josh 

Sorry to interrupt this fine trading discussion for this question, but Gary, when you highlight the zones on your chart, what tool do you use? It doesn't look like NT's rectangle, and it has major problems anyway, so I'm looking for an alternative rather than coding my own. The market always looks the weakest before a major U turn, but it's definitely a no-buy for me right now in the equities space.... Asia looking weak and will be interesting to see how Europe behaves on open in a few hours.

It is the Rectangle. Outline set to Transparent. Opacity vaires frlom 2 to 5, depending on how much I want to pay attention.

I have a couple automatic shaded area indicators, but do not like anything other than hand-drawn zones. After the hard drawing is done, Ctrl + F12 is the highlighter.

GaryD 

I realize we may have an impulse market underway, but for me, shorting into the main support area of 92.50 - 92.62 is off limits. I am guessing there are better ways to play this with more experience, but I am locked out of a short where price sits right now.

That is why. Right direction or not, someone is going to want to buy this area.

And I am a pussy...lol!

GaryD 

It is the Rectangle. Outline set to Transparent. Opacity vaires frlom 2 to 5, depending on how much I want to pay attention.

Ok cool -- well NT has a bug which prevents the rectangle from being drawn when the anchor points are a certain distance away, and I have several times missed areas because of a rectangle which was invisible so I'm a little paranoid about using it Enjoy your CL tonight, later. Thanks for the info.

This may just be my bad sense of humor, but I don't think the German Chancellor is going to appreciate this headline.

josh 

Ok cool -- well NT has a bug which prevents the rectangle from being drawn when the anchor points are a certain distance away, and I have several times missed areas because of a rectangle which was invisible so I'm a little paranoid about using it Enjoy your CL tonight, later. Thanks for the info.

I noticed that. To work around it, I draw SR levels starting with daily and work my way down, then draw the rectangle in the timeframe I am going to watch. If the areas get too far outside there are two issues I experience; 1) the rectangle disappears completely, or 2) you can't move them.

GaryD 

And I am a pussy...lol!

----------------
I'll share a story; sit down and relax and enjoy.

So, back in the day (late 80's) I was working with my mentor and we moved every 3 months to a different city or country and took our CQG satellite dishes with us--blah blah blah.

Anyways, that was when BONDS & BEANS were king and such. We traded alot of overnight currencies (we called them EFP's "exchange for physical").

My mentor moved from the states early in his childhood to Austria and he was an excellent Pound and Deutsche Mark trader. Currencies were easy for him and I picked up on the vibe.

We were primarily 30 minute and daily traders and together we had a flow when it came to currencies and metals. Those markets were like breathing to us; natural--fluid and regular.

Now--here is where one of our original challenges came into play.

Those friggin bonds and their HUGE moves 3-5X's per month on a.m. news releases (back when bonds moved limit 3 handles on some days).

Same thing in beans (especially globex overnight session) in the summer; HUGE moves.

Well, we were using alot of gann overlaid with fibonacci and clusters of time cycles.

On to my point: We would map out our strategy beforehand. For example if we were long going into an inflection point (reversal area--projection) for the LONGEST damned time we would cover but could NOT pull the trigger on the other side of the order.

There is a higher level of trading and here it is; being able to fluidly and effortlessly (psychologically) keep both a bullish and bearish scenario in one's mind and at the precise time (after doing the work) being able to, as they say "flip the b*tch.

This is where my early training in Gann gave me some comfort. I always had 2 scenarios in my mind and when one was more tilted (in probability) I then would begin working my positions in that direction.

How did we get over that hump; so to speak? Well it wasn't the chinese 'ma huang' leaves we would boil on the stove @4:45am PST waiting to begin trading bonds for the 5:20am PST pit session open; nope.

As you know--there is a not so subtle difference between 'forecasting a market move' and then trading that move. And then managing that trade correctly.

It is my belief that it is conditioning. In any other professional field you are exposed to a live/fluid environment while both training and then for real (medical field/military/legal).

Now, how does a young surgical intern make the transition from an operating room flunkie/assistant to a top-notch practicing heart surgeon with someone's life on the line (I believe this is more pressure than trading)? Same for military--way more pressure.

Your conditioning has to leave no option for backpedaling. You do it because you practiced it (on sim or with small trading size) and it became a part of you.

Doesn't matter if you are a military sniper working alone or part of a huge infantry unit; you do what you are trained to do. Assess the situation, react and then use both experience and as you gain more 'real time' exposure, you can then move on to some flair and intuition and whatever else that has developed within you as an experienced trader.

How any individual trader bridges this gap is deeply personal and an unwavering belief in oneself without compromise is a good place to begin exploring these concepts.

