MightyOne wrote:thepark wrote:MightyOne wrote:I'll try to get around to the other questions later...
This is by far my favorite setup as it works so well so often ^^
(probably because it is a type of 1-2-3)
Thanks MO. I noticed in the last chart, the candles dont need to appear consecutively for the setup to work, but I presume they must occur within a reasonable timeframe (within 5 candles)?
I hope that this chart doesn't confuse you.
Down-arrows mark the 'at or better' areas where I would try to rest my stops for a short & up arrows are for the longs.
The first idea is the BOx trade and it is a pretty weak idea, given the area but I take what I can get. Looking at the short term there may be no indication to short so I take a short term long into the break-in for 'space'.
Most break-ins (BI) are tradable short, so long as the body of the BI is small, so I attempt a short there.
Now nothing would make me happier than to rain short orders as price goes barreling into the low pivot of the last price leg but there has been no 'real' close lower and this line ~94 has continuously been rejected. Again, looking at the small chart for an indication that price is indeed starting upward I go long (first up arrow) towards the lower high line; notice also that this candle breaks any previous attempt to draw an uptrend so it is itself part of a larger pattern higher low breakout failure.
Price breaks the lower high (LH) line, which is getting pretty old, so I look to the small chart to decide if I should push through it (price is not slowing down) or reverse. I reverse and go short but it is clear that I am running out of short ideas while long ideas are piling up.
By this time I have hit my %goal twice and am starting a new 'space' with 3 more cycles to complete.
I tell you all of this that you might see that sometimes I don't know where I am going as far as direction but I know where I am going as far as reaching a %goal.
I trade a chart but I am not 'trading' a chart; my focus is simply on accumulating lots until a %gain is realized...
...and that is why I say that nothing makes sense without space; you trade north for 500 pips but where are you
going (what is your goal), what have you accomplished without accumulation (nothing!)?
So many traders are pip rich and money poor & these are the same traders that say that they will 'practice accumulation later'.
Hi MO, thanks for these pearls of wisdom. I wanted to share a bit about myself after lurking and learning here for so long. I have been trading since 2010 learning what I can from your threads. The bits and pieces I have picked up have helped me a lot. I was able to make 100% gains over a little more than over a year which was a big step for me, but its still not enough for me to change my lifestyle and Im willing to do anything to get there. I'd like to ask some questions about your chart above and hope you can critique my trading principles in the paragraph after next.
1) So in the weekly chart above, you have not decided on a direction and are just throwing orders out in the market to see if you can gain some space?
2) What is the BOx trade? and the break-in trade?
3) starting from the first down arrow, price has failed to go up so you are shorting in these areas?
4) the first up arrow is like the "third candle" of a larger double failure where price tried to break lower but actually close higher than the last candle, hence long?
5) Reversing short, is this due to the setup of a larger "double failure" in play? If you start counting behind just 3 candles there can be many double failure setups. For example, the three candles from the first up arrow to the second up arrow, that is also a double failure?
And if you can please critique my trading principles
Time frame:
I mostly look at the daily and H4 time frames and will jump on a "H4 trend"
Entering a trade and accumulating
I will mostly look for body in the direction of profit/momo and a pullback to the ZL region on H4 to initiate a trade. Once there is momentum back into the direction of profit on H4 I will enter and risk 2 to 5% with a hard stop. when it goes in my favor, the next time I accumulate would be after the next cycle of body in the direction of profit, pullback and regain in momentum. The most I've been able to add was 3x my position and this is a real big trend like the recent short from 1.17 to 1.13 or 1.13 to 1.07 for eurusd. I will usually add lots like this, 2 lots, 4 lots, 6 lots, 8 lots (have only made it to 6 before)
Exiting
I will usually shed some lots after a huge candle, or anticipation of a pullback, but since my position is so far back anyway I find myself not wanting to shed because I havent made enough money yet. Whether I've decided to shed some lots after a big move or keep all my lots I will let my profit lose 40percent space before i consider shedding my lot size and I will try to keep eternals. If am super desperate I will accumulate lots super close to the current price and lock in my profit above break even so in the event that it does keep going without hitting my stop, I will be able to make more money.
How do I position myself better? How do I accumulate more effectively and aggressively?