I looked on a mid-level volume-based chart (i.e., 1 price bar = X contracts traded) last night on the CL (and the big moves this morning) and you guys are right. A simple 9/18 ema cross and 1st pullback to the 9 ema will get you in early on great moves. A strong trend will only get pullbacks to the 9 ema and the choppier ones will tend to tap the 18 ema more. That trade in decent trends shouldn't need more than 8-10 ticks to the opposite side of the 18 ema for a stop-loss. Actually, it looks like price going more than 6 ticks past the 18 ema is a warning that the trend leg (from a higher timeframe like the 5 min) is just about over.
Of course, all of this is predicated on picking a higher volatility instrument which trends well (CL, GC, 6E (worst of the 3)). And sure, just about everything out there works in strong trends, but visually, this is as easy as it gets for finding limit-order based pullback entries with tight stops (e.g. <= 10 ticks on the CL).
It also looks like (another) good way to add on in strong trends. Just keep adding on 9 ema pullbacks, looking for 90 - 150 ticks off of your initial entry. On the CL, that would equate to $2000 - $5000 on 1 contract add-ons. You'd be holding about 7 contracts by the time you got to 1.5 pts off of your initial entry and your break even stop loss would be way out of jeopardy (about 75 ticks away when you're at 1.5 pts holding 7).
Donna mentioned something very similar to this before she left about the CL where several in her Skype room were using a 20 ema off of a 1 min chart and pinging pullbacks in strong trends with a 1-contract $400 goal per day and doing well. Same kind of thing going on with this method with the addition that the 9/18 cross alerts you to start looking for the initial entry attempt.
[I define a mid-level CL volume chart as a setting between 300 - 500 contracts per price bar]
Of course, all of this is predicated on picking a higher volatility instrument which trends well (CL, GC, 6E (worst of the 3)). And sure, just about everything out there works in strong trends, but visually, this is as easy as it gets for finding limit-order based pullback entries with tight stops (e.g. <= 10 ticks on the CL).
It also looks like (another) good way to add on in strong trends. Just keep adding on 9 ema pullbacks, looking for 90 - 150 ticks off of your initial entry. On the CL, that would equate to $2000 - $5000 on 1 contract add-ons. You'd be holding about 7 contracts by the time you got to 1.5 pts off of your initial entry and your break even stop loss would be way out of jeopardy (about 75 ticks away when you're at 1.5 pts holding 7).
Donna mentioned something very similar to this before she left about the CL where several in her Skype room were using a 20 ema off of a 1 min chart and pinging pullbacks in strong trends with a 1-contract $400 goal per day and doing well. Same kind of thing going on with this method with the addition that the 9/18 cross alerts you to start looking for the initial entry attempt.
[I define a mid-level CL volume chart as a setting between 300 - 500 contracts per price bar]
