Why Is The Obvious Not So Obvious?

[Mysteron]

MN,

Maybe you can answer this one?..

J_S

I hope that you don't think that I know anything. What I said: "Me, myself and I" was merely indicating that at the end of the quest it will be realised that the answers being sought were at the starting point all along - like the story of 'The Alchemist' - meaning within yourself. Control of your inner demons is the biggest issue for many traders I think.

I trade from the 1 min chart but look to higher time frames for context, 5min, 1hour and daily. You can use DOM, T&S if it makes sense to you, if not then discard it. Too much info is distracting so I personally just use price/time charts and no indicators or volume, just horizontal levels. Squiggly lines are not for me. Its necessary to know the time of economic announcements so that sudden price movements don't catch you unawares.

On one of the sites that I used to visit, ET and Trade2win were regarded as the zoo where the monkeys play. I can see that myself and you've probably got that impression too judging by the sniping posts that have recently appeared - try not to get drawn into an argument with these idiots as they are the ones playing mind games. If you get something out of this and other threads that is of value then that's all that matters, even if you don't fully grasp the precise meaning of some of the details. For example the phrase 'Use the box to save your sox' has been used, to me than means a box within which the reason for a trade makes sense and is confined by a stop, a target, a starting time an end time. Allowing a trade to persist outside the box represents ego, hope and desperation. If that interpretation isn't what the OP had in mind then so what, it doesn't matter as my interpretation makes sense to me. The buzy bee allegory brings to mind trading within a range, entering near the extremes with a small stop loss, with a target well within the range and doing that repeatedly. Eventually the bee will fly off to another level.

I suspect that those people on here who claim to have sussed it (the obvious) have merely come to a conclusion that makes sense to themselves but which is possibly quite different to what others claim to have sussed out. Its a characteristic that those who make such claims don't actually state what it is they think they have seen, which helps to perpetuate a myth of a secret. It should be blindingly obvious that there is no such thing and that the cryptic nature of posts by the OP et al. are simply puzzles with the aim of getting others to think for themselves.

 

[J_Smith]

I will repeat the original post as follows.

Someone asked me recently the following question.

"What are the 3 types of charts one should use when trading?"

I was just wondering what answer other traders might give to this question?

I for one, don't see anything wrong with this question!

The whole idea of this site is to share ideas in relation to trading, so, how is that going to happen if people do not reply to simple questions that they think do not suit them!

If someone replies to the question, they can outline in their reply what exactly they are saying, be it subjective or objective.

J_S

 

[J_Smith]

J_S

I hope that you don't think that I know anything. What I said: "Me, myself and I" was merely indicating that at the end of the quest it will be realised that the answers being sought were at the starting point all along - like the story of 'The Alchemist' - meaning within yourself. Control of your inner demons is the biggest issue for many traders I think.

I trade from the 1 min chart but look to higher time frames for context, 5min, 1hour and daily. You can use DOM, T&S if it makes sense to you, if not then discard it. Too much info is distracting so I personally just use price/time charts and no indicators or volume, just horizontal levels. Squiggly lines are not for me. Its necessary to know the time of economic announcements so that sudden price movements don't catch you unawares.

On one of the sites that I used to visit, ET and Trade2win were regarded as the zoo where the monkeys play. I can see that myself and you've probably got that impression too judging by the sniping posts that have recently appeared - try not to get drawn into an argument with these idiots as they are the ones playing mind games. If you get something out of this and other threads that is of value then that's all that matters, even if you don't fully grasp the precise meaning of some of the details. For example the phrase 'Use the box to save your sox' has been used, to me than means a box within which the reason for a trade makes sense and is confined by a stop, a target, a starting time an end time. Allowing a trade to persist outside the box represents ego, hope and desperation. If that interpretation isn't what the OP had in mind then so what, it doesn't matter as my interpretation makes sense to me. The buzy bee allegory brings to mind trading within a range, entering near the extremes with a small stop loss, with a target well within the range and doing that repeatedly. Eventually the bee will fly off to another level.

I suspect that those people on here who claim to have sussed it (the obvious) have merely come to a conclusion that makes sense to themselves but which is possibly quite different to what others claim to have sussed out. Its a characteristic that those who make such claims don't actually state what it is they think they have seen, which helps to perpetuate a myth of a secret. It should be blindingly obvious that there is no such thing and that the cryptic nature of posts by the OP et al. are simply puzzles with the aim of getting others to think for themselves.

MN, you didn't answer the question at hand

Ok, I take your points and agree entirely with what you have said above, and will add some of my thoughts as follows.

There is always room for improvement in what I am currently doing.

There is always someone out there that will know more than me.

