Help with Trade Entry Using TP

K

kempo

Hello Everyone:

There seem to be some incredibly knowledegable traders here and I was hoping for some direction:

I am a new trader and I have been using Trade Prospector trying to learn to trade JNPR and CIEN. The TP signals seem to work well enough, but I keep getting whipsawed out of my positions. Then I chicken out and price moves in the right direction.

I will risk 1/4-1/2 pt. in general (I'm sure my stops could be more accurate). When price approaches major S/R on a 5 minute chart, I drop down to a 1 minute chart and look for a close above/below the S/R, enter the trade...And then I hold my breath.

I don't know if I don't have enough patience in the trade or whatever else might be wrong. I'm not losing big, but I will slowly bleed to death. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Kempo
 
Dustin,

Thanks for your reply! I am trading 100sh and yes I have access to futures. I use QCharts and have my account with Interactive Brokers. I am also trading between 8 and 10 round trips a day.

Kempo
 
First of all since you are a beginner you should know that this market is pretty tough, especially if you can only trade 100-200 shares of the more volatile stocks. Last year trading 100 JNPR would be much more profitable then 100 shares now.

That said, if you find that you are being stopped out of every trade, but in the end you are usually right, maybe you should widen your stop. Try 3/4 if you need to. If that doesn't work, then your system needs to be adjusted, and you should stop trading until you figure out what's wrong. Your account needs to live to trade another day ;-)

I strongly believe in the merits of RSI and a couple other indicators such as ADX when it comes to trading stocks that follow the indexes (like JNPR & CIEN). Study up on those as much as possible so you are not trading blind or just depending on a service such as TP.


Good Luck
Dustin
 
Hello,

Dustin, just curious as to how you would suggest implementing RSI and ADX with TP support and resistance projections. Currently Im using TP and I am flat for the last month. However, Im learning and gaining more confidence in my system. Im having more success playing stocks that are in a strong down trend or strong up trend by taking a trade in the direction of the trend. If I have a strong up trending stock on my scan list the best signals I have been getting is when the stock opens lower then reverses back thru a pivot point. Just the opposite for strong downward trend. If your having alot of whipsaws, you need to widen the trigger area or better yet stay on the sidelines in the choppy markets.

Mark
 
Since I have only a little understanding of how TP works I can't really merge the two systems together. I think zBoy has a good understanding of TP so he may be able to help you more.

You touched on an important subject though when you said that trending markets are easier to play then these choppy markets. 1998-2000 were easy times for daytraders because the trends were so strong. Now that the markets are so choppy i'm not so sure that systems like TP work well. Others could comment on that.
 
Hi Kempo

I also use TP for trading. I think one of your problems is your brokers platform is to slow for playing stocks like JNPR. I opened an account with Interactive and closed it the same day. Probably one of the worst entry systems ever developed!! Somebody on another website describe Interactive brokers platform as being designed by a 1000 monkeys on LSD!!!!Whats the use of having direct access if it takes you a couple of seconds more to enter a trade because of a badly designed interface. I also agree with Dustin. Its very hard to trade this choppy market. Sometimes the best strategy is no strategy at all and sit out.
As for TP, i use MACD,ADX and volume spikes to enter trades.
A stock may hit TPs DS quite a few times during the course of the day. Bout the only time i enter a trade is when the indicators are bottomed or topped and when they cross the signal line at a real sharp angle preferabbly with a big volume spike.
The first thing i would do is get another broker. Having a user friendly and well designed entry system is a necessity for trading. It'll also increase your confidence. Theres lots of EDAT brokers giving special promotions for new clients. When i first started trading full time 3 years ago i was paying 46 dollars a round trip(and thats without the help of TP). I believe MB traders has a special for 5 dollar executions. Armed with TP and a decent platform and the patience to wait to all the indicators to jive before pullling the trigger will improve your success rate.

Sterling
 
Sterling,

Thanks for your reponse! What settings do you look at on MACD? Do you look at a particulat time frame on your charts?

I think that you're right, I"m not waiting for all aspects to converge for a safer entry. Practice, practice practice!

Maybe it is my lack of experience, but I'm happy with IB. I have the trading screen set up on a seperate pc. I use the hot keys and executions seem fast (to me) on ISLD. I am seeing very little if any slippage.

Kempo
 
Sterling, which broker (for direct access) has the best "user friendly" access? I have signed up with IB but haven't sent money yet because it's impossible for me to make contact with anyone there. I'm always put on hold and finally just giveup waiting. Being a newbie, I will certainly need a "user friendly" broker so I can get "instant" fills and/or sales. Thanks
 
Gene, the point of direct access trading is NOT having to talk to a broker to get a fill. If you want handholding every time you place an order, then you are probably wanting a full-service broker :)

I have heard good things about MBTrading's customer service; you may want to look into them if you do want a direct access broker after all. AFAIK, IB is not really meant for people who need lots of hand-holding.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top