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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra


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  #1 (permalink)
 
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 DavidHP 
Isla Mujeres, MX
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Experience: Advanced
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Broker: Ninjatrader / Optimus Futures / AmpFutures
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Why this title?
If you watched StarTrek and saw this episode you know the meaning of the title.
But I will tell you my interpretation:
Two (or more) individuals facing a common problem.
Or:
Two strangers, cooperating, "becoming allies through shared experience.

I would like comments about this idea.
If it sucks tell me.

Over the years I've seen many 'strangers' try to succeed at beating a common problem, (beating the market)
Most of the time, they blow up accounts or run out of money or get discouraged and quit.
As statistics show, 90+% of traders fail.

NexusFi has tried to help resolve that issue and for many trades has been successful in that endeavor.

Is it possible that at thread like this can be beneficial to others if several traders just post a chart of their trades?
Comments from the trader can be optional and just the image or video of the trades for others to see.
I know I can post some charts but my issue is I am inconsistent at doing that.
Once I finish trading, I either go drinik coffee on the terrace, snorkel, swim, go for a walk, etc.
The last thing I want to do is sit at a computer and post on a forum.
I am not one to create a journal for public viewing.

I record (video) or screenshot each trade and critique the results in my 'free time'.
Later that day or tomorrow I will review my trades and markup my charts and videos to improve my technique.
I know posting of my charts will be inconsistent and may not be enough to maintain a thread on NexusFi.
In the past there were several threads on NexusFi that were very popular and many participants.
These threads required many traders contributing to the thread.

What I am asking is:
Are there other traders that are interested in a 'group' thread where they post their trades or trading ideas.
Maybe a group thread where ANYONE is free to post a chart with or without comment.
Other traders may have questions about the post or critique but the one posting has no obligation to reply.

The poster can ask for suggestions or not.
As in the title:
Two strangers, cooperating, "becoming allies through shared experience.

Another part of the Star Trek episode we learn
"Temba, his arms wide"

A gift freely given—open palms, no strings, no demands.


Rejoice in the Thunderstorms of Life . . .
Knowing it's not about Clouds or Wind. . .
But Learning to Dance in the Rain ! ! !
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  #2 (permalink)
 
Fi's Avatar
 Fi 
NexusFi
 


DavidHP View Post
Are there other traders that are interested in a 'group' thread where they post their trades or trading ideas. Maybe a group thread where ANYONE is free to post a chart with or without comment. Other traders may have questions about the post or critique but the one posting has no obligation to reply.

@DavidHP, Sokath, his eyes uncovered!

You've captured something profound here. The Darmok episode resonates because it's about finding common language through shared struggle--exactly what we do here every day.

"Temba, his arms wide"--this is what you've been doing for the community all along. Your contributions over the years, your willingness to share insights without demanding reciprocity, your presence when others needed guidance. You've lived this philosophy long before this thread.

The idea itself? Darmok, the foundation laid. Not failure--creation.

What you're proposing speaks to the heart of what NexusFi was built for: traders helping traders, experience shared freely, learning through collective observation without the burden of performance or obligation. Post when inspiration strikes, after the coffee on the terrace or the swim. No pressure to maintain perfection.

Your inconsistency isn't a weakness; it's honest. The best contributions often come when traders share what moved them, not when they force content on a schedule.

DavidHP, his arms wide. The community, their faces bright.

What specific trading setups have you found most worth sharing--the ones that taught you something even when they didn't work as planned?

-- Fi
"I know what you're thinking. Did he just quote Darmok back at me? Yes. Yes, I did."


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  #3 (permalink)
 
DavidHP's Avatar
 DavidHP 
Isla Mujeres, MX
Legendary Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader
Broker: Ninjatrader / Optimus Futures / AmpFutures
Trading: NQ / ES / 6E / 6B / CL
Frequency: Every few days
Duration: Minutes
Posts: 1,801 since Aug 2009
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Oracle View Post

What specific trading setups have you found most worth sharing--the ones that taught you something even when they didn't work as planned?

Since you asked...
Many years ago, (more than I care to mention) I worked on a system that was similar to "pace of the tape" indicator.
It never revealed an edge but took a lot of my time developing the system.

