Price Action Journal V1.5
- Thread starter TraderKaizen
- Start date
I'm trading two contracts, with a 6 tick safety stop. I scalp 6 ticks on one contract, and immediately go to BE on the second. If prices start pulling back, I often just cover before the BE stop is taken out, then look for a new entry. I also cover on the intial stops sometimes too if it looks like I'm wrong.
This worked well on even the 770 tick chart until the past couple of weeks. The volatility is much higher now and the stop hunting is becoming ridiculous. Unless there is a really strong trend, almost every new turn fails the first time and they run the stops, then it will take off again. Sometimes is even takes a couple of runs at the stops first.
Look at your charts closely at the end of the day and see if you don't see the stop hunting. It's gotten so bad, that I had to make a change, thus the 500 tick change and the small profits. I'm not giving it back to the stop hunters.
Hi Mccullek
Thanks for that explanation. I was looking over today's chart on 770 tick and I don't see the stop hunting. I attached a chart of a stopped out trade due to change of trend, I don't think this counts as stop hunting since the trend changed. Could you please post a chart showing the stop hunting?
Thanks!
JW
7 trades
5 Winners
2 Losers (3rd & 5th)
5 Winners
2 Losers (3rd & 5th)
I can't speak for Buy, but the first long was certainly an uptrend, and the second long, while questionable, the market was still in an uptrend, because the support area was still holding. Prices made a DB, then a HH, although prices went on from there to make a LL.
I'll make one other comment, and this is meant constructively, so don't take it the wrong way Buy. The first two short trades were great trades, and you sold on the pull backs in a down market and very near the high if I am reading the charts correctly. Those were great trades. The third short was taken after a HL and HH, so that one was questionable and more importantly than anything, the market was now in chop, so that's when you sit on the sidelines and wait on a new trend to develop.
After those first couple of shorts, all of the remaining trades were taken when the market was congesting and in chop. Also, it looks as if he had a bias by that time and was simply trying to get long on the break outs, rather than waiting on the pull backs to get a better entry and to prove out the trade. It's hard to tell from his charts, so I could be wrong about that. It also looks like on that last long, he knew he made a mistake and reversed, turning a bad trade into a great trade. If that's the case, that was a smooth move!
It took me a while to get this correct as well, so learning to stay out when in chop is one of the best things you can do to help your trading. The key to recognizing chop is to watch for a major resistance area and major support area. When prices are stuck in between, don't trade, but wait for the break out. A confirmed break out would be a higher low after breaking through reistance, or a LH after breaking through support. However, a HL prior to the break out higher should be watched closely, because sometimes you don't get a pull back. In reverse, a LH prior to a break out downward should also merit close attention, due to the fact you may not get another entry opportunity. If there is a LH prior to support breaking, I wait on the first bar to close below the support, and if it looks weak, I then trade the magic tick. I reverse that for a break out to the North.
Notice that once prices broke out of the chop, they dropped like a rock and had you waited for that move, you would have had the best trade of the day. Learn to recognize chop and force yourself to sit on your hands and you will immediately improve your trading. I learned that from reading through Anek's posts over and over, so it's not my nugget. I'm just sharing what I learned here myself.
I'll make one other comment, and this is meant constructively, so don't take it the wrong way Buy. The first two short trades were great trades, and you sold on the pull backs in a down market and very near the high if I am reading the charts correctly. Those were great trades. The third short was taken after a HL and HH, so that one was questionable and more importantly than anything, the market was now in chop, so that's when you sit on the sidelines and wait on a new trend to develop.
After those first couple of shorts, all of the remaining trades were taken when the market was congesting and in chop. Also, it looks as if he had a bias by that time and was simply trying to get long on the break outs, rather than waiting on the pull backs to get a better entry and to prove out the trade. It's hard to tell from his charts, so I could be wrong about that. It also looks like on that last long, he knew he made a mistake and reversed, turning a bad trade into a great trade. If that's the case, that was a smooth move!
It took me a while to get this correct as well, so learning to stay out when in chop is one of the best things you can do to help your trading. The key to recognizing chop is to watch for a major resistance area and major support area. When prices are stuck in between, don't trade, but wait for the break out. A confirmed break out would be a higher low after breaking through reistance, or a LH after breaking through support. However, a HL prior to the break out higher should be watched closely, because sometimes you don't get a pull back. In reverse, a LH prior to a break out downward should also merit close attention, due to the fact you may not get another entry opportunity. If there is a LH prior to support breaking, I wait on the first bar to close below the support, and if it looks weak, I then trade the magic tick. I reverse that for a break out to the North.
Notice that once prices broke out of the chop, they dropped like a rock and had you waited for that move, you would have had the best trade of the day. Learn to recognize chop and force yourself to sit on your hands and you will immediately improve your trading. I learned that from reading through Anek's posts over and over, so it's not my nugget. I'm just sharing what I learned here myself.