I need to start writing down as text what I'm doing based on what I "feel" I'm looking at so that I have it all in a clear, objective, unambiguous format.
My initial self-directions for trading on a 15-minute chart, is to (1) enter trades in the direction of the
white moving average whenever (2) the
short-term moving average is coming out of a pullback and (3) candlesticks are beginning to form on the “inside” of the moving average
cluster (4) in the same general area that the white moving average is located.
Fortunately I checked in on my last trade and ended up bailing out early, having lost some, but not all, of the potential profit that had been available. So I should probably put into words what I dislike about what I see developing...
First, something about the short-term moving average is bothering me. So what is it? It's the cycle! The wave is now completely horizontal. So then, it is okay for the short-term moving average to cycle up and down so long as a straight line drawn through the center of its amplitude is angled in the "right" direction. If it is horizontal, it's time to stand on the sidelines.
Also, the moving average cluster is also progressing horizontally. That's not negative in and of itself, but the candlesticks need to be sliding along and then breaking into a resumption of the previous trajectory.
Yeah, there are several things going on here: (1) The candlesticks are not sliding along, they are bouncing up and down. (2) The short-term moving average needs to slide along as well, but it is instead crossing over/above. (3) The moving average cluster is beginning to hook north a second time! (Though ever so slightly.)
So, to explicitly define or recap what I need to see to approve a trade:
- A straight line drawn through the center of the amplitude of the short-term moving average's wave cycle needs to be angled in the "right" direction.
- The candlesticks AND the short-term moving average may not counter the prevailing trend beyond simply sliding along the horizontal progression of the moving average cluster.
- The moving average cluster may not initiate more than one hook that counters the prevailing trend unless intervening progress was made in the direction of the prevailing trend, led by candlesticks and the short-term moving average after their sliding off of the moving average cluster.