mbusch
OK, i will try to give you some of the strategy thinking in the +6/-6.
My thinking about openings always has been that the institutions etc are in the mkt on openings, no one would dispute that simply by observing what the volume is on openings.
One quick note before i continue: i do not use a 1 minute chart for signals, creats to many trades. 5 minute chart only in ES. When the SP500 pit opens in Chicago at 0830Central time, i use that as the opening, not the globex times, in other words the first print on globex from the pit opening is when my day starts. Then what i do is let the first 5 minutes go by and do nothing (i pay no attention to any gaps), then when the next bar on the 5 min chart prints i use that price as my point to write down that price and then the price at +6 ticks and the price at -6 below.
Ok, now you can set limit orders and sit. You have orders on both sides. Maybe the other side now can become a stop order even though i would normally be out about -6 ticks from entry (the 0835 line).
Here is a thought about this strategy: if followed on openings it works like a new girlfriend as like ystrdy. When it will not work is on whipsaw days (the buggaboo of any breakout trader). Ok, aside of it working right off the bat or not, it will do this>>>>>.......it will keep a trader on right side of the mkt. That in itself says an awful lot, there is no luck, no opinions, no whiz bang indicator etc. It is RAW to the bone.
This is my only signal to trade off the opening. Now say after the first hour i might take the first hour breakout if the opening was a whippy non sensical price jitterbug as the mkt is confused. But, if one is in the mkt and showing a profit then i watch the retrace action.
Hope this helps.. Ps........working on a seperate strategy to trade the DEAD ZONE. In a nutshell it could be a SAR tactic but i am leaning to a seperate account to range trade the 3 handles in DZ. Easier to enter limits etc in a seperate account with pre-set orders, even though it is a no brainer to throw in mkt orders in a liquid ES trade.
PS, a big part of this opening trade is going to be in ones ability to avoid whipsaws as stated. Sometimes it is advisable to take a couple small losses or scratches and wait for first hour price breakout. Some ideas are best used as discretionary. But as a rule this is a great way to start the day to catch the usually biggest run of the day as a leg. Later
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That entry looks awful. The start of a bear flag, which broke, making not 1 but 2 subsequent lows.
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