There are always those out there who will try to push what they know on me, especially if there is a monetary gain in it for them!

I must learn to quickly STD, or "Spot The Difference" between these types of people.

I must learn how to communicate and interact with people who genuinely appear to know what they are talking about, or else, if I mix with monkeys all I will ever eat is bananasops:

I must never ever ask anyone to show me exactly how they do what they are doing, for if I do it shows that I am not willing to learn for myself when pointed in the right direction, meaning I am not worthy of their time and effort.

What about the chart MN, who knows, maybe we will all learn something from each other by questioning and replying.

J_S

 

[J_Smith]

One day I woke,
And saw the joke,
Oh what a dope,
Pissed up a rope

To waste the time,
Was such a crime,
But even worse,
I lost my purse

What next I say,
Start I today,
For one sure feat,
Will not repeat

Now with a smile,
I start the mile,
Up hill will go,
Not too and fro

Alas at last,
I see the past,
The tears and bliss,
Soooooo Obvious

J_S

 

[J_Smith]

MN has started me thinking about those who pay for information, and this one comes to mind.

http://www.daytradinguniversity.com/LarryLevin-InterviewedBy-KenCalhoun.htm

Now, before you read this, I am stating up front that this technique is not any way as good as they make it out to be, in fact, it is one of the most useless techniques that someone ever came up with.

Are people really that gullible to think that Mr Levin would show people a $2K secret technique that made him around $2mil.

WTF, maybe 1960 is right, maybe I am going completely mad:eek:

BTW, if you find yourself wasting time and effort looking for the OTF technique, then that is a good indicator of where you are as a trader!

Remember, learn to STD

J_S

 

[i960]

MP/VP, constant volume charts (averaging around ~5-15m and 1h windows) with DOM overlay, bid/ask footprint charts. I buy low, sell high, sell high, buy low and try to know when that isn't the right thing to do without getting too screwed in the process.

 

[J_Smith]

MP/VP, constant volume charts (averaging around ~5-15m and 1h windows) with DOM overlay, bid/ask footprint charts. I buy low, sell high, sell high, buy low and try to know when that isn't the right thing to do without getting too screwed in the process.

Thank you i960

A little bit confusing to read the way you layed it out, but maybe you will repost, up to you of course?

When I reply, I will state something like this.

I think the 3 types of charts that could be used for trading are as follows.

Chart 1 = T chart
Chart 2 = S chart
Chart 3 = T chart

So I now have a simple system that I call TST charting. In fact, I would say that all the replies by people (if any more post of course) might well fall within TST charting definition.

I will of course elaborate on TST charting, but I just wanted to ask people who post to clarify what they mean, without giving away too much of course, as I know everyone wants to keep their own little secrets to themselves, which of course they are right to do.

Either way, this is the type of discussion that should be taking place, not time wasting rubbish about nothing, although the odd poem is good for the brain

J_S

 

[J_Smith]

J_S did say,
Just other day,
What type of chart,
Can make you smart

At first was slow,
MN did show,
960 was bold,
But then was told

So post he did,
Of ask and bid,
J_S said phew,
Need high IQ

Reply was fast,
Of what was asked,
From question three,
Came TST

J_S did swallow,
Elab will follow,
So now to go,
T1 is flow

What of this flow,
Is to and fro?
Around the bend,
Of course is T_ _ _ _

J_S

 

[i960]

Not really giving anything away that nobody doesn't already know...

* Larger time window market profile/volume profile chart to have a feeling for where "value" is/has been over some multi-month period + a day-to-day multi-mp/vp chart.

* General trading chart (usually something like 200-700 contracts/bar for CL as an example) with a DOM overlay (I trade from the buy/sell columns by setting my entry at specific price) and current/previous session volume profile.

* Footprint chart same as the general trading chart but using number bars. This is basically the tape mapped across candles.

* Some larger timescale charts to also have an idea of "where we are."

 

[J_Smith]

Thank you 960, you seem to have a good handle on what you are doing, but for someone starting out I would imagine that your setup might look a bit complicated.

I corrected what should have been asked in my last post, that being,

"What are the 3 types of charts one could use when trading."

We all know that there are many ways to trade the markets, and that is a real big problem for those starting out, as they are overwhelmed with information about this and that way to make money.

What may benefit someone starting out more is if they could shift their focus from making money, to not losing too much money, for this is what really happens most who try to play the big game.

The purpose of TST charting is to make one aware that there is a simple systematic approach to trading, that if used objectively, can provide the framework to trade so that one does not lose too much money.

Chart 1 = T (Trend Chart)

The information available in relation to the T chart is of course subjective, so one must then apply certain criteria to determine what way they are going to trade.

J_S