Techniques for Day Trading the ES, NQ, YM, MES, MNQ, and MYM

volpri · Sep 26, 2019

wrbtrader said:
What I'm trying to understand is that when you're trading via your laptop (one screen) and you have the 1, 5, 15, 30 min charts open at the same time along with your broker trade execution platform...

Do you then maximize that 5min chart to full screen (to see the playing field better) and then minimize it back to its normal configuration with the other windows on your laptop to place your trade ?

wrbtrader

i keep them open as very small screens then maximize the one I need to really look at good and draw on which is usually the 5 min screen. I travel alot and have just gotton used to trading on a laptop.

My screens are simple. No indicators but two MA’s used differently than many use MA’s.

volpri · Sep 27, 2019

CharlesS said:
ok, trying to understand your possible thought process:

1) the 9:50 big bull bar strongly implied RV to uptrend bc bar was so strong

2) but that bar overcame a strong, large bear channel, meaning that price had to expend a LOT of energy to clear the bear channel -- price really needs a breather

3) Trend up, but so much energy expended to vanquish the bear channel that one can rule out strong bull trend for rest of day, and the first part of the morning already gone, so what does that leave ? A: SPBL TREND DAY, or TRADING RANGE DAY

Ok let’s look at it again. We got this Broad bear channel that started in the previous session. Right after the open on sept 25 (see time at bottom) a bear leg in the broad channel starts down. I have drawn a bear trend line there.

View attachment 210006

volpri · Sep 27, 2019

CharlesS said:
ok, trying to understand your possible thought process:

1) the 9:50 big bull bar strongly implied RV to uptrend bc bar was so strong

2) but that bar overcame a strong, large bear channel, meaning that price had to expend a LOT of energy to clear the bear channel -- price really needs a breather

3) Trend up, but so much energy expended to vanquish the bear channel that one can rule out strong bull trend for rest of day, and the first part of the morning already gone, so what does that leave ? A: SPBL TREND DAY, or TRADING RANGE DAY

Yes, that is one way and a viable way of looking at it. There is usually more than one angle when looking at things. Allow me to explain in a little more detail how I see this again:

We have a successful BO of the top of a broad bear channel. Remember that bear channels function as bull flags with a most likely BO being north. The BO south failed and we GET what appears to be a HL MTR. However in channels it is not unusual for price to race back and forth to top and bottom of the channel then suddenly reverse back down into the channel. So after the HL MTR price races up to top of channel. I decide to short as I still don’t know if we will get a BO or if price will just trace back down into the channel and the HL MTR fails to be a strong HL MTR or is successful ONLY up to the top of the channel. I wanted to be “in” the market if that was going to be what happened. But look what happens. There is no real good bear FT (follow through) as bears attempt to make the BO fail. Price instead it goes back into the channel and then we get this big bull bar with that swoosh that sails out of the top of the channel and races way above the MA’s.

I have exited my short and gone long as soon as I saw what was happening. Quickly!

So now lets recap. HL MTR...strong bull move after MTR to top of channel = strength. Will it continue is the question? Bears attempt to make it fail. Bears fail in their attempt and swoosh north = more Strength. The BO Gap holds for 12 bars = more strength. Price stay at or above 20 EMA AND ABOVE INTERMEDIATE 50 sma = more strenght. Finally, at that 12th bar after the big BO bar we get a series of bull bars off the 20 ema = more strenght. This is most likely gonna be a SPBL (small PB bull trend day). I simply, just simply, anticipated earlier that it would thus become a SPBL and thus went long based on probabilities. Now 14 bars after my last long entry I exited all contracts at one whack with a profit. Notice the strength indicators above. In bold. Years ago Linda Raschke said “price is the best indicator of price”. I have never forgotten that!

volpri · Sep 27, 2019

wrbtrader said:
What I'm trying to understand is that when you're trading via your laptop (one screen) and you have the 1, 5, 15, 30 min charts open at the same time along with your broker trade execution platform...

Do you then maximize that 5min chart to full screen (to see the playing field better) and then minimize it back to its normal configuration with the other windows on your laptop to place your trade ?

wrbtrader

Yes to place a trade I usually minimize any maximized screen or drawn the maximized screen down enough I can see a DOM beside it as I trade off DOM, not the chart. However, I really don’t usually need to see the screen maximized except to draw lines...channels...etc then i minimize it again. So, usually when i actually place a trade i may have 2 or three Doms open and usually all I need is to see the right hand corner of the minimized screen. I blown it up if there is any doubt or to draw on it then back to minimized.

volpri · Sep 27, 2019

9-27-2019

I have a project going and a key player is coming in today to work tommorrow. I had some last minute things to do yesterday and some today to be ready so I don’t have much time for trading. Nevertheless, I did manage to get off a few trades in the ES this morning. These trades embody some concepts that some of you may find interesting. Maybe? Who knows. Anyway, gross was $2,012.50. Five trades. 5 winners. I consider them as five trades with multiple contracts. You can count them to be as many you want them to be. I don’t care.

I am posting some charts with different time frames of the same PA where the trades took place. I am hoping it will elucidate the concepts and ideas. Just look them over and think about them. I will try and take each chart and make some comments maybe...over the weekend but I can’t promise. It may be up into next week. I have the project to work on today and part of tomm plus I gotta watch football tomorrow.

The charts are starting with the biggest TF (time frame) and working down to the smallest.

The MAIN idea I want show from these charts is that a good trader can trade almost ANY bar on a 5 min chart (that has a decent size to it) and make money if he can structure and manage his trade correctly. Since there are 81 five minute bars on a RTH ES chart that amount of bars renders ALOT of trading opportunities. I took a few (5 trades) this morning between 11:30 and 12:20 and they were all winners with a gross profit of $2012.50.

Again this is primarily scalping. So, regardless of what the markets does after the trade the profit is locked in. A trader can always enter again if the market keeps moving in his favor. The secondary idea is to LOCK IN the profits.

Third concept I wish to deal with is that every decent size bull bar and every decent size bear bar is also a trend bar, a BO (break out) bar, a spike bar, and an a climax bar such as a climatic reversal or an exhaustion bar. I know that sounds crazy but I will try to explain those concepts when I get the time between now and the middle next week.

Happy trading...watch out for black buzzards (my adaptation to black swans) and turkey scenarios which our colleague on another thread speaks about. They can fly in any time. You gotta know what to, do if and when.

Here are the charts. You wish to study them a bit. The trades were taken on the 5 minute chart.