I have ongoing debates with that, from tick chart, range chart to volume charts to plain old time charts. I like range charts in the overnight session. Tick charts are something I try on and off, but what bothers is that multiple small traders can fill up a candle. I'm back to plain old time charts after all these years.
ES Journal Archive (2011)
- Thread starter Buy1Sell2
- Start date
- Status
I have ongoing debates with that, from tick chart, range chart to volume charts to plain old time charts. I like range charts in the overnight session. Tick charts are something I try on and off, but what bothers is that multiple small traders can fill up a candle. I'm back to plain old time charts after all these years.
I personally use the same 1,000 tick chart in all market conditions. If tapes are uber slow, I'll also use a faster setting than that to "look inside" for precision entries. But that's hardly the case, now and for quite some time to come.
choice of charts is a very personal decision... I firmly believe they all work about equal over the course of time. Just settle on a setting that shows you what you need to see thru all market conditions, and turn focus towards other tasks.
Yesterday I picked off +38 points cumulative in the afternoon using straight entries and targted exits for the most part.
Today I tried to get cute and build positions into trend swings. Initial short 1138 became short from 1135+ and then blended at 1133 on two tries this morning with stout size. Tried to avoid heavy chop. Got nailed at par stops before filling the expected gap 1123 soon after... without me.
Longs from 1130+ were blended to 1134 on stout size, again. Stopped out at 1133.75 final pullback before soaring to 1150+ as expected and predicted.
One more time for good measure? Blended long at 1160 this afternoon stopped in the final pullback before expected gap fill at 1170+
Same denominator for all three: initial entries short and then long and then long ALL held initial stops, all worked deep in favor, all got stopped because of adding size choice I made.
Hence the lesson RElearned that trading straight in & out with ES works much better, much easier than trying to average in positions and hold blended stops.
In the same manner I booked +38pts yesterday, I was actually in enough trades to book at least +50 points today from the initial entries only.
Moral of the story? Single entry, reduced size to control risk in these very noisy tapes and exit aggressively when profit objectives are met. The two-way action even when price goes directional is something to behold... unlike the days in 2008 that went more straightline in directional swings with much less counter-move pullbacks.
Back in 2008, TF trading was huge money... these days it is destroyed. I've had automated stops rejected by NT because the fill and reverse -10 ticks happened so fast, NT couldn't execute automated.
Yesterday I filled a TF long and had it slam -3pts against the entry before I could manually place the -1pt stop.
Far as methodical trading goes, TF is pixie dust.
The ES is gold right now, but it takes more patience = more discipline and crisp execution on entry and exit. I spent the whole day out-thinking myself, trying to ride market direction and being in the right direction each time... yet chopped out.
Tomorrow onward it's purely points-collecting mode on reduced trade size for me. This ain't 2008, and it took me long enough to grasp that fact.
08-09-11 10:21 AM
08-08-11 09:08 AM
08-05-11 08:29 AM
08-03-11 08:36 PM
08-03-11 07:43 AM
08-02-11 08:38 AM
08-01-11 10:12 AM
07-28-11 07:11 PM
07-26-11 08:42 AM
07-20-11 07:23 AM
07-14-11 06:19 PM
07-11-11 08:29 AM
07-08-11 07:51 AM
06-30-11 09:47 AM
Currently short the Sep ES contract at 1314.50. Stop is 1372.50 6/30/11.
--Maintaining short here. Stop remains the same.7/8/11.
--Maintaining short here 7/11/11. Stop remains the same
--Maintaining short here 7/14/11. Stop remains the same (outside the noise)
--Maintaining short here 7/20/11. Stop remains the same
--Stop remains the same 7/26/11
--Stop continues here 7/28/11
--Don't see a reason yet to change stop 8/01/11. Staying short
--Will be looking very soon to lower the protective buy stop. Keeping it the same today however. 8/02/11.
--Staying short here with the same stop. 8/03/11.
--Stop lowered to 1361.75 8/03/11
--Continuing with same stop here. I believe this bounce is short covering only at this point. 8/05/11
--Staying short. Same stop 8/08/11
--Stop lowered to 1271.00 8/09/11
--No change in position 8/11/11
08-08-11 09:08 AM
08-05-11 08:29 AM
08-03-11 08:36 PM
08-03-11 07:43 AM
08-02-11 08:38 AM
08-01-11 10:12 AM
07-28-11 07:11 PM
07-26-11 08:42 AM
07-20-11 07:23 AM
07-14-11 06:19 PM
07-11-11 08:29 AM
07-08-11 07:51 AM
06-30-11 09:47 AM
Currently short the Sep ES contract at 1314.50. Stop is 1372.50 6/30/11.
--Maintaining short here. Stop remains the same.7/8/11.
--Maintaining short here 7/11/11. Stop remains the same
--Maintaining short here 7/14/11. Stop remains the same (outside the noise)
--Maintaining short here 7/20/11. Stop remains the same
--Stop remains the same 7/26/11
--Stop continues here 7/28/11
--Don't see a reason yet to change stop 8/01/11. Staying short
--Will be looking very soon to lower the protective buy stop. Keeping it the same today however. 8/02/11.
--Staying short here with the same stop. 8/03/11.
--Stop lowered to 1361.75 8/03/11
--Continuing with same stop here. I believe this bounce is short covering only at this point. 8/05/11
--Staying short. Same stop 8/08/11
--Stop lowered to 1271.00 8/09/11
--No change in position 8/11/11
- Status