http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/ 'The latest Ideas and Comments from the TraderInterviews.com IdeaLab' Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:00:10 -0700 en-us Copyright TNC New Media Inc., 2006 - 2012 http://www.traderinterviews.com/images/traderinterviews_144x19.gif http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab 144 16 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/search-function http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/search-function Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:00:10 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-use-oscillators#c143 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-use-oscillators#c143 Tue, 25 May 2010 17:22:06 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-use-oscillators
This idea comes from many years of live trading (real money not demo's etc) and sticking to figuring out when the typical (rebased/indexed) oscillators like the MACD and Stochastic.

I don't believe in just entering on a under 20 over 80 type idea but rather when the, for example, Stochastic is under 20 and something else happens - candle pattern, on Fib Retracement, at Support/Resistence etc

*** I use an idea here call market form - this another idea I used which is based one Dow Theory of Higher Highs and Lower Lows for deciding the trend direction and when the market is ranging. ***

When to use
1. The market is ranging with form - long and short trades work with high probability
Here the market is in a range with good form. The Oscillator (Stochastic) in this case works well. For shorts and longs...



2.  The market is ranging without form - Oscillator (stochastic) doesn't work well. A lot flatter and not that many profitable trades, more false signals...



3. The market is trending with form - here ony look to take trades in the dirction of the trade. The Oscillator is good for entry only and not exits


4. The market is trending without form - There is no signal in the trend direction and it will give sgnals against the tre but has poor performance.


I hope this is helpful and stirs up some thinking around the different movements of the market and Oscillators - I have shared 4 of them (2 types each with and without good form). I have foun at least 8...

Thanks!
Brad

]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-use-oscillators Tue, 25 May 2010 15:07:14 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c142
sry]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c142 Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:50:30 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c141
I usually scale out, and have found that except for some longer term position traders, the majority of winning traders also scale out. Every trend has a finite lifespan. If you took all the trends of the day and cut them out and laid them flat atop each other in a chart you would immediately see that they all have something in common. They all exist at the start of the trade, and cease to exist somewhere along the journey to the right of the chart. Inasmuch as you don't know which trend you are riding, the safest time for your money to be in a trade is at entry. A given amount of money earns you just as much profit at entry as it does at the end of a trade, so why add money as the likelihood of a trend reaching its conclusion increases?

You have three alternatives, listed here in order of aggressiveness: scale out; all in/all out; or scale in. New traders should scale in and use two stages. This keeps things simple and has the added benefit of making it easier for them to maintain discipline in the trade. More importantly, it standardizes all their trades so meaningful comparisons can be made in terms of figuring out which set ups are working and when. This review is critical to making it as a trader and is worth sacrificing any incremental potential profit from switching between exits strategies before one has even developed the expertise to decide when to do so. Exit your trades in a willy nilly fashion, and you can throw your journal out the window because the trades are not comparable. You'll never get anywhere by flailing around. Standardization and incremental progress is the key.

As a trader builds up a history of trades, and has fine tuned their line of set ups, he can then sacrifice some of his data by devoting some trades to slowly expanding his repertoire of exits. Again, this must be done in stages, slowly adding different exits and analyzing results. One can stage out in two stages, then try three. The trader may add the ability to cancel the staging out completely and stay all-in throughout the trade. The final and most aggressive technique is to stage in, adding to the trade as the trend progresses. I'm not saying scaling in and ruining your cost basis is always wrong, but it should be reserved for only the most promising of events. If you are in a trade that you are sure you will remember in a year, then maybe it's time to assume this kind of risk, but these events will be rare.

The approach I am describing is an incremental process, very much like the one a trader assumes when he starts out trading one contract and slowly adds another and another until he reaches the point of discomfort. I won't repeat the words of Rangerdoc, who correctly observed that you have to match the process used for exits to the types of trends you are likely to encounter in your particular market. However, you have to learn how to use these methods, and develop the expertise to select the proper method at the proper time. Trying to do so when you are just starting out will retard a trader's development because his results will be all over the map.

Once a trader has these tools under his belt, the proper exit strategy depends on the market. You wouldn't use a moving average in a choppy market would you? Similarly, if I'm long oil and Iran invades its neighbors, you can bet I am going to scale in. Yes, it would be nice if one indicators worked all the time and one money management technique was superior, but trading doesn't work that way. Nine times out of ten scaling out is the way to go, but once you have the skills and the discipline, adapting to clear market conditions, not imagined or hope for conditions, can be much more profitable.]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c141 Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:47:53 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c140 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c140 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:48:35 -0800 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c139 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c139 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:35:49 -0800 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/10-trading-blogs-every-trader-should-be-reading#c138
http://investorandtrader.blogspot.com/

