watching the warriors thunder game and Jon Barry, NBA analyst, just said, "don't chase money, chase greatness, the money will follow". Found this fitting based on my previous post above.
After simplicity so.... 1. In range: play limits one point away from the level w stop one point above level. (2pts might be better or some combo but we'll see). If we poke below so be it the entry won't be triggered yet. In range reversals taken care of. Simple and again if the behavior stays the same we'll move enough to make something. 2. Range breaks: wait for the broken level itself to be retested. One point above level after retest one point stop back within level(again 2pts might be better or some combo of the two). Idea is if the Bo is real price won't re-enter the range. Possible for re-entry if stopped out and mean of range holds orrrr wait for a "re-breakout" and take the next ret thereafter or just take the "second break" 3. Price already trending: wait for a 50% ret or wait for the most recent high point or low point within the trend to be tested/retested. Same thing 1pt entry 1pt stop beyond the tested level or 2pts. So that's it and should provide enough opportunities. If either of those situations doesn't happen then no trades. No bars no nothing just price levels and the ticker movement. Also w that math no loss will be greater than 2 points. If you do two and two for stop n entry then it's 4 points. Maybe a one point entry and two points beyond the level is better. This is where the testing comes in and I hate that lololol. My dad trades more long term and he waits for "his numbers" to enter and he'll enter with a limit order at his price. No bars no nothing. The only difference is it's a stock he wants to own longer term so if he takes some heat he's ok with it and he also has a portfolio to hedge all his positions that might be sitting at a loss for the moment. Sometimes he does miss out tho if his limit isn't hit. I told him to use a stop entry but he's got his own thing he does lol. In a way I've been testing an entry trigger of sorts but each test/retest seems so different to have a set "pattern"/trigger. So I've been thinking about simplicity in terms of entry and exit criteria then just watch what happens when the entry is triggered. If we breakout of a range and on the retest my entry is triggered explosively then great. If it's hesitant or struggles be on the look out etc. No thinking in terms of bars, no waiting for closes etc. Just focus on the flow, the impulses, pops, stalls etc and where they are happening. As soon as I think of what I need to see to get me in I keep getting back to patterns. Any thoughts?
Whether or not this works for you will depend largely on the market environment. If the market is on fire, you aren't going to get retests of a range top after a breakout. You'll be lucky to get filled on the breakout. Similarly, you aren't going to get pleasant and gentle pullbacks in a trend. You will more likely be standing there watching it run away from you. There are other ways to examine, such as buying the breakout without hesitation and using a very tight mental or physical fixed stop (preferably double last). If price never looks back, you're good. If it does, you've covered. But you must then shift to your alternate tactic of buying the test rather than get all depressed because your initial trade "didn't work out". And so on. One thing at a time.
I hear ya. I'm trying to get more tactical with all of this and some of what you say I've thought about also. If the level starts holding take the reversal if it breaks instead then take that. If both don't work watch the retest. Take that if it holds if not then take the false breakout w the expectation of getting to the bottom (in the case of a range high). So in essence there's 4 options where in my head one of them is going to go lol. If not what's the worst that can happen I lose 8 or so points? So what. Save the coins for when the levels are tested and not doing anything silly in the middle of nowhere. More than likely one of those is going to move at least to cover some of what was lost if not make a little in the case price just doesn't want to go anywhere.
Actually you have more than 4 options. How far away from the limit is your entry trigger going to be? How much MAE are you going to tolerate? At what point are you going to place a BE stop (depending on how flaky your internet connection is)? What are you doing to do if and when price reaches your "target"? What are you going to look for to determine the probabilities of reversal vs continuation? And so on.
Remember, tho, that all of this will change as the market environment changes, and the stop that serves you well today may not be worth crap next week. Today, for example, the way price fell, these issues were irrelevant. In a different environment, they'll be much more important. But if you know your choices and how each performs in a given environment, you'll know which to choose, usually by the second or third trade attempt.
Therein lies my problem of sorts. That flexibility and understanding that I have to change with the market. I just don't know exactly how to do that yet and that's what's holding me back from going live. My sim account is positive "enough". But my comfort/understanding of the market and it's movement in general still I find I lack, otherwise I'd be more confident. No stat has increased my confidence. In a way this is why I like watching a smaller interval at a predetermined price level(helps me see stalls pops etc). If the level holds it's going to hold. Whether the volatility is higher or lower again if a level is going to hold it's going to hold. Maybe the pokes are greater in more volatile times but I'm not trading the poke itself. This is wrong thinking?
You're at the point where you'll just have to test this stuff. Via replay, it shouldn't take more than a few days.