I wanted to make a few comments about the purpose/structure of the posts I make intraday, in the intraday trading threads. Given that I may be actively trading during any given session, it is not feasible for me to post charts and such, with my comments, detailing short-term trades. What I came up with was the idea of pointing out various key setups and things that I feel are important for a student of my methodology to notice, to study.

So, I may post an area that is coming up that I feel is important. If there are price action clues, I may mention them. Perhaps I get a sense, a 'feel', my read on what is unfolding, and I may add that in. With the time stamp, a reader is now able to look at their work and see the area I see, and know close to real-time (sometimes in advance, sometimes at or near the area) that I find this a significant spot to study.

If one doesn't understand my methodology then these posts are of perhaps little use. They are never to 'make calls' or show off my 'skills'. They are to help those that understand the basic tenets of the methodology to pinpoint the areas I find important. Say one is watching a setup come together, but they don't know if the area is really one that Jim would be focused on. The level is clear. Up pops Jim and he says this is a key area. Throw in some price action comments, and so on. This should be quite helpful to someone trying to grasp the concepts.

If one is trying to get more from my posts, they won't get it, I don't think. I'm not trying to explain my methodology with these posts. I've done that in the books, and in great detail in the mentorships. I've done some of that in the endless posts in this forum in the years past. It's not feasible for me to do that now, with all the issues that I follow daily.

So, reiterating what I just said, I am specifically posting what I am, the way I am, for a reason. It is a supplement for those that grasp the methodology, so that they can see if I am looking at the same areas they are. If I point out an area, if I make a comment, and readers don't have that area already on their charts (and their goal is to understand my methodology), I have told them where they need to look in their study. Why don't you have the area? What does Jim see? I don't point things out unless there is something there you should be seeing.

In this way, and mostly only in this way, I see great value in what I am doing. Just don't expect to get more than this out of the posts. If the books don't bring you the understanding you seek, then mentoring is the next step. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. And my availability for mentoring is getting less and less, as I move to maybe expanding the program to only taking on one student per year or one every other year, and going into much more detail.

The methodology has reached a point where I can't really lay all the groundwork in fifty hours, no less work with someone on their progress in that short time. Perhaps I may take on one person per five years, and have a much deeper relationship. I'm only looking to work with a person who is deadly serious on this, in a long-term sort of way.

Point is, I'm not looking to hawk for mentor students in here, or withholding details to try to get students. I'm just saying, if you grasp what is in the books or have mentored with me, the posts may be quite useful for you, in the manner described. If you don't grasp it, I can only say that mentoring would be the next step, if I was available. That is not always the case, as it was in past years. But, understanding what I am doing and why should bring some clarity to these posts.

Lastly, I chose to post on intraday setups. Many get the idea I am mostly, or only, a 'daytrader'. When I trade short-term I am what I would call an 'intraday swing trader', with no qualms about holding into GLOBEX on an ES trade, or past the pit session with another futures trade, for example. But I love swing trading and position trading for a retirement account, all based on the same exact fractal analysis. As I've said many times