Chop vs. Trend

Quote from 65Matt:

You guys are still trying to find the perfect indicator. It doesnt exist. There is no magical way to spot a trend vs. a chop.

However, I always consider the news. A big piece of news or economic report is a good catalyst for a trend. The market is more likely to trend during these times.

Also, scaling into your positions will make your 'chopped losses' become cheap. Trailing stops and pyramiding will help you take advantage of the trend.

This (money management) is why you dont need the perfect indicator.

The perfect indicator exists and it is price. Differentiating between chop & trend isn't magic either. One must choose a timeframe to trade and a single oscillator to confirm what he is seeing in price. He can get the oscillator from Jurik or find it on his own. And know that the trend determined in that timeframe is only good on that timeframe. Once a trader understands and trusts that, he has created his own personal trading environment. Then he only has to apply that environment to any Market he chooses.
 
Price is by definition historical, since it represents past transactions. It is one of many variables in a short-term trading decision
 
Quote from Charlie Dow:

The perfect indicator exists and it is price. Differentiating between chop & trend isn't magic either. One must choose a timeframe to trade and a single oscillator to confirm what he is seeing in price. He can get the oscillator from Jurik or find it on his own. And know that the trend determined in that timeframe is only good on that timeframe. Once a trader understands and trusts that, he has created his own personal trading environment. Then he only has to apply that environment to any Market he chooses.

That's easier said than done. How do you determine wether a price bar is printing in a chop/trend realtime? A lot of people like the DMI, but I don't find it of much use in this market environment.

It's easy to look back after a few bars have printed and analyze in hindsight. Personally I use the prior days movement. If there are 2 consecutive choppy days I switch to a trend system the next day, similarly if the market trends the prior 2 days I switch to a range system the next day. Now it's up to you how you define choppy/trend days. So far that's the only solution that seems to be working for me. If anyone else has a better solution, please share. Thanks.
 
Quote from Grob109:

Thanks for introducing a very important intermediate/expert topic.

The combination of the comments here on failures to be able to handle this and the major failures inherent in DBP's commentary do scope and bound one of the most important building blocks for intermediate/expert trading success.

After a person is nailing the bulk of the market proffered intraday opportunities, where are the places he goes to be prepared to then extract other opportunites?

The general sets of considerations dwell on recognizing the moves in market operating points and then doing a comprehensive rapid characterization of the new operating point.

Obviously, these two considerations are what fouls up most back testing in several ways: the first set is omitted almost always; the second set is continued to be used well after that operating point is no longer applicable; and the timing of when to be doing each of the sets is not within the grasp of the person primarily because he does not have in his belief system three factors; they are: Migration of distinct operating points; how all operating points are arrayed; the overlap of gross characteristics re operating points. Finally there is the determinant of change.

All of this, from an intermediate and from and expert viewpoint hinges on a paticular set of market knowledge that did not come up in the discussion to date. You, from your vantage point (beginner), nee to skip backtesting and go to market concepts. Go to this conceptual area for now. Learn about the pace of markets completely. There are several integrated principles. Once you deal with each, you get to see and understand how their dynamic works individually and, then collectively (meaning relative importance as well) you are able to see two facets: the changing relative importance and the more or less universal arrival and departure of each element that contributes to pace.

From the above, you can understand why a person can be stuck in a place where that place, for him, generates a particular type and quality of response.

All leraning begins with the market and not with tools that process data. To learn about the market you study the market.
as a human and to extend your capability, you select and use tools to extend your mind's reach. For fun and after work, you can play with tools. If by chance you wee formally introduced to particular tools, always keep in mind that you learned about them because it is what you like to do. What you want to do and what you want to play with. For making money, the market TELLS you what tool to pick up. Pick it up. Find out what other attachments to that tool are called for.

There are no tools mentioned in this thread so far by anyone and, especially, No advise from a formally trained person who has tools he likes to play with.

This post from me to you is a "keeper"; it applies to a lot of things. I will knock out an expert level 80 pager on this soon. It is a good idea to drop some stuff into ET once in a while to act as a wake up call for the troops.

Good luck and thanks again for your thread topical post it has been a long time coming.

Wow, what a load of bullsh**

Everyone here has talked all around the subject…trying to introduce this or that idea.

The original poster was just looking for a trend indicator and everyone has to start pontificating the meaning of life.

