I found Market Replay in Ninja to be priceless for going through massive amounts of PA quickly. I was looking
for tendencies and an edge. This being said, I did crash and burn the first time I went live, as the real time PA
drove me mad and I was too early on most trades and / or impatient.
So I would recommend, after figuring out your edge, that you sim real time for a bit to slow it all down. When
you trade at the swing /
range edges like I do, you must wait.
Now, as for the wicks.
I view wicks on 5 (
ETH) and 15 (
RTH) minute bars that occur at historical SR as rejection /
exhaustion.
So, I found an edge placing limit orders at a place within the wick or outside of it where the Volume peaks, just
before dropping off. This is fishing for the retest of the area. I use the "Second mouse gets the cheese" adage.
The immediate retest or the one that comes much later, if it consolidates, is the one that really rejects and
puts you into the green quickly.
My mindset is never place my order too far "inside" of PA. Or in the "battle zone" .
I trade from the edge, in, always.
Now this could be a PB in a trend or ping pong trading the edges of a consolidation / narrow range.
The mindset is the same. Get the best price on the swing using PA and
Volume Profile Peaks , edges or
valleys - depending on where I am within a trend leg.
The key is that the wicks form at "hard" SR levels that have been rejected from above AND below at
a very specific price. If I see one of these "seams" in PA on the 15 minute chart, I am so confident
price will react there, I place a blind
limit order 1 tick "within" PA and trade for a 2 point bounce - going to BE
quickly
If I get good rejection off this initial
scalp, I will place another limit order where the volume tells me - this
is often mid wick which will form a 3 bar "trinity" or mini
head and shoulders gag. You will see these formations
throughout the day at price swing edges.
So that is my game.
Again, I trade from the outside, in - always
Targets are what are given easily within the immediate price range - the range of the body of the immediate
5 or 15 minute bar. Targets may be moved out to the closest major SR if the bounce is immediate and strong.
The main reasons I developed this style was -
Tight stops -
The rejection wick gives you an exact price of rejection and a series of wicks, even more assurance.
I needed to find a way of minimizing my risk as I started out very poor. $3K ... I could see the
bottom of the account everyday.
Instant feedback -
If you are wrong, you know it quickly, as your stop will be "run over" as you guessed wrong
on the reversal. When it works, you are quickly in the green as price tends to explode out of
these areas. Especially when it breaks clear of the other side of the consolidation range,
triggering the opposite position stops and lurching forward. I then take this opportunity
to
scale into the position by placing an order at the top / bottom of the previous range
looking for the all too common smack down of the break . If this pull back does come
back into the range a bit, it always retests a Volume Profile landmark - ie, Peaks, edges or
valleys...
POC etc. ... Price always revolves around volume at some point.
Getting in at the source. - My favorite gag is playing the range of the London open, paying close attention
to where price is around 6am
cst (This behavior relates to NQ). I have found found
that generally, if the ON is in a tight range, the initial London open at 2am
will test the immediate PA, then go to one side of the range to test. By 3am we are
working our way across the range to test the other side. By 6am we are ready
start forming the trend leg that will be present by the open. I have joined in here
before giving myself a lovely cushion in the trade that I can hold through the open.
If it is a
trend day. My entry price will never be visited again. I was in at the "source"
London seems to always be "counter" to the Big Picture PA. (Unless, of course, the ETH was in immediate
trend mode in the ON) ... by 6am the PA is starting to "correct" itself to shoot for new High / Lows.
Well , that's it, in a nutshell.
I can't stand the heat of Buying High and selling low (Break Out Trades)
I like to win or lose quickly
I like to
scale in quickly and HARD on PA that rejects a scouted out area.
I only scale in AFTER the initial entry is safe at BE .
I look for PA that respects levels. If a common price is touched by multiple bars, it will be a good day
for my method. If price is in "chaos" and different prices are being hit on each bar, I wait for structure.
I think of this as fishing.
I find a good "hole" (SR)
I toss out the bobber at the edge of the shore line and wait for the lunker to come to me.
I never chase.
I always "follow behind" a trend / BO and place limit orders at logical PA / volume based areas .
(the stair step trend pattern is the easiest and best for entering a trend) I rarely see classic stair step
anymore. This is the old "what was
resistance now becomes support" gag.
I stay out of the "middle" of a PA leg.
I try to keep this mindset for as long as I trade for the day.
grazie for the interest