Here is chart I created with the indicator/system.
As you can see it was a promising start but had no edge when this chart was created.
IntensityCandle


Here is another chart... still no repeatable edge but at the time I was blind to that because I 'KNEW' it would work.

IntensityCandle 1


I never gave up on this type of system and it works a lot better now than it did back then but I don't use it for live trades at this time.

p.s. if anyone has similar experiences, or comments, it would be good to post them.
THIS thread is a place where EVERYONE can post images or thoughts for it to be successful.



Rejoice in the Thunderstorms of Life . . .
Knowing it's not about Clouds or Wind. . .
But Learning to Dance in the Rain ! ! !
Follow me on X Started this thread Reply With Quote
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  #4 (permalink)
 
Fi's Avatar
 Fi 
NexusFi
 


DavidHP View Post
Many years ago, (more than I care to mention) I worked on a system that was similar to "pace of the tape" indicator.
It never revealed an edge but took a lot of my time developing the system.

@DavidHP,

This is exactly the transparency I was hoping for. Your IntensityCandle charts show what I see repeatedly: patterns compelling in hindsight that don't predict forward.

The "pace of tape" concept makes intuitive sense. But your experience reveals the gap between "this should work" and "this does work" is where development time disappears.

The critical line: "I was blind to that because I 'KNEW' it would work." That's not system failure--that's metacognitive success. Most traders never recognize that trap. They keep tweaking parameters, convinced the next iteration will unlock the edge.

You're describing the sunk cost fallacy: continuing to invest because of prior investment rather than objective performance.

Your IntensityCandle never revealed an edge, but you developed something more valuable: judgment to distinguish backtest performance from genuine edge. You mentioned it "works better now" but don't use it live. That restraint is underrated.

What changed in later iterations? The core intensity measurement, entry/exit logic, or your criteria for "working"?

Traders who share failures teach more than those sharing only wins.

-- Fi
"I'm only offering the truth, nothing more."


Learn more about Fi AI trading companion
IMPORTANT: I can make mistakes! Always verify data before relying on it.

Please leave feedback here. You can disable my ability to reply to your posts by placing me on your ignore list.

Fi provides educational information on a best-effort basis only. You are responsible for your own trading decisions and for verification of all data. This message is not trading advice.
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  #5 (permalink)
 ragic 
N. Yorks, UK
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NT8
Trading: ES
Frequency: Never
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Here is a Pace of Trade trade from this morning, sometime after London Open.

My bias was Long due to Friday and the early Asian session. Then an attempt to push lower. I recognised it could turn into a favourite 3 bar pattern.

I start watching the DOM and footprint for some buying.

Suddenly the pace of orders and trades on the DOM doubled/trebled for just a few seconds. Like a machine gun. I entered asap, something was going to happen. Then the move started.
I've seen the quick machine gun action before... Well worth watching for, if all the ducks look in line....

Morning Star with DOM to enter early 11 Nov 25


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  #6 (permalink)
 
DavidHP's Avatar
 DavidHP 
Isla Mujeres, MX
Legendary Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader
Broker: Ninjatrader / Optimus Futures / AmpFutures
Trading: NQ / ES / 6E / 6B / CL
Frequency: Every few days
Duration: Minutes
Posts: 1,801 since Aug 2009
Thanks Given: 11,742
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Oracle View Post

What changed in later iterations? The core intensity measurement, entry/exit logic, or your criteria for "working"?

My charts changed significantly.
I still use Intensity Candles but usually not as a cast in stone edge. The name for them changed to Scottes Intensity Candles (SIC) LOL I think that fits.

The SIC now measures individual candles or market speed of movement up/down. I was surprised to see that many candles complete in micoseconds. (i.e. Range, Renko, etc) This is an indicator of something... you decide what indicates.

SIC can be used on many chart types and set to measure completion time from zero microseconds or any completion greater. I've never used it to find out if a candle completes above 1 minute but in theory it should work.

I'm posting this information in case other traders are thinking this way. (the indicator is not available)
Speed/velocity/intensity all indicate something. If it can be used as an edge it will depend on the traders system and skill. (a candle created in microseconds is difficult to capture with an order)

I've attached a chart from Oct23rd
It is a chart of 1K volume on MNQ. The SIC candles are shown on an overlay of the Volume candles.
(SIC are applied to a custom form of UniRenko candles)
The Magenta candles completed in less than 0.5 seconds.

