I thought I'd create a new topic and try something out and see if it seems beneficial to everyone. I'll try to post every day or so the times that setups completed that I thought were good based on the methodology. I will only do posts for times for 3-minute or higher timeframe setups. If the setup is on a 1-min or 2-min but could be used as an entry setup for a higher timeframe bias I may mention those, too.

The idea here is to point out the completion points for setups I thought were acceptable so everyone can make sure they see the setup, and go back and do the work, perhaps working through how they might have entered, managed, and so on. Mostly, though, it is to give everyone a chance to see the places I thought were the best setups on a given day based on my application of the methodology. Some will not have 'played out', but were still worth looking at.

One more point. These are not necessarily going to be areas I traded off of, they are going to be areas I thought were good enough to be looking at. I am not implying I traded them. I may have, or may not have, but that will be independent of whether I list them here. I want to give everyone a chance to 'start to see' the areas I think are the ones that best fit the methodology.

Most of these will be ABCD's, even though I will sometimes find areas that have enough for me to consider them without the ABCD. As I generally say to my students 'The ABCD is the 'hub of the wheel', the center point of where I start.' I suggest until one has the methodology down cold, start everything with the ABCD. I may, though, throw in a few setup times where other factors contribute to the area (like POC, pivots, GLOBEX points, and so on) such that some of the usual KT factors may be less.

As you will soon see, the posts will be in a format something like this, of course subject to any improvements I discover as I try this:

March XX, 2009

10:34 AM EXP ABCD, 3-min

Any thoughts or suggestions welcome.

7/22/09

8:19-20 or 9:30-31 L (look at the GLOBEX TL! and little ABCD at 9:30)

10:00 S (very tricky one)

10:42-45 L (look at that GLOBEX set!)

11:11 S

11:48 L (same GLOBEX line)

12:14-15 (this was an awesome triangle (and 4PT second entry from 11:48) with a special trigger setup I watch for, and it was classic)

12:52, 13:17 S

14:00, 15:01-02 S (add-on or reentry)

I thought it was a really good day for the methodology. Notice how I'm already getting away from just times...

7/23/09

WOW!

9:27-30 (.886 GLOBEX) You had to be ready.

ABCD's to just lean on the trend if one didn't just stay with it (which was my preference):

9:52-53 (tick DT ABCD)

10:03 (alternate ABCD)

10:16 (tick ABCD)

10:29 (DT ABCD)

10:51-52 (ABCD)

11:32 (ABCD, getting late, though, but play the trend until it breaks I like to say)

11:59-12:05 (TD ABCD with ABCD in CD leg, okay with TD's)

13:10-17 (pseudo-flat ABCD with alt ABCD in CD leg, same set as previous TD and key TL)


15:14-15 That one tick stop reversal I mentioned in the ES commentary

15:44 Second shot on the one tick setup, set line, TL backtest

16:04-05 ABCD last shot at the plunge


What is happening to my just giving the times? I guess it almost seems like I just look for all the reversal points or best spots and just list those times. So, I keep adding supporting things. And soon I'll be back to what I used to do, and then I'll quit again.

Now, as far as today, here's my thoughts. It just doesn't get any easier than this. Look at those ABCD's. Just lean on the setups one after the other or ride the whole move. If you weren't all over this you need to study your notes and find out why. Don't feel bad about it, take it as a chance to figure out why you weren't on it. This is a trend trading methodology, so when we get a big trend, that's when this shines. This is the type of day a both ways scalper has trouble with, and this is the type of day the methodology is designed for, so it should be an easy day. If not, study this day and find out why not! Ask questions.

true. I guess the only issue I have at times is trading tiny tiny corrections like that.

Well, I would only do it not as the play itself, but as an entry trigger setup for what I thought might be another MRRD day, the ones that start at the open and go nuts, as we have seen so many times, and likely will see many, many more times again. Many more times again.

7/24/09

9:43 S, ABCD

10:30 S, DB ABCD

10:56-11:01 L, look at that key set line! with 3D into the area

12:57-13:05 L, flat ABCD (12:38 might have been okay as some type of ABCD for the early trader)

14:53 L, ABCD (15:28-32 was fun to ride through, but also went right back to key lines, so for those that bailed, another shot might have been there)

7/27/09

9:39 L, alternate ABCD, key line, .382 to the tick

9:55-56 L, ABCD

10:02 S, perfect GLOBEX set line, 1.618 price projection off last ABCD, RTH stop run

10:37-45 (10:56 retest) L, lines like crazy here, close enough to a DT ABCD

11:35 S, GLOBEX and RTH line convergence

13:30-31 L, awesome ABCD right at line from last setup

14:28 L (add-on or missed entry from last one), sweet TD ABCD

14:49 (15:01 retest), I'm not listing this as an S, although it was a nice ABCD with last ABCD in BC leg, because my bias was up at this point, and the key lines didn't contain this

15:35 L, multiple line convergence

Everyone saw the small TD at 10:24, right? Too small to mention above, and too big a move down already for such a small pattern, but look how it played out, and gave me a clue about management and potentially hanging on with some for more downside at that point.

7/28/09

9:28 L, look at the GLOBEX set

9:59 S, GLOBEX and non-GLOBEX set lines, slight overshoot (9:51 might have gotten some in, but a stop 3 ticks over that high shouldn't have been hit)

10:10 DB ABCD, too small to trade, but worth noting as it was the BC leg of this ABCD that was forming, to the tick

10:17 L, GLOBEX ABCD

10:48 S, ABCD, lines, everything

11:37 L, the big TD dead at the line

13:06-07 L, ABCD, if one didn't hold through all that after the last setup, or wanted to add-on (or even missed it altogether)

14:32-33 S, I don't mean to sound obnoxious, but if you don't see the outrageous set line for this, I'm not sure if you've learned much from me. Price projections and expansions like crazy right at the spot.

15:22 L, double line covergence, and for those who have mentored with me or done remote support, a perfect signature 'finishing move' setup right into the area.

Overall, this was one of the best days I have ever seen for the methodology. Everyone should study this day, look back at my daily notes, look at the time stamps and study what I was saying, look at the above notes, create a topic and post charts with questions if you want, get the GLOBEX high and low on there, POC, VAL and VAH, DP, IB 50% and 100% high and low, do the Fibs, all the lines, do some serious work. This day was insane and you should break it down start to finish. If I were in the reader's shoes, I'd think nothing of spending ten or twenty hours just studying today. You don't get to 32,000 hours of screen time without putting in those 32,000 hours.

7/29/09

Since I did so much with the daily notes today I think I'll pass on a post in here. I'll try to get back to this section tomorrow.

I'm thinking, for now, I'm not going to do the ex post facto. I'm doing a lot of posts in the daily commentary, and I just lose my desire to put out the work to do this, too. I figure it's one or the other, even though they are different and complement each other, and I think people get more from the near real-time comments. But, I just mentioned in the last comments in the daily section that I may not do that every day, only when I feel like it. So, we'll see. It's a lot of effort and energy, and I really should be watching the market more carefully. That's the dilemma. When the action is good that's when I need to pay attention the most, and when the posts would be most useful, as things are happening. It's easy to post when nothing is happening, but it is a lot less useful. So, I'll do what I can, but motivation is surely waning at this point. I didn't last long, did I?

Jim, whatever you put down in this forum is of value. I don't have the time to interact as much as I used to right now, but I do read everything and it's much appreciated.