The Importance of Simplicity

Quote from Sophomore Jinx:

Fun to be watching this as it's going on. Maybe I can pick your brains live.

Right now, I've got a line drawn at the high of 890.00 and at the low of 883.75. The bars are hanging in the middle of this range.

What's going through your minds at this point? Just waiting for a breakout above or below? Does the day "feel" right for trading?

At what point will you enter the trade?

Where will initial stop loss be?

What will maximum point loss allowed be?

Thanks again, it's cool to be able to think along with you.


Sorry if this isn't what you wanted, but right now, I've set up some audible alerts and I'm preparing something for dinner. (my desk is right by the kitchen) I'll come back to the PC when it screams at me that I've got a message or that something has happened...

:)

Natalie
 
I'm being so careful that I'm watching it from across the room! :) Not trading it at all, but am watching it live, and will continue to do so. Thanks for the heads up on Vets Day.

I agree with you in terms of the narrow range it's traded in so far vs. the typical daily range. It does indeed look like a good opportunity, or would be on a full trading day.

Watching the NQ as well. It did break through the lower line, but sort of dangling there.
 
Quote from Sophomore Jinx:

Fun to be watching this as it's going on. Maybe I can pick your brains live.

Right now, I've got a line drawn at the high of 890.00 and at the low of 883.75. The bars are hanging in the middle of this range.

What's going through your minds at this point? Just waiting for a breakout above or below? Does the day "feel" right for trading?

At what point will you enter the trade?

Where will initial stop loss be?

What will maximum point loss allowed be?

Thanks again, it's cool to be able to think along with you.

This isn't a real day, but I have nothing to do till later this morning, so I'm playing with it anyway. When you develop rules through backtesting, you have to use them in forward-testing so that they may become automatic. Otherwise, all the backtested results are useless.

I'm using 1m, 3m and 5m charts, so the high was 1003.5 and the low 995 on the NQ. I "entered" a trade at 993 and set a 5pt stop. When the downtrendline was broken, I lowered the stop to the last reaction high. Got SO for +1/2. Again, this is just paper.

--Db
 
That's still helpful, even if not a real day. If only to get a general idea of the lines along which you're thinking.

Which chart are you talking about for the reaction high? 1, 3, 5?
 
Quote from Sophomore Jinx:

That's still helpful, even if not a real day. If only to get a general idea of the lines along which you're thinking.

Which chart are you talking about for the reaction high? 1, 3, 5?

1m.

--Db
 
Quote from inandlong:

Just some quick thoughts Soph:

I think the CME is closing at midday for Vets Day. Thus, breakouts might not follow thru as nicely as on another day.

If this were another day, my feeling is you would be sitting on a sweet looking profit opportunity. Why?

So far the ES has about a 7-8 point range. The average daily range of the ES is...empirically...about 20 points. One can expect that range to occur routinely.

As this is a project I am working on also, where to put the stop I have not defined for myself as yet.

But again, be careful today because this is a short futures day.

:)

Just to clarify, the stock indices will not close early today (just some interest rate products). Full info on the Vet's day holiday trading schedule at the CME can be found at:

http://www.cme.com/news/shownews.cfm?NewsItem=0002406B-744E-1DBD-BFD280EDBEFB0366
 
Quote from Girlpower:

You and I are doing essentially the same thing, but approaching it slightly differently. Can I ask a couple of questions?

I'm wondering if you have methods for openings if the price is inside the first 1/2 hour range?

Also, what kind of methods do you use later in the day for reversals?

And, how do the 3min bars help you as opposed to the longer ones I use?

Thanks
Natalie

Hi Natalie...

most of the time, I don't trade inside the 30 minute range.

If I see something compelling though I will. I still tend to stick with breakouts ie. if I see the market consolidating in a tight range inside the 30 min. range I will take the breakout of that smaller range or sometimes a very definable triangle pattern is developing and I will trade on a breakout of that.

I have never been very good at identifying reversals...but as we have discussed on this board....I think that maybe reversing after a failed new high/low might be a good idea but I haven't determined a good trigger for that trade yet.

I use the 3 min charts to get a picture of the dailey market structure so that I can set trailing stops etc.

Mike
 
Quote from Snosur4:
I have never been very good at identifying reversals...but as we have discussed on this board....I think that maybe reversing after a failed new high/low might be a good idea but I haven't determined a good trigger for that trade yet.

It used to be a lot easier. There was more participation in general, and a lot more newbies, therefore it was a lot easier to frighten people. Now it's much more pedestrian. Panic buys and sells are much less easy to come by.

The only decent reversal I've seen lately was that one last week that we talked about. The others creep so much, they can hardly be called reversals.

But if the most is made of the initial thrust, why bother?

--Db
 
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