Do any of you make money? Seriously.

-T

PS. The poster of Post #2 on this thread, Kut2k2, is wrong. EF says nothing about the direction of a trend; only whether or not one exists. Where do you all get this bs that you just ramble on with? Only absolute values are used in the calculation, think about it for a second.

If your new to trading, do your self a favor. Go find a better forum. Elite my ass.

Sorry. I don't know why I lash out like this. But, seriously, you all are talking out of your asses.
 
Quote from tonyc2a:

Wow, what a load of bullsh**

Everyone here has talked all around the subject…trying to introduce this or that idea.

The original poster was just looking for a trend indicator and everyone has to start pontificating the meaning of life.

Do any of you make money? Seriously.

-T

PS. The poster of Post #2 on this thread, Kut2k2, is wrong. EF says nothing about the direction of a trend; only whether or not one exists. Where do you all get this bs that you just ramble on with? Only absolute values are used in the calculation, think about it for a second.
I gave the formula for the signed version later in the thread. Your inability to follow a coherent line of reasoning is duly noted.
 
Determining chop vs trend is not as hard as some make it out to be, the challenge is in isolating the range in contrast to bigger market views.

Throw 2-3 of moving averages (say 13, 21, and 34) into various timeframes (start high and work your way down, 60min, 30min, 15min, 5min), when 2 or more of these moving averages dissect the middle of price action, and price not responding well to averages, you have chop, range or whatever word you have for this market condition, but only in that timeframe. A timeframe condition perfect for fading, or reversion to the mean, pick your preference.

Now, back to the challenge, when you do your research you will notice some timeframes might be ranging and others are actually trending, it's up to you to determine who could be the culprit in determining when this range is about to end (out of the scope of this simple post) and in there lies the difficulty, but determining chop is as easy as throwing a group of averages and noticing there is no trend in place, in THAT timeframe.
 
Hello all,

I am doing my first newbie attempts as far as creating (I'd even say goofying with) my own trading systems.

I have noticed that the principles that work during trending markets wont during the chop, and viceversa.

How could I ..... apply one set of rules during a trending market and another set of rules during the chop?

The only idea I have come up with is requiring an initial filter, like price moving above over an EMA for a set number of periods in a row in order to apply the trend principles, otherwise apply the chop rule set. Any other ideas guys?


Cheers.
Mr. Ya7-200-50;

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%;^^^
Mainly study great trends, Up trends, downtrends, all data on those;
study those much more than chop-slop sideways trends[aka range].

Even chop slop-sideways trends are not so bad if you are in with a good trend profit.
The trouble with so many traders, even investors, they are so highly leveraged;
they cant afford much of a stop or pull back, so they have to stop out even a good trend., or average trend.To whine markets dont trend much is missing the point.

Amen on your moving averages;
200dma, 50 day moving average, [IBD is right again] + 50 period moving average. are helpful. Moving averagers are a good study area, like an UP trend or DOWN trend.
Wisdom is profitable to direct.:cool:
 
Hello all,

I am doing my first newbie attempts as far as creating (I'd even say goofying with) my own trading systems.

I have noticed that the principles that work during trending markets wont during the chop, and viceversa.

How could I express in conceptual terms (as opossed to computing terms, I know nothing about that) so a trading platform could apply one set of rules during a trending market and another set of rules during the chop?

The only idea I have come up with is requiring an initial filter, like price moving above over an EMA for a set number of periods in a row in order to apply the trend principles, otherwise apply the chop rule set. Any other ideas guys?


Cheers.
Hello. Welcome to the world of trading. Your question is how do I conceptually define a trend so that a trading platform could apply trading rules appropriately. This is a question that all new comers grapple with when they start.

I think everybody here knows that conceptually, an uptrend is when price makes a series of higher highs, higher lows and higher closes and vice versa for down trend. However, this is extremely difficult when trying to define it mathematically so that you can translate it to an indicator or a trading system.

The short answer is, no one has been able to mathematically define a trend. If someone has defined it, they would be richer than Bill Gates.

In order to move forward in your trading, you will need to refine your questions so you can get better answers to them. Example : How do I mathematically define price action that enables a higher than average probability that a trend trading system would work? Once you are able to refine your questions, you will better be able to find better quality answers that will enable you to incrementally move you to profitability. Hope this helps.
 
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