Nothing in my personality (right-sided brain trader) is conducive to successful intraday trading. Not a damned thing.

For me my breakthrough came when I was able to completely let loose in my personal life outside of trading. It was an 'edge and beyond' thing in my late teens and early 20's {keep in mind I was raised by a hippie mother so growing up I had no limits or rules; just get straight A's and I had carte blanche}.

Because many of the things I did outside of trading were so intense; intraday trading and doing the right thing with a quantified edge fairly quickly became a non issue. The money issue drifted away as well. My trading became like taking inventory.

Assets and costs. Plusses and minuses. I graded myself on a bi-weekly and monthly and quarterly basis.

Again, this process is intensely personal (and should be).

There is no wealth without work and while diligence and planning are wonderful; conditioning and literal brainwashing with consequences (for insubordination) may work for a majority of traders.

I hope this example was informative for someone on the forum.

peace

Hedvig

There are two dominant inflection points in the major zone; 92.62 and 92.11.

researcher247 

---------------- I'll share a story; sit down and relax and enjoy. So, back in the day (late 80's) I was working with my mentor and we moved every 3 months to a different city or country and took our CQG satellite dishes with us--blah blah blah. Anyways, that was when BONDS & BEANS were king and such. We traded alot of overnight currencies (we called them EFP's "exchange for physical"). My mentor moved from the states early in his childhood to Austria and he was an excellent Pound and Deutsche Mark trader. Currencies were easy for him and I picked up on the vibe. We were primarily 30 minute and daily traders and together we had a flow when it came to currencies and metals. Those markets were like breathing to us; natural--fluid and regular. Now--here is where one of our original challenges came into play. Those friggin bonds and their HUGE moves 3-5X's per month on a.m. news releases (back when bonds moved limit 3 handles on some days). Same thing in beans (especially globex overnight session) in the summer; HUGE moves. Well, we were using alot of gann overlaid with fibonacci and clusters of time cycles. On to my point: We would map out our strategy beforehand. For example if we were long going into an inflection point (reversal area--projection) for the LONGEST damned time we would cover but could NOT pull the trigger on the other side of the order. There is a higher level of trading and here it is; being able to fluidly and effortlessly (psychologically) keep both a bullish and bearish scenario in one's mind and at the precise time (after doing the work) being able to, as they say "flip the b*tch. This is where my early training in Gann gave me some comfort. I always had 2 scenarios in my mind and when one was more tilted (in probability) I then would begin working my positions in that direction. How did we get over that hump; so to speak? Well it wasn't the chinese 'ma huang' leaves we would boil on the stove @4:45am PST waiting to begin trading bonds for the 5:20am PST pit session open; nope. As you know--there is a not so subtle difference between 'forecasting a market move' and then trading that move. And then managing that trade correctly. It is my belief that it is conditioning. In any other professional field you are exposed to a live/fluid environment while both training and then for real (medical field/military/legal). Now, how does a young surgical intern make the transition from an operating room flunkie/assistant to a top-notch practicing heart surgeon with someone's life on the line (I believe this is more pressure than trading)? Same for military--way more pressure. Your conditioning has to leave no option for backpedaling. You do it because you practiced it (on sim or with small trading size) and it became a part of you. Doesn't matter if you are a military sniper working alone or part of a huge infantry unit; you do what you are trained to do. Assess the situation, react and then use both experience and as you gain more 'real time' exposure, you can then move on to some flair and intuition and whatever else that has developed within you as an experienced trader. How any individual trader bridges this gap is deeply personal and an unwavering belief in oneself without compromise is a good place to begin exploring these concepts. Nothing in my personality (right-sided brain trader) is conducive to successful intraday trading. Not a damned thing. For me my breakthrough came when I was able to completely let loose in my personal life outside of trading. It was an 'edge and beyond' thing in my late teens and early 20's {keep in mind I was raised by a hippie mother so growing up I had no limits or rules; just get straight A's and I had carte blanche}. Because many of the things I did outside of trading were so intense; intraday trading and doing the right thing with a quantified edge fairly quickly became a non issue. The money issue drifted away as well. My trading became like taking inventory. Assets and costs. Plusses and minuses. I graded myself on a bi-weekly and monthly and quarterly basis. Again, this process is intensely personal (and should be). There is no wealth without work and while diligence and planning are wonderful; conditioning and literal brainwashing with consequences (for insubordination) may work for a majority of traders. I hope this example was informative for someone on the forum. peace Hedvig

Yes, me.

I also had the hippie mom, and the affection for ma huang...nothing like it. Used to combine it with kava for an interesting blend of wired and chilled.