply or demand at the level tends to diminish until a breakout finally occurs. Itâs like pounding a floor or ceiling with a sledgehammer; at some point youâll break through.
I think itâs best to analyze as many charts as possible in the instrument(s) you trade and locate clues to its behavior as trends and channels progress. For example, CL often throws a head fake late in a channel/range/triangle formation, just prior to the strong breakout youâve been waiting for. Detailed study and note taking is super helpful in defining your personal strategy for trading trend lines and channels. I prefer confirmation at the S/R level, but will take the first touch when a trend is strong or a channel is young.
