Trading in the Crappy Zone

J

Jdesey

I want to start a discussion of trading during the "crappy zone". I think it is well documented that volume dries up around 12:00 EST and resumes about 2:30 PM EST.

I will look very closely at my journal tonight to confirm. But my observation is that I may be better off just walking away and do no trading during this choppy zone.

Any thoughts?
 
230 yesterday was Yellen speech. Lots of trading to do in FX and IR futures. So it depends on the day itself. But on most days yeah, you should probably go for a holiday.
 
Jdesey said:
I want to start a discussion of trading during the "crappy zone". I think it is well documented that volume dries up around 12:00 EST and resumes about 2:30 PM EST.

I will look very closely at my journal tonight to confirm. But my observation is that I may be better off just walking away and do no trading during this choppy zone.

Any thoughts?
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My experience is that when you have a thought of walking away, you are better off following that impulse. The ability to do so is a great sign of trading maturity.
 
I'm always in. 90% of my life is spent in the crappy zone. My whole strategy is built around a crappy market. Most of the time the market chops, that's what I bet on. You could be waiting forever if you are waiting for a market to become good. Buy low, sell high, never take a profit.
 
java said:
I'm always in. 90% of my life is spent in the crappy zone. My whole strategy is built around a crappy market. Most of the time the market chops, that's what I bet on. You could be waiting forever if you are waiting for a market to become good. Buy low, sell high, never take a profit.
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That crappy zone can be a great place for making intraday entries. I suppose it depends on the OP's strategy.

Hard to go wrong with your method...
 
well, today we had crappy chop on ES, from 11-right before the close.. for 4 hours of bad conditions.... It's all good, just staying out of it
 
CurrencyTrader said:
That crappy zone can be a great place for making intraday entries. I suppose it depends on the OP's strategy.

Hard to go wrong with your method...
More...
Long sustained moves with no pullbacks can do me a lot of damage if not planned for. I made my living with tight stops and letting profits ride hoping for that long sustained move. Consistency is key, always the same. I didn't really understand this until I semi retired and was trading small enough that I could lose it all with no traditional stops. I would not be comfortable trading this way if I still had 100% of my liquid net worth in my trading account. Either way is good if you always do it the same way every time. And plan seriously for black swan and just crappy markets all the time in general. My plan for black swan is lose it all or be on the right side 50/50 chance. Consistency is key. The plan is thought out when flat, not in the heat of battle when you have it on. Adjustments are necessary, but no violation of the plan. When I am making more money than I think I should be I check to be sure my strategy hasn't started taking a lot of small profits. Some profits are inevitable and there is really nothing you can do to prevent them.
 
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