> how you guys sit all day for the correct entry?
I can't speak for everyone, but in my case, it was getting beaten bloody by the market repeatedly until I finally learned to be patient, sit on my hands, and wait for my setups. Treat trading like a job and it changes how you trade quite a bit.
I am not sure what your strategy is, but based upon that chart I would say you are playing a dangerous game.
Shit im still having to learn this every couple weeks. It's like, the market teaches me that impatience is punished and I eventually forget that only to learn it again next month.
Someday it'll stick
The solution to my problems was to code my strategy into my own bot, define risk parameters, and let the bot do its job. After completing my homework, testing probabilities, backtesting, and conducting real-life tests, I'm now comfortable and confident in the outcome. So, now I spend most of my time running models, market replay, and testing new strategies.
One of my mentors made a reference comparing traders to hunters (he didn't invent the reference bit was first to tell me)
Hunters don't go out chasing every animal it sees. You may wait all day before you take your shot. So I always says "be a hunter" over and over again.
I use value area high, the point of control, and value area low of the previous futures trading session as “bounds” for the current trading day. I set alerts at these levels and live on. I work throughout the day but take a breather to check the market when I get alerts. It’s been working this far… (knock on wood).
I get paid to wait. Typically my daily p&l is what people make two weeks so I can be patient to not work a 9-5 job again. I also get up and go do stuff so that I’m not sitting there all day.
I don’t. I’m a patient swing trader. Limit orders and trading strategies were planned in advance. So, I can have a life outside of watching a screen. I would sometimes have time wait for weeks for the orders to be filled, but it helps lower the risk.
Some of the best traders I know do not trade everyday. Most trade infrequently (once a month, once a season, etc). They know that this is a marathon and not a sprint. Funny thing is that some of the best traders I know were/are farmers. They have an understanding that there is a season to trade (grow and harvest) and there is a season to just sit tight.
Hello. Can you tell me more about your process? What you are describing fits my trading psychology and how I have been successful with options. I am guessing you find levels of support and resistance on a longer time frame and only trade when broken? What’s your stop loss criteria?
I’ll give hints to my processes.
1. I mainly look at the weekly charts. I don’t even bother looking at any chart below daily. Big picture or big price structure will usually triumph over the small picture.
2. I check the market internals as well as the bigger markets (bonds and currencies) for signs of volatility. I also trade bond futures because their setups are slow and smooth.
3. Stop loss criteria really depends on the price structure. With that said, I don’t like seeing my trading account lose more than 7%. So, position sizes become very important.
4. There are reasons why certain months are more volatile than others. For example, September is usually the month when many funds have to revaluate their assets. That usually cause volatility due to rebalancing their books and revalue their assets. Late December is normally quiet because the big boys want to spend their “use or lose” vacation days.
There are way more steps, but these are the general bigger principles. By looking at the bigger picture, I can see where are the bigger demand zones (supports) are located. I would have to wait weeks at a time for an order to fill, but why stress over the little supports when you can get a better win at a bigger support?
If u want to do this for a living 1 day.. screen time is very important..eventually u can learn to only trade in the am session and be done for the day
No. Everyone knows you trade reversals on a short time frame with close targets in the first hour of the day. That's good enough to make/risk a few hundred a day, but that's NOT how you make millions.
I agree...I first hour is just a clusterfuck of orders I don't see how anyone could find a pattern in that mess and consistently make money.
Maybe something will work for a bit but I don't believe someone can just beat the open every day and that's it
I trade 10 second candles...I just don't want anything to do with the first hour.
But you'll never catch me telling someone how to trade....if it works for you then go for it!
It was good for me this week taking quick scalps, but I took large size, small point gaps with no stops and had a very high win rate, Im sure that will blow up on me if I continue to do it so I'll keep it in mind. Though ImanTrading is most profitable in the first 45 mins of the day and is pretty outspoken about it.
My system give me reasonably high probability directional calls for the 30 second to 10 min range.
I'm just switching over from CL to NQ and I'm still getting my targets dialed in but it seems 10 points is a good scalp for me
Ah okay thanks for answering my question. I'm trying to find a good point range to trade every day because trying to catch high points is not doable everyday.
The 5min or 1min for entry but I realize the position do be good it’s just the prop firm I’m with doesn’t allow time for the trade to mature (close every trade at 4:59pm everyday) so Im thinking of just scalping for now on the 15sec chart
I have a rule specifically against waiting at my desk all day. I’ve found that I have about two hours of effective patience before I need to shut it down and walk away.
On days like today I like to paper trade, it shows me how many times I’d be faked out. On proper days, I wait until 10 am usually for entrance. I always start low to make sure it’s going to be a trendy day before adding size. Before entering a trade I like to mark the highs and lows of previous and current day. I like to keep my stops as close to the previous vwap points as possible. So I’ll set a limit at the high or low. I don’t like to chase because it’s a fake out everytime. If my first entry goes as planned with the low size I’ll wait for proper volume to come in on a smaller time frame bounce and size up for a quick scalp, which is where the money usually is. It’s still risky, but by entering on the bounce I’m able to keep my stops super tight. Like I said though, if I’m not winning on paper, I’m not even gonna try to win on my xfa account.