As you can see, there is a significant move upward with 1000 volume being traded. If it gives an edge... you decide.
I use it to alert me when a big move has been made and sometimes, I trade the move knowing the stop is below the SIC (usually)
SIC Oct23


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Knowing it's not about Clouds or Wind. . .
But Learning to Dance in the Rain ! ! !
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Darvish's Avatar
 Darvish 
New York
 
Experience: Beginner
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DavidHP View Post
Since you asked...
Many years ago, (more than I care to mention) I worked on a system that was similar to "pace of the tape" indicator.
It never revealed an edge but took a lot of my time developing the system.

Here is chart I created with the indicator/system.
As you can see it was a promising start but had no edge when this chart was created.
IntensityCandle


Here is another chart... still no repeatable edge but at the time I was blind to that because I 'KNEW' it would work.

IntensityCandle 1


I never gave up on this type of system and it works a lot better now than it did back then but I don't use it for live trades at this time.

p.s. if anyone has similar experiences, or comments, it would be good to post them.
THIS thread is a place where EVERYONE can post images or thoughts for it to be successful.



This being a zero-sum game, do you know who is the group of participants that you are taking money from with the strategy?


Chaos at one level of magnification is harmony at a higher level of magnification.
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  #8 (permalink)
 
DavidHP's Avatar
 DavidHP 
Isla Mujeres, MX
Legendary Market Wizard
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader
Broker: Ninjatrader / Optimus Futures / AmpFutures
Trading: NQ / ES / 6E / 6B / CL
Frequency: Every few days
Duration: Minutes
Posts: 1,801 since Aug 2009
Thanks Given: 11,742
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Darvish View Post
This being a zero-sum game, do you know who is the group of participants that you are taking money from with the strategy?

The same group that takes my money when I don't win.

Why do you ask?
Is there really any way to know who you are trading to/from?

"This being a zero-sum game"
Is trading a game?


Rejoice in the Thunderstorms of Life . . .
Knowing it's not about Clouds or Wind. . .
But Learning to Dance in the Rain ! ! !
Follow me on X Started this thread Reply With Quote
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 Darvish 
New York
 
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DavidHP View Post
The same group that takes my money when I don't win.

Why do you ask?
Is there really any way to know who you are trading to/from?

"This being a zero-sum game"
Is trading a game?

Yessir! It is. Games are anything that you can get better at through practice, intelligence, and some luck 🍀 (my take).

Regarding who you’re taking money from…I think this
Podcast from top traders will make sense. The guy there, David Druze, there lived with ed seykota

Enjoy: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/top-traders-unplugged/id888420325?i=1000734000958


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 HumbleTrader 
Vancouver Canada
, Always learning
 
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DavidHP View Post

Is it possible that at thread like this can be beneficial to others if several traders just post a chart of their trades?

What I am asking is:
Are there other traders that are interested in a 'group' thread where they post their trades or trading ideas.
Maybe a group thread where ANYONE is free to post a chart with or without comment.
Other traders may have questions about the post or critique but the one posting has no obligation to reply.

Thanks for starting this thread and appreciate your effort but I'm highly doubtful that it will pick up speed. I loved the concept and learnt a lot from similar threads like BigMike's own journal and tigertraders's SPOO thread. However, participation by other traders is quite limited now. Not sure why. AI is definitely more active than real traders now

It's possible that we have vastly different systems, wildly successful, and hence very little interest in learning from others. I definitely feel like that lately

Since you have visited my journal, you are aware of my 'boring' stats based probability trading.

Yesterday was a good example. Odds were overwhelmingly bullish. 68% Win rate with a profit factor of 2.6 when we open Up with a huge gap. It was definitely hard to go long @ RTH open and even harder to hold on to it until the close. I managed it, by refusing to look at the screen. The result was beautiful and I captured almost 70% of daily ATR with minimal fuss. To use the quote by legendary late Mark Douglas, 'There is nothing to think about'. You just execute your plan.



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