to answer commisso's question -- in the past I would wait for a thrusting move and then by the pull back or sell the rally in one of my favorite traders when they had volume and were trading with the spoos. However, I feel that this range like market has made that trade too risky so I have had to take new trades. Now I have a few types of pattern entry type trades that I am willing to take. The different part today is that I made over a point on two different shorts that would never have happened trading my old scalping style. I took half profits after the stock moved to twice my risk and I let the other part ride with pretty wide stops. I shorted via.b soon after the open and I shorted GP. I also made some money long in the biotech sector. Then I chopped a little in the last hour with the biotechs.
Basically to be more specific I look to a shorting type pattern and then put my initial risk behind one of the moving averages I believe should act as resistance. Vice versa for longs. Ideally you want to see the pattern and then sell as you near the moving average with the sector or market starting to tank. If I am a little vague it is because the week my business partner started revealing my methods on trading markets is the week my trading account stopped rising with its usual grace. Coincidence? probably.