As Jack is trying take us to higher level of trading, I thought this past post from 1999 is still one of the best.
'Monitor the volume. Ryan Jones is doing this; he sees that there is a lot of time taken to form his constant volume bars. He also notices that they are not as volatile as price bars slowly form. He doesn't change gears here. I think this is a stuck point that you wanted to know about. We are just looking at bars of a long time duration and noticing the volume is in dry up. We stay with a long duration (30 min).
Once there is more agreement by sellers and buyers on price there is more volume. DU always in its own good time ends with and increase in volume. I call this First Rising Volume. To make money you determine when this occurs and enter the market.
From above where turn over = 1 2 3 4 ( velocity)
here is the chart of momentum = 1 4 9 16 (velocity squared)
The price lifts off at some point above 1 for the normal turn over of daily volume. I track it simply as follows. I prorate DU volume through the period I am trading (use a day for a now but think of the fractal nature of markets where you can operate on any shorter duration if you want as long as you know how to monitor it.
All of this is bilateral so long or short it works the same way. Were you using the scoring I recommend you would see DU at 1 to 0, the FRV at 0 to 7 and the hold from 7 to 6 to 5 to 4 and out for longs. the corresponding short scores are DU at 5 to 4, FRV at 4 to 3, the short hold through 2, 1, 0 and out for shorts.
what I post you will see over and over again I let the market tell me what the values are. The market knows so I read them as I am told. I am only interested in making money. I am very neutral about what I am being told. I never even think about being right because I "know" something.
To translate the above to the futures game, i use three paces for the index: 5 to 30 seconds as fast pace, 5 to 30 minutes as medium pace, and 30 minutes to an hour as slow pace. The respective names of the paces for me are legs, drifts, and trends. the volume is my indicator that precedes the price. and it takes an increase in volume which is then sustained to create moves at any of the paces. The intensitiy of the volume determines the pace.
Scratch trades are created when volume spikes and doesn't sustain itself. It is not an emotional thing. as you observe volume not changing it rate ovr time on the sidelines, you will also se the price move laterally in a normal range of noise (scalping etc) as the congestion continues the volume will usually slacken and the congestion moves to a stage of convergence and the phenomena shinks further to a centering of price about a pivot price on very little volume. Determine brackets on this centering and outside the the scalping noise range. Move to shorter bars for observation purposes.
Keep filling in your log with observations and make adjustments if necessary. As the volume stops declining be prepared to place your stops since they are adjusted and refined by now. as you see the bars begin to show less centering and the volume move up aftr it stopped declining it is about the time to consider using the phone and going through the paces. The later you get the orders in, the less time you are in suspended animation. What you are going to do is see the breakout look for brief formations, note each one and list a C&R possibility for the trailing stop that wasn't filled as the trend went the other way. if the BO is fast stay a formation behind with the trailing stop, if the BO is a drift (medium pace) stay two formations behind for the trailing stop, if the BO is slow (trend) then stay three formations behind.
The volume will continue to stay up and the formations (hitch, stall or retracement) will be repeated. As time passes hitches are replaced by stalls, stalls are replaced by retracements. Finally retracements and advances are equal and congestion again prevails. as you see the move forming a "knee or rolling over from its pace you begin the take each of the noted potential stops you have written down for C&R's getting closer together in value. Its time to tighen up on the stops if you see that going to the sidelines is appropriate. hat is going on is that the momentum has come to an end.
The market tells you what to do. ASM trades through everything perpetually and glides through these shorter momentum periods in a way that resembles trading secondary trends above sighted. Periods of short term momentum don't necessarily alternate in direction one after another. It is possible to see them as a series of steps where a series of short term momentums on a given fractal level form a flight of stairs on a longer position trading level of play (with an occassional short term reversal).
If you are on the short intraday fractal level of legs, drifts and trends, then you can do your C&R's as reversals as appropriate when there is a signal to do so. Double down the C&R trailing stop.'