Not a lot in the way of "signals", but I'm finding that those who 'offer signals' - usually are newbies themselves]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/10-trading-blogs-every-trader-should-be-reading#c138 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:33:14 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/day-trading-for-a-living#c137 You may be able to skew the odds slightly in you favor by learning to accurately read price action, but for the most part you are seeking the impossible, especially if those fast moves are created by moments of irrationality or program trading.
Of the truly successful traders I know, If I were to ask them which way price is going, they would all reply, "I have no idea".]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/day-trading-for-a-living#c137 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:23:18 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/10-trading-blogs-every-trader-should-be-reading#c136
There is commentary about the true struggle a trader goes through. No silly indicators or fluff and no hindsight analysis.

http://brianhoffmantradinglog.blogspot.com/]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/10-trading-blogs-every-trader-should-be-reading#c136 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:23:26 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/trading-and-probabilities#c135 Conversely, The worst thing that a poker player can do is regret folding a mediocre hand that "would have won". Most will ignore the fact that this hand loses the majority of the time and focus only on that one time that it would have won big. They then begin to play that hand & lose all their chips. Trading is no different. People tend to tunnel-vision on the winning trades and ignore the losers. This is the greatest asset of the endless peddlers of systems and courses. They know that they can produce a chart and point out the trades where their system would have made you rich. There can be multiple losers on that very same chart and few people will notice. (Or subconsciously chose not to notice is more likely).
I recommend becoming a good poker player if you want to be a better trader.]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/trading-and-probabilities#c135 Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:30:38 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/the-mental-edge-part-1-focus-on-the-trade-not-the-money#c134 It wasn't until I decided that I needed a "bread and butter" setup that I found some peace.]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/the-mental-edge-part-1-focus-on-the-trade-not-the-money#c134 Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:06:13 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/be-a-student-of-yourself#c133 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/be-a-student-of-yourself#c133 Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:52:02 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/trading-to-survive#c132 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/trading-to-survive#c132 Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:42:01 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c131
If you're looking for something mechanical, there are several indicators that work great for stops. SAR is a good one as it tightens up your stop the longer your trade runs. Trailing stops using multiples of ATR is a very popular method. Fibo levels or pivots are powerful exit targets. I will usually exit all or part of a position when price stalls at a trendline or S&R;.

For something discretionary, You'll just have to use the same methods you use for entering. One thing I've used is to ask myself, "Would I enter a trade in the opposite direction?". If yes, I exit my existing position. Scaling out is an excellent way to relieve some of the stress you are experiencing. Most traders I know of who are trading any real volume, scale in and out of their positions. Unless there is a strong reversal signal, it can be wise to let a small portion of your positions run after moving your stop loss to break even or even locking in a profit. On a strong tend day, I've made more profit from that small portion I let run rather than all my scalps combined.]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/when-to-take-a-profit-early#c131 Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:27:07 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/tick-chart-for-forex-day-trading#c130
I'd be interested to try that charting out as, right now, I'm having to watch the bid and ask to gauge entries and exits as a min bar hides too much price action for the intended targets to be worth shooting for.]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/tick-chart-for-forex-day-trading#c130 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:05:27 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/should-i-ask-interviewees-how-much-money-they-make#c129 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/should-i-ask-interviewees-how-much-money-they-make#c129 Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:25:47 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/has-the-forex-market-ever-heard-of-supply-and-demand#c128 1. So which 'side' of supply & Demand do you use in stocks? and how? Can you draw a 'diagram' of how it all works? or are you just using the 'chart based' lines? Do you know what a supply 'chain' looks like, hence, how to anticipate/lead supply and demand?
2. If you KNOW supply chain and how it affects stock trading, (I mean REALLY, not just the canned lines they give you) THEN you will find it in Forex. It is called the world economic conditions and happenings. They feed the 'world' currency market the same way that 'events' and conditions feed a company's supply chain.
3. If you really want to get that edge, which is how the 'big and consistent winners' sustain success, we can help you learn it. If you just want a new 'line' or indicator to see, we'll have to suggest waste your money somewhere else.
4. So, when you traded stocks: were you overall successful and sustainable for over 18 months?
5. So, the respondents, same question for them.

Any and all of the markets, throughout the world, operate on supply and demand; supply chain. When you really want to get with and win with the big guys, that's where your studies go...not to the technical 'indicators. Without knowing where things are headed and why, you'll never know which indicator to pick. There is rhyme and reason, but you have to really study and work to find it.

Sorry to butt in, but have much knowledge, background, success and effort into helping y'all find solutions, not scams.
Shar]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/has-the-forex-market-ever-heard-of-supply-and-demand#c128 Tue, 26 May 2009 23:55:40 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/10-trading-blogs-every-trader-should-be-reading#c127 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/10-trading-blogs-every-trader-should-be-reading#c127 Sun, 24 May 2009 12:03:33 -0700 http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/10-trading-blogs-every-trader-should-be-reading#c126
Market Commentary: http://www.blog.fallondpicks.com
Markets covering Ireland/UK/US: http://www.zignalsblog.blogspot.com

Thanks,
Declan
**shameless plug**]]> http://www.traderinterviews.com/idealab/idea/view/10-trading-blogs-every-trader-should-be-reading#c126 Fri, 22 May 2009 12:53:10 -0700