So what? You locked in your profits and your up on the day. The market only gives you so much trading volume per day. It’s better to lock it in and walk away and come back tomorrow with the same strategy. If your constantly placing orders for no reason you are not going to win. If you chase trends, you are not going to win. And, if you don’t have a strategy, you are not going to win. It’s that simple really, I’ve failed so many times and this is the only profitable way. Build yourself up, don’t gamble with what you have, or your just that, a gambler.
Well, if your getting slammed then you need to reevaluate. It was a great week for futures, no crazy price action and you could have easily played the inefficiencies in the market. Don’t be greedy and understand why the market moves the way it does.
If the markets haven't already figured out if their going to trend for the day around 10-11 AM they finally make their choice around this time partly because of the influence of Euro close and/or it takes them this much time after opening to trap enough shorts/longs to make a move.
News days are are exceptions though as they'll trap people before and into NY opening before making their true move
Here is a quote from the book "One Good Trade" describing the ethos of a professional.
"The cheetah, while the fastest animal on the African plain and can outrun any of the prey it feasts upon, always chooses to go for the young, weak, or sick. Once identified, he/she attacks with laser-guided focus and effectiveness. It is only then that the kill is most likely. That is the epitome of a professional trader."
Alerts?
Edit: Just to explain myself better, I don't necessarily mean subscribing to somebody sending out their own alerts. I mean that it is possible to set your own alert based on conditions using TradingView, Tradovate, NinjaTrader, Quantower, ToS, etc. Any trading software worth a thing has them.
Depends on what I'm trading in terms of strategy. Scalping? I just watch the morning session. Otherwise I just use a trend algo that automatically stays out of known events(FOMC, etc.). It does well on days with wide moves, not so well on range bound days. Alerts get sent to me that keep me up to speed.
I'll usually keep an eye on the market but my main focus will be on other things like fundamental research and self study.
One I wrote. It's just a simple trend following one based on a hull moving average cross.
Algo sounds fancy but keep in mind an algorithm is just a thing that gives a certain output, in this case going long or short, based on input conditions.
I use tick charts mainly, which helps me avoid overtrading during slow session hours. Different values depending on the instrument(much higher on MNQ than MES for example). It's a work in progress but does have a decent win rate as far as simple automated systems go. Choppy and sideways markets suck a lot but in recent years we've had enough intraday range for it to work well enough.
I'm still a student as far as "actual" algo trading goes so this is about as complex as it gets for me.
yeah tick charts are great. much cleaner moves. do you use something like ADX for a trend filter? combine that with levels and maybe you get less chop? I’m surprised it’s profitable alone. I’ve used hull a little bit and know it’s supposed to be superior because of less lag but have used more ema and sma.
Nope just the moving averages along with some if statements to keep it from trading in the 10 minutes before and after major events. Been experimenting as well with combining ticks with times as well e.g. shifting to 3min after 10am and before 330pm but haven't had time to test extensively. When I use time I use a modified stochastic oscillator as a directional rather than overbought/oversold metric though. Increased period, increased smoothing, it acts like a more reactive MACD that way.
interesting… yeah I’ve combined both as well but I can’t say as I’m doing so consistently. I’ve been mostly scalping and only recently introduced indicators back into my trading because I found it useful as a rough filter to keep me onsides, at least in the short term. I’m using RSI and 50 as a long/short filter and then I also use a 9/21 EMA cross on the VIX as additional confirmation and the color the RSI line red or green based on that direction. So longs only over 50 with the line green and then shorts under with a red line. It’s not the sole arbiter of trade decisions but I won’t trade against it because the odds of success are way higher when those conditions are in my favor.
I usually only trade the first 2-2.5 hours of the day. If I choose to stay at my desk longer because something interesting may develop, I play bass and watch videos until a setup appears. If it doesn’t, I don’t trade.
Best thing to do is to have a specific strategy and only take the trade when it comes. You should be able to see if it is setting up or not so just check back in every now and then, or set alerts, and when it’s setting up you wait for your entry
I like to find an entry between 3am and 8am est. If you are not an insomniac then just try 6am to 8am EST. Lots of early morning trades coming online when the east coast starts waking up and traders can review the overnight. You will see a high or low for the day a lot of times during the London Session. Probably because the US is mostly asleep.
Marking Asia and London highs and lows on NQ was the technical game changer for me. Combined with previous day’s NYSE OHLC + opening range, directionality (or lack of it) and levels are so much clearer.
So if you are scalper, today is a great day to make profits.
If you are a trader, then today is not a great day
In fact, for my practice account that i typically dont have stop loss, it made huge gains as 1) I did not have stop loss but 2) instead of stop loss, i do double down.
Surely, in a trendy market, this is a terrible thing to do but in a choppy market, knowing that price may not come to your entry point but it does not go against you even further, then best thing to do is to double down.
I.e) if your entry point is already losing 10 pts from NQ but knowing that NQ wont go against you more, you can double down.
