Where/how can I master price action to trade it profitably?

[ironchef]

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Some buy utilities for a dividend,OK, more power to them Then you see one with no dividend+ management known for screws ups, worse than {C}Citigroup. PCG is down again., no surprise The strange+ tough thing about the market, easy to see how DOW/DIA gets overpriced,some days, but its still a big mystery how PCG ever got above $5??

I do have about 5 charts on 5 minute candles, but 52 weeks/end of day............ makes so much more money.
PUT that another WAY, market makers have better things to do than watch 5 minute charts; know of one fund that does short term trading well =Crabel Capital Management. Most all the rest do end of day, which means daily candles, weekly candles, monthly candles. I know many hedge funds do shorter time : that is why so many of them dont beat SPY/S&P 500

I gather you don't believe in day trading?

 

[ironchef]

Focus on what you want to master. Minimize the distractions. And then put the work into it.
You want to focus on price ? Why then not just do exactly this ? Open a DOM of a nice market that you think is interesting to you (I like the NQ alot, but others prefer stuff like the Bund or ZN), and watch just that one DOM. Not for a minute, not for 10 minutes but for at least the morning session. Forget about charts, indicators and Idontknowwhat. For the beginning you just need one screen, with one DOM on it. Watch what is happening right in front of you. Not 5 minutes ago, not 1 hour ago. Watch the action unfolding RIGHT NOW.

If you bring up the discipline to do this, I guarantee you that you will make drastic improvements in reading the market within 6-12 months.
It is so simple, but at the same time so very hard. Thats why so few people ever improve in anything. It is not sexy, it is not fancy, it is very tough on your mind and it takes lots of discipline. The same reason people have a hard time sticking to a diet, sticking to their training, improving in general, in life.
Those who dont look for the magic pills and holy grails but just bust their asses (in an intelligent manner) with lots of hard work and effort are usually those who achieve what others can only dream about.

Good luck !

What is DOM?

 

[RedDuke]

What is DOM?

Depth of Market, nearest bids and offers, essentially level2.

 

[CALLumbus]

Depth of Market, nearest bids and offers, essentially level2.

Correct, and even more... for CME contracts, with the right data feed and platform, you even have access to level 3 data (market by order) in your DOM, which will show the position of your orders in the queue.
For my personal taste, it is not that useful on thinner markets like the NQ or CL, but it has tremendous value in thicker contracts like the ZN.

 

[oraclewizard77]

Let's say both weekly and fundamentally, the market is in an uptrend. Now when I say fundamentally, I mean previously good news has come out and no bad news say N Korea nukes Washington.

This news will be reflected in PA where we will see an upward trending chart. However, we want to watch out for major news events since the news can change the trend, so we may not want to keep a trade on for that time period.

Now let's say in the shorter term time frame, price is trending down. For pros, you may be able to short the shorter term counter trend, or you can wait for indication that the shorter term trend down has reversed back into the longer term trend and then get long.

The main issue is how to determine stops and targets. Obviously, if you use more contracts, you could take one out sooner and let another run to the next target level, or just use 1 target either shorter term for a higher win % or longer term for more profit.

The way you make your decision on what to use is reflected in your win %. If you have a very high win% then just go for shorter term targets. If you make some mistakes, you may want to go for longer term targets where in both cases the stop would be the same.

 

[ironchef]

Depth of Market, nearest bids and offers, essentially level2.

Thanks.

 

[RedDuke]

Thanks.

I started this thread over a decade ago: https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/dom-acv-and-bid-ask-wall-used-tgether.103293/

It will give you some ideas.

 

[murray t turtle]

Watch price development until your eyes bleed....and lose the assumptions.

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Good one+ that can be an advantage of paper charts/paper notebook=@ least for swing/position trader; less eyestrain.,.In Feb,most likely see some good downtrends in DOW/DIA..... DOW is beating QQQ on the downside.IF my eys star hurting late @ nite, i usually turn off the lights........

 

[bone]

My experience has been to just trade and gain experience.

With futures ? F No. You can piss away $75K in a year easy trading one lots like a fool.

With minimal allowable shares in an equity name ? Would be a little more reasonable, but IMO not optimum.

You need a plan. And you need to work your plan. You need a plan for entering a trade, and you need a plan to manage an open trade position. To trade live money without such a plan is a fool's errand IMO.

YMMV, I wish everyone good fortune!

 

[piezoe]

I am currently in the process of trying to master price action to trade profitably. Forget all the holy grail indicators, they don't work. Just trend lines, drawings, fibs, etc. Where can I learn more about what I should look for and practice?

Probably the best way to profit from price action is to write a book about it. Maybe even a readable book.