No, very different. You need all the variables to put the puzzle together. Is it a plus tick bid? Is he showing 200 shares on the bid stepping up. Are there double prints? Are there perfect prints? What does he do when he shows a size offer. Where does the bid go? What is the size now on the bid? Why does 700 shares keep printing on every downtick? There is so much going on man, so much. You need to see it all.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
TAPE READING (chat room cont.)
- Thread starter shortseller
- Start date
No, very different. You need all the variables to put the puzzle together. Is it a plus tick bid? Is he showing 200 shares on the bid stepping up. Are there double prints? Are there perfect prints? What does he do when he shows a size offer. Where does the bid go? What is the size now on the bid? Why does 700 shares keep printing on every downtick? There is so much going on man, so much. You need to see it all.
Yes, I have the book. A great read. Should be read at least once per year. I have a question. Why wouldn'yt you use T&S screen? It shows the size of last sale and whether it was on the bid or ask.Quote from Maverick74:
Have you read his book "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator"? He actually goes into pretty good detail of what he did. Keep in mind this was during a different era and trading was much different then. But from what I remember in his book, the guy would have a ticker tape machine in his office and he would simply watch the prints. He could tell if someone on the floor was accumulating or distributing stock. He would stay in the stock for hours, days or weeks as long as he saw buyers accumulating stock. As soon as he saw distribution, he would get out.
Now this was much easier to do then this way because there was very little volume compared to today so these single prints would stand out a lot more. Plus when a large buyer or seller came in, they were much more easily spotted. But the same principles apply today. It's just today we have futures and options and options on futures and ETF's and daytraders and everything else that create noise around what's really going on. It means you have to focus that much harder then you needed to then.
BTW, one of his fav tricks he use to do was also one of mine as well. He would send out market orders for small amounts to see the exact price he got filled out to spot the real buyer or seller. I use to do this all the time with just 100 shares. I would send in a market order to buy 100 shares and notice exactly where it prints. amazing, over 100 years and that technique still works wonders.
Quote from dodger fan:
Maverick,
I've been trying to tape read for almost a year but it is frustrating. How did it take you to do it and was the realization gradual or almost immediate?
It took me 6 months. I was the first guy in my office every morning and last guy to leave. I dedicated my life to reading the tape. I literally had no social life for 6 months. I would say it slowly and gradually came to me. I would understand parts of it, but then not others. It did not all hit me at once that is for sure.
Quote from pinabetal:
Yes, I have the book. A great read. Should be read at least once per year. I have a question. Why wouldn't you use T&S screen? It shows the size of last sale and whether it was on the bid or ask.
Because it takes up too much space. You need to focus your eyes straight ahead of you on your quotes. If you are trading 15 to 20 stocks, you simply cannot have 15 time and sales windows up. Besides, you don't need them, all the information you need is on the quote board. It's all there nice and neat.
You are still basically dealing with volume/price/size intraday.Quote from Maverick74:
No, very different. You need all the variables to put the puzzle together. Is it a plus tick bid? Is he showing 200 shares on the bid stepping up. Are there double prints? Are there perfect prints? What does he do when he shows a size offer. Where does the bid go? What is the size now on the bid? Why does 700 shares keep printing on every downtick? There is so much going on man, so much. You need to see it all.
Did you get burn't out doing this day and day over?Quote from Maverick74:
Because it takes up too much space. You need to focus your eyes straight ahead of you on your quotes. If you are trading 15 to 20 stocks, you simply cannot have 15 time and sales windows up. Besides, you don't need them, all the information you need is on the quote board. It's all there nice and neat.
Agree. However, you are understanding it big time INTRADAY. You are basically understanding price/volume intraday as you hunt for supply/demand imbalances. Is there a way to understand price/volume daily and supply/demand imbalance on a daily basis? If so, would this not be tape reading on a daily basis IF you are only looking at price and volume?Quote from Maverick74:
Yes but you are understating it big time. That is like saying poker is just about getting good cards. There is so much more to it.