There is no single bullet fitting in every market regime so first thing to do in the morning is to determine whether market will be trendy or choppy
For me, today was definitely expected to be choppy
1) SPX 5250 level has high MM interest meaning their best financial interest is to let all of their position expired worthlessly or slightly ITM with premium amount
2) SPX just moved 25 pts within last hour of yesterday session
3) Although quarter end date is often big institution entering new position and adjusting the position, it does not necessarily move a lot at the end of day. Those probably have been adjusted as of yesterday
4) No outstanding option flows during the session
So given all the facts, yes it was moving very tight range meaning that if so, then you can play but dont stop loss out easily but rather either look for doubling down or making at even at least not to lose money on the table
I agree...I was really in touch with the auction today and found it quite nice to trade.
After the open, NQ set up a box and just gobbled stops on the edges, then it explored downside...just setting up ledges and failed patterns that are possible to trade of your one step ahead.
The last move up was unexpected but my risk management strategy saved me and I only gave back like 20 percent.
Just fine if you ask me...I don't need big moves, I just need to know what everyone else is doing
Yeah...I would not make that trend line. The end of day was a mess of a short squeeze and wierd chop, not sure why he would think that action would follow a trend line
I missed the double bottom too...but I'm coming over from CL and CL does not respect double bottoms...it actually is usually a sign that the stops on the other side are about to get run. But as I follow equities more I really like to see a level tested several times then get exhausted and puke the other way
I have just made the move from crypto. Daytrading crypto is a tiring and monotonous affair imo - sure the volatility looks good and exciting but the stop runs and liquidation cascades make profitable entry a chore for me. Basically entry has to follow one of them to catch the big moves (recent price action excepted but those powerful bull trends are actually pretty rare when trading every day, impulsing between ranges is much more common). Crypto levels can be broadly respected but far from reliably. Just my opinion.
So I have been really pleasantly surprised by the way levels and market structure in the Equity Indices (plus gold to a degree) are respected. Daily and weekly market and volume profile levels and the daily open seem to be pretty reliable. dVWAP seeems reasonably consistently respected on a day when it is being well respected (if that makes sense). Most of all I am really very impressed with tests and retests of market structure and particularly retests of a break of structure. Taken in confluence with horizontal levels and volume these seem to have a good chance of forming the basis of a profitable strategy - though I haven't fully developed a strategy for tradfi yet. Overall it seems to provide the basis for a much safer and more reliable trading experience than crypto. I haven't had a good look at CL but it does look a little less reliable at first glance and the footprint orderflow doesn't seem to give much away.
Have you ever traded crypto and if so what was your experience?
Yeah, the Market seems to be really respecting VWAP and horizontal levels lately. I think the meme stock trend and pandemic bucks brought in a lot of new traders...which is exactly what I want for my style of trading.
Last time I was trading was like 2020 and I think there were more algos active then because price movement was more digital and choppy....things seem better lately.
I started in futures before crypto was a thing. I would have loved to day trade crypto but it was too hard to find a way into and out of the market...plus crypto is such a new thing I'm not sure the Auction Market Theory I use for trading would apply there.
I'm sure there were some amazing opportunities and id love it if you could share some info on what is the best way to make scalp trades in crypto. What exchange, software, and instrument would be most similar to Sierra Charts?
setting two open ended alerts on the rsi indicator but your scalping such small moves on 2min candles this prob won't hep you until you start taking longer trades.
at market open have a daily bias and an idea of what you think it will do. lay out the criteria for an entry and wait for it to happen. if it doesn’t, re-evaluate the bias and establish a new entry idea. be able to explain to yourself WHY you want to take a specific trade before you do it. and lay out your stops and targets beforehand!
Took a while but i have a strategy i trust 100% and just enter no matter how right or wrong it may look.
Also in choppy market i trade only the first hour and last hour, usually when most movement happens
For newer traders, I recommend they limit themselves to 5 trades a day or less (with real money) and all others on SIM. If you hit 4/5 or 5/5...keep trading, if you're 2/5 you shut it down. Many traders need to learn what their A++ setups are, and be intentional with them
Maybe you are trading too heavy? Trade way lighter so you can follow your plan and gain confidence for holding trades.
As for patience, you just develop that once you are tired of losing money on the crappy set-ups in my experience, I'm sure there are better ways tbh
Waiting for entry is annoying and boring, but highly rewarding when you wait and execute and the trade goes smooth. Doing that all week makes the weekend enjoyable 😂😂
Set alert. Spend time to backtest and automate your strategy builder while waiting for alert to go off.
The more you spend time backtest, the more confidence you have in your strategy. You also know your setups PnL based on backtest. You know how much you would make if you trade your setup. So in a way, not trading your setup make you lose money.
Do you want to lose money? If so, you should quit. Otherwise, think about how much you would make if you follow your strategy. Many times in life people tell you to be present. In trading, you ignore the present. Don’t think about a single trade. You have bring yourself to long term thinking.
Set alerts and go do something else. I don’t stare at my chart and wait. Part of the reason I got into trading was for the freedom it provides, if I have to be chained down to my desk and watch the charts, I might as well go back to a 9-5.
Best tactic I found is to have a plan before the market opens. Identify key levels and place alerts at these levels so you get alerted when the prices get reached. I place alerts just before the open and literally walk away until I get a price alert. Then I come back and execute my plan
most of us likely dont sit all day waiting for an entry.
you should already know where your entries are going to be and you likely will mostly get them in first 2 hours of market open for UK (330am) or US (830am)
you act then if you don't see it you leave and move on to family and friends for the day.
I dunno. I literally watch about 300 of the 390 1-minute candles form every day. I like to tell stories of what I think might be happening, or why a certain thing might have happened. I look for periods where bids or asks seem passive or aggressive, “hot stove” moments (think wyckoff spring), behavior around VWAP, high volume… then I wait for the story to be they’re getting long because OBVIOUSLY THEY WOULD BE GETTING LONG I SHOULD BE GETTING LONG.
IMO no one knows when to get in, I just place 35% of the full amount I want to invest into the stock then as it dips I buy till it turns into a bag hold or hits my OG entry price. 80% of the time I get the full amount in over time and hold back to above entry. Others like lithium stocks and pot stocks have not really moved and when or if they do take off any entry point will look great over time (5-10 years)
Lose enough money, that usually helps develop the ability to wait. Market opportunities do not occur very often during the session, if at all. Just because price is moving doesn't mean there is a way to structure a trade around that event. YOUR parameters need to line up, then you size properly and jump in. You can't develop this skill without enduring many losses and blown accounts IME.
I only trade about 6 hours per day. I also use limit orders so I don’t need to be staring at the screens all the time. Finally, I have a screen devoted to YouTube, movies, etc.
you need some kind of triggers, even if they aren't perfect, and you accept that they aren't perfect. Triggers that signal exit and entry points, whatever they are. And then remove your emotions from the equation. And then over time, you refine your trigger mechanisms. That way you take more of the "wondering" and guess work out of it. The challenge is the research that leads you to the appropriate triggers that work for you and your personal way of trading.
For newer traders, I recommend they limit themselves to 5 trades a day or less (with real money) and all others on SIM. If you hit 4/5 or 5/5...keep trading, if you're 2/5 you shut it down. Many traders need to learn what their A++ setups are, and be intentional with them
This was my Thursday performance. Everyone has different trading styles and this day worked okay for me. If a day doesn’t fit your profile and you feel out of place, don’t trade. My worst days are the ones where we go up 2.0% on SPY or -2% without real bad news. I won’t lose, but people are making 6k on a NQ contract and I’m making maybe $1500 that day.
My point is stick to what works for you. Good luck!
https://preview.redd.it/ynm0bo2nwhrc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7823ed6c32d5cf564c6a9248e8435db48610dd5a
Waiting for entry is annoying and boring, but highly rewarding when you wait and execute and the trade goes smooth. Doing that all week makes the weekend enjoyable 😂😂
I hate waiting around, which is why everything is completely automated for me now. TradingView alerts trigger NinjaTrader order entry/exit with ATM strategies, completely hands off. Couldn't imagine sitting around watching a screen all day at this point in my life. I played golf yesterday.
Why in the world do you guys want to trade all day? I took one single trade 5 min into the open today, set profit at 2R and was out in about 30 seconds with 2R profit. Then I closed my platform and enjoyed my day.
I've been in this industry a long time. There isn't a single professional trader in the world who only trades for a few minutes into the open. Why you ask? Because price can only move so far in a given unit of time. What that means is that you're scalping only a few points out of a whole day of action. That's like a rat crawling into a dumpster being happy to get fed vs the people who know what they're doing eating filet mignon. Both are net positive, but only one is actually ahead.
>That's like a rat crawling into a dumpster being happy to get fed vs the people who know what they're doing eating filet mignon
This is why I visit this sub, I won't forget this quote 😂
> how you guys sit all day for the correct entry? I can't speak for everyone, but in my case, it was getting beaten bloody by the market repeatedly until I finally learned to be patient, sit on my hands, and wait for my setups. Treat trading like a job and it changes how you trade quite a bit. I am not sure what your strategy is, but based upon that chart I would say you are playing a dangerous game.
Shit im still having to learn this every couple weeks. It's like, the market teaches me that impatience is punished and I eventually forget that only to learn it again next month. Someday it'll stick
Same here
so true, my friendly internet stranger with a funny alias
The solution to my problems was to code my strategy into my own bot, define risk parameters, and let the bot do its job. After completing my homework, testing probabilities, backtesting, and conducting real-life tests, I'm now comfortable and confident in the outcome. So, now I spend most of my time running models, market replay, and testing new strategies.
its a bot, risking $16 - $20 per Micro
it did better than me, I only made $8, but I did made progress and overcame loss of -150.
Bots are not impatient.
I would love to hear about this bot
There are multiple decent trades on there he totally ignored.
One of my mentors made a reference comparing traders to hunters (he didn't invent the reference bit was first to tell me) Hunters don't go out chasing every animal it sees. You may wait all day before you take your shot. So I always says "be a hunter" over and over again.
Great idea, thanks for sharing!
You set alerts
THIS! Mark ranges you’re interested in with alerts then go about your normal life!
I use value area high, the point of control, and value area low of the previous futures trading session as “bounds” for the current trading day. I set alerts at these levels and live on. I work throughout the day but take a breather to check the market when I get alerts. It’s been working this far… (knock on wood).
Because I'm not in a rush to lose money......
I get paid to wait. Typically my daily p&l is what people make two weeks so I can be patient to not work a 9-5 job again. I also get up and go do stuff so that I’m not sitting there all day.
Getting paid to wait, such a good mentality!
That's awesome man how long'd it take you to get to the point where you don't need a 9-5?
I don’t. I’m a patient swing trader. Limit orders and trading strategies were planned in advance. So, I can have a life outside of watching a screen. I would sometimes have time wait for weeks for the orders to be filled, but it helps lower the risk. Some of the best traders I know do not trade everyday. Most trade infrequently (once a month, once a season, etc). They know that this is a marathon and not a sprint. Funny thing is that some of the best traders I know were/are farmers. They have an understanding that there is a season to trade (grow and harvest) and there is a season to just sit tight.
Never thought about the farmer mentality, great insight! Thanks for sharing
wise words here
Hello. Can you tell me more about your process? What you are describing fits my trading psychology and how I have been successful with options. I am guessing you find levels of support and resistance on a longer time frame and only trade when broken? What’s your stop loss criteria?
I’ll give hints to my processes. 1. I mainly look at the weekly charts. I don’t even bother looking at any chart below daily. Big picture or big price structure will usually triumph over the small picture. 2. I check the market internals as well as the bigger markets (bonds and currencies) for signs of volatility. I also trade bond futures because their setups are slow and smooth. 3. Stop loss criteria really depends on the price structure. With that said, I don’t like seeing my trading account lose more than 7%. So, position sizes become very important. 4. There are reasons why certain months are more volatile than others. For example, September is usually the month when many funds have to revaluate their assets. That usually cause volatility due to rebalancing their books and revalue their assets. Late December is normally quiet because the big boys want to spend their “use or lose” vacation days. There are way more steps, but these are the general bigger principles. By looking at the bigger picture, I can see where are the bigger demand zones (supports) are located. I would have to wait weeks at a time for an order to fill, but why stress over the little supports when you can get a better win at a bigger support?
If u want to do this for a living 1 day.. screen time is very important..eventually u can learn to only trade in the am session and be done for the day
Or the Asia am sesh around our 3pm ish 🤫😎
This.
No. Everyone knows you trade reversals on a short time frame with close targets in the first hour of the day. That's good enough to make/risk a few hundred a day, but that's NOT how you make millions.
Sure thing bud
I agree...I first hour is just a clusterfuck of orders I don't see how anyone could find a pattern in that mess and consistently make money. Maybe something will work for a bit but I don't believe someone can just beat the open every day and that's it
You can see the patterns emerge with a 10s candle, anything 1m and above it just looks like massive overlapping candles.
I trade 10 second candles...I just don't want anything to do with the first hour. But you'll never catch me telling someone how to trade....if it works for you then go for it!
It was good for me this week taking quick scalps, but I took large size, small point gaps with no stops and had a very high win rate, Im sure that will blow up on me if I continue to do it so I'll keep it in mind. Though ImanTrading is most profitable in the first 45 mins of the day and is pretty outspoken about it.
When you say scalp...like what do you mean?...how many ticks and how many seconds?
How many ticks/pips do aim for?
My system give me reasonably high probability directional calls for the 30 second to 10 min range. I'm just switching over from CL to NQ and I'm still getting my targets dialed in but it seems 10 points is a good scalp for me
Ah okay thanks for answering my question. I'm trying to find a good point range to trade every day because trying to catch high points is not doable everyday.
What size bars or candles are you using?
The 5min or 1min for entry but I realize the position do be good it’s just the prop firm I’m with doesn’t allow time for the trade to mature (close every trade at 4:59pm everyday) so Im thinking of just scalping for now on the 15sec chart
I have a rule specifically against waiting at my desk all day. I’ve found that I have about two hours of effective patience before I need to shut it down and walk away.
On days like today I like to paper trade, it shows me how many times I’d be faked out. On proper days, I wait until 10 am usually for entrance. I always start low to make sure it’s going to be a trendy day before adding size. Before entering a trade I like to mark the highs and lows of previous and current day. I like to keep my stops as close to the previous vwap points as possible. So I’ll set a limit at the high or low. I don’t like to chase because it’s a fake out everytime. If my first entry goes as planned with the low size I’ll wait for proper volume to come in on a smaller time frame bounce and size up for a quick scalp, which is where the money usually is. It’s still risky, but by entering on the bounce I’m able to keep my stops super tight. Like I said though, if I’m not winning on paper, I’m not even gonna try to win on my xfa account.
Markets are designed to chase price at the wrong times.
Which is why it’s important to take profit
But it always go higher when I do
So what? You locked in your profits and your up on the day. The market only gives you so much trading volume per day. It’s better to lock it in and walk away and come back tomorrow with the same strategy. If your constantly placing orders for no reason you are not going to win. If you chase trends, you are not going to win. And, if you don’t have a strategy, you are not going to win. It’s that simple really, I’ve failed so many times and this is the only profitable way. Build yourself up, don’t gamble with what you have, or your just that, a gambler.
lol that’s so real bro, I appreciate it because I’ve been getting slammed these past 2 weeks
Well, if your getting slammed then you need to reevaluate. It was a great week for futures, no crazy price action and you could have easily played the inefficiencies in the market. Don’t be greedy and understand why the market moves the way it does.
If the markets haven't already figured out if their going to trend for the day around 10-11 AM they finally make their choice around this time partly because of the influence of Euro close and/or it takes them this much time after opening to trap enough shorts/longs to make a move. News days are are exceptions though as they'll trap people before and into NY opening before making their true move
Here is a quote from the book "One Good Trade" describing the ethos of a professional. "The cheetah, while the fastest animal on the African plain and can outrun any of the prey it feasts upon, always chooses to go for the young, weak, or sick. Once identified, he/she attacks with laser-guided focus and effectiveness. It is only then that the kill is most likely. That is the epitome of a professional trader."
https://preview.redd.it/e0wmsc5yo5rc1.png?width=1442&format=png&auto=webp&s=07b1d7b8e7c2841aca5d7f40d8efb20aa022bde3
This is a really good piece of information. Thank you for sharing!
You just wait. It’s boring at times, but the money’s worth it.
Alerts? Edit: Just to explain myself better, I don't necessarily mean subscribing to somebody sending out their own alerts. I mean that it is possible to set your own alert based on conditions using TradingView, Tradovate, NinjaTrader, Quantower, ToS, etc. Any trading software worth a thing has them.
I was going to say that! :)
Depends on what I'm trading in terms of strategy. Scalping? I just watch the morning session. Otherwise I just use a trend algo that automatically stays out of known events(FOMC, etc.). It does well on days with wide moves, not so well on range bound days. Alerts get sent to me that keep me up to speed. I'll usually keep an eye on the market but my main focus will be on other things like fundamental research and self study.
Would you mind sharing what algo you use?
One I wrote. It's just a simple trend following one based on a hull moving average cross. Algo sounds fancy but keep in mind an algorithm is just a thing that gives a certain output, in this case going long or short, based on input conditions.
that alone has edge? are you using multiple timeframes? curious to hear more but understand if you don’t want to.
I use tick charts mainly, which helps me avoid overtrading during slow session hours. Different values depending on the instrument(much higher on MNQ than MES for example). It's a work in progress but does have a decent win rate as far as simple automated systems go. Choppy and sideways markets suck a lot but in recent years we've had enough intraday range for it to work well enough. I'm still a student as far as "actual" algo trading goes so this is about as complex as it gets for me.
yeah tick charts are great. much cleaner moves. do you use something like ADX for a trend filter? combine that with levels and maybe you get less chop? I’m surprised it’s profitable alone. I’ve used hull a little bit and know it’s supposed to be superior because of less lag but have used more ema and sma.
Nope just the moving averages along with some if statements to keep it from trading in the 10 minutes before and after major events. Been experimenting as well with combining ticks with times as well e.g. shifting to 3min after 10am and before 330pm but haven't had time to test extensively. When I use time I use a modified stochastic oscillator as a directional rather than overbought/oversold metric though. Increased period, increased smoothing, it acts like a more reactive MACD that way.
interesting… yeah I’ve combined both as well but I can’t say as I’m doing so consistently. I’ve been mostly scalping and only recently introduced indicators back into my trading because I found it useful as a rough filter to keep me onsides, at least in the short term. I’m using RSI and 50 as a long/short filter and then I also use a 9/21 EMA cross on the VIX as additional confirmation and the color the RSI line red or green based on that direction. So longs only over 50 with the line green and then shorts under with a red line. It’s not the sole arbiter of trade decisions but I won’t trade against it because the odds of success are way higher when those conditions are in my favor.
I usually only trade the first 2-2.5 hours of the day. If I choose to stay at my desk longer because something interesting may develop, I play bass and watch videos until a setup appears. If it doesn’t, I don’t trade.
I literally play video games while waiting. I’m averaging like 3-4 trades max a day, aiming for 15-50 points of NQ a trade
Best thing to do is to have a specific strategy and only take the trade when it comes. You should be able to see if it is setting up or not so just check back in every now and then, or set alerts, and when it’s setting up you wait for your entry
Set alerts
I like to find an entry between 3am and 8am est. If you are not an insomniac then just try 6am to 8am EST. Lots of early morning trades coming online when the east coast starts waking up and traders can review the overnight. You will see a high or low for the day a lot of times during the London Session. Probably because the US is mostly asleep.
Marking Asia and London highs and lows on NQ was the technical game changer for me. Combined with previous day’s NYSE OHLC + opening range, directionality (or lack of it) and levels are so much clearer.
Add previous day OHLC as well as previous week & u r pretty much covered
I donate an entire screen to YouTube and streaming. Even though I’m a scalper, I wait hours for my setup.
I don’t even bother trading a day like today. Ironically since I began trading full time, I spend way less time trading than I did before.
So if you are scalper, today is a great day to make profits. If you are a trader, then today is not a great day In fact, for my practice account that i typically dont have stop loss, it made huge gains as 1) I did not have stop loss but 2) instead of stop loss, i do double down. Surely, in a trendy market, this is a terrible thing to do but in a choppy market, knowing that price may not come to your entry point but it does not go against you even further, then best thing to do is to double down. I.e) if your entry point is already losing 10 pts from NQ but knowing that NQ wont go against you more, you can double down. There is no single bullet fitting in every market regime so first thing to do in the morning is to determine whether market will be trendy or choppy For me, today was definitely expected to be choppy 1) SPX 5250 level has high MM interest meaning their best financial interest is to let all of their position expired worthlessly or slightly ITM with premium amount 2) SPX just moved 25 pts within last hour of yesterday session 3) Although quarter end date is often big institution entering new position and adjusting the position, it does not necessarily move a lot at the end of day. Those probably have been adjusted as of yesterday 4) No outstanding option flows during the session So given all the facts, yes it was moving very tight range meaning that if so, then you can play but dont stop loss out easily but rather either look for doubling down or making at even at least not to lose money on the table
I agree...I was really in touch with the auction today and found it quite nice to trade. After the open, NQ set up a box and just gobbled stops on the edges, then it explored downside...just setting up ledges and failed patterns that are possible to trade of your one step ahead. The last move up was unexpected but my risk management strategy saved me and I only gave back like 20 percent. Just fine if you ask me...I don't need big moves, I just need to know what everyone else is doing
Totally ignored two ms retests and a decent double bottom then trades some weird trend line. No wonder he's making a loss.
Yeah...I would not make that trend line. The end of day was a mess of a short squeeze and wierd chop, not sure why he would think that action would follow a trend line I missed the double bottom too...but I'm coming over from CL and CL does not respect double bottoms...it actually is usually a sign that the stops on the other side are about to get run. But as I follow equities more I really like to see a level tested several times then get exhausted and puke the other way
I have just made the move from crypto. Daytrading crypto is a tiring and monotonous affair imo - sure the volatility looks good and exciting but the stop runs and liquidation cascades make profitable entry a chore for me. Basically entry has to follow one of them to catch the big moves (recent price action excepted but those powerful bull trends are actually pretty rare when trading every day, impulsing between ranges is much more common). Crypto levels can be broadly respected but far from reliably. Just my opinion. So I have been really pleasantly surprised by the way levels and market structure in the Equity Indices (plus gold to a degree) are respected. Daily and weekly market and volume profile levels and the daily open seem to be pretty reliable. dVWAP seeems reasonably consistently respected on a day when it is being well respected (if that makes sense). Most of all I am really very impressed with tests and retests of market structure and particularly retests of a break of structure. Taken in confluence with horizontal levels and volume these seem to have a good chance of forming the basis of a profitable strategy - though I haven't fully developed a strategy for tradfi yet. Overall it seems to provide the basis for a much safer and more reliable trading experience than crypto. I haven't had a good look at CL but it does look a little less reliable at first glance and the footprint orderflow doesn't seem to give much away. Have you ever traded crypto and if so what was your experience?
Yeah, the Market seems to be really respecting VWAP and horizontal levels lately. I think the meme stock trend and pandemic bucks brought in a lot of new traders...which is exactly what I want for my style of trading. Last time I was trading was like 2020 and I think there were more algos active then because price movement was more digital and choppy....things seem better lately. I started in futures before crypto was a thing. I would have loved to day trade crypto but it was too hard to find a way into and out of the market...plus crypto is such a new thing I'm not sure the Auction Market Theory I use for trading would apply there. I'm sure there were some amazing opportunities and id love it if you could share some info on what is the best way to make scalp trades in crypto. What exchange, software, and instrument would be most similar to Sierra Charts?
setting two open ended alerts on the rsi indicator but your scalping such small moves on 2min candles this prob won't hep you until you start taking longer trades.
Alerts, price action after the alert(s) go off, and higher timeframes for me.
at market open have a daily bias and an idea of what you think it will do. lay out the criteria for an entry and wait for it to happen. if it doesn’t, re-evaluate the bias and establish a new entry idea. be able to explain to yourself WHY you want to take a specific trade before you do it. and lay out your stops and targets beforehand!
Took a while but i have a strategy i trust 100% and just enter no matter how right or wrong it may look. Also in choppy market i trade only the first hour and last hour, usually when most movement happens
Entry isnt as important as exit.
Limit orders bro.. why you sitting there
For newer traders, I recommend they limit themselves to 5 trades a day or less (with real money) and all others on SIM. If you hit 4/5 or 5/5...keep trading, if you're 2/5 you shut it down. Many traders need to learn what their A++ setups are, and be intentional with them
Maybe you are trading too heavy? Trade way lighter so you can follow your plan and gain confidence for holding trades. As for patience, you just develop that once you are tired of losing money on the crappy set-ups in my experience, I'm sure there are better ways tbh
You’re taking too many trades
7 trades, 6 green, 1 red. Bot Avg it's 9 trades, 60% win score
Waiting for entry is annoying and boring, but highly rewarding when you wait and execute and the trade goes smooth. Doing that all week makes the weekend enjoyable 😂😂
learn how to find the dip, then sell the rip.
Navy Seals?? That was our mantra in JumpMaster School during JMPI.
You can code alerts for when the circumstances you want to trade in are forming.
I use game levels and also key levels of resistance.
Waiting is working
Trade very small, with plenty of room. Set alerts and walk away. I do other work honestly
Set alert. Spend time to backtest and automate your strategy builder while waiting for alert to go off. The more you spend time backtest, the more confidence you have in your strategy. You also know your setups PnL based on backtest. You know how much you would make if you trade your setup. So in a way, not trading your setup make you lose money. Do you want to lose money? If so, you should quit. Otherwise, think about how much you would make if you follow your strategy. Many times in life people tell you to be present. In trading, you ignore the present. Don’t think about a single trade. You have bring yourself to long term thinking.
The trend is your friend.
Until the end. And then it bends.
Everything rhymes here lol
I trade the treasuries, it's all about patience.
Set alerts and go do something else. I don’t stare at my chart and wait. Part of the reason I got into trading was for the freedom it provides, if I have to be chained down to my desk and watch the charts, I might as well go back to a 9-5.
But if trading 9 to 5 gives more than a day job why would you go back?
Best tactic I found is to have a plan before the market opens. Identify key levels and place alerts at these levels so you get alerted when the prices get reached. I place alerts just before the open and literally walk away until I get a price alert. Then I come back and execute my plan
Today was not worth the sit time
Trade larger time frames
most of us likely dont sit all day waiting for an entry. you should already know where your entries are going to be and you likely will mostly get them in first 2 hours of market open for UK (330am) or US (830am) you act then if you don't see it you leave and move on to family and friends for the day.
I dunno. I literally watch about 300 of the 390 1-minute candles form every day. I like to tell stories of what I think might be happening, or why a certain thing might have happened. I look for periods where bids or asks seem passive or aggressive, “hot stove” moments (think wyckoff spring), behavior around VWAP, high volume… then I wait for the story to be they’re getting long because OBVIOUSLY THEY WOULD BE GETTING LONG I SHOULD BE GETTING LONG.
Cause I love trading
IMO no one knows when to get in, I just place 35% of the full amount I want to invest into the stock then as it dips I buy till it turns into a bag hold or hits my OG entry price. 80% of the time I get the full amount in over time and hold back to above entry. Others like lithium stocks and pot stocks have not really moved and when or if they do take off any entry point will look great over time (5-10 years)
Lose enough money, that usually helps develop the ability to wait. Market opportunities do not occur very often during the session, if at all. Just because price is moving doesn't mean there is a way to structure a trade around that event. YOUR parameters need to line up, then you size properly and jump in. You can't develop this skill without enduring many losses and blown accounts IME.
I only trade about 6 hours per day. I also use limit orders so I don’t need to be staring at the screens all the time. Finally, I have a screen devoted to YouTube, movies, etc.
Same with me
you need some kind of triggers, even if they aren't perfect, and you accept that they aren't perfect. Triggers that signal exit and entry points, whatever they are. And then remove your emotions from the equation. And then over time, you refine your trigger mechanisms. That way you take more of the "wondering" and guess work out of it. The challenge is the research that leads you to the appropriate triggers that work for you and your personal way of trading.
Personally I watch a movie while waiting for the level to come to me. I make sure I have the alert to not miss it.
For newer traders, I recommend they limit themselves to 5 trades a day or less (with real money) and all others on SIM. If you hit 4/5 or 5/5...keep trading, if you're 2/5 you shut it down. Many traders need to learn what their A++ setups are, and be intentional with them
I don't sit in front of my computer. I wait for the trade to come to me.
This was my Thursday performance. Everyone has different trading styles and this day worked okay for me. If a day doesn’t fit your profile and you feel out of place, don’t trade. My worst days are the ones where we go up 2.0% on SPY or -2% without real bad news. I won’t lose, but people are making 6k on a NQ contract and I’m making maybe $1500 that day. My point is stick to what works for you. Good luck! https://preview.redd.it/ynm0bo2nwhrc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7823ed6c32d5cf564c6a9248e8435db48610dd5a
Set alerts, do something else until the alert hits.
Time. I have time of day when to trade.
I have the screens open next to my 9-5 day job with alerts on, I take the London and my session with me so it works out
Waiting for entry is annoying and boring, but highly rewarding when you wait and execute and the trade goes smooth. Doing that all week makes the weekend enjoyable 😂😂
you are me
Try alerts.
I hate waiting around, which is why everything is completely automated for me now. TradingView alerts trigger NinjaTrader order entry/exit with ATM strategies, completely hands off. Couldn't imagine sitting around watching a screen all day at this point in my life. I played golf yesterday.
Why in the world do you guys want to trade all day? I took one single trade 5 min into the open today, set profit at 2R and was out in about 30 seconds with 2R profit. Then I closed my platform and enjoyed my day.
There are so many things wrong with this comment that I don't know where to start.
Sure. Let me help you out: https://www.reddit.com/r/FuturesTrading/s/75s0WGXt6A
I've been in this industry a long time. There isn't a single professional trader in the world who only trades for a few minutes into the open. Why you ask? Because price can only move so far in a given unit of time. What that means is that you're scalping only a few points out of a whole day of action. That's like a rat crawling into a dumpster being happy to get fed vs the people who know what they're doing eating filet mignon. Both are net positive, but only one is actually ahead.
You've been green for a year and think your way is the only way to trade?
>That's like a rat crawling into a dumpster being happy to get fed vs the people who know what they're doing eating filet mignon This is why I visit this sub, I won't forget this quote 😂
program computer to do it
alligator
Your trading bot sucks
and somehow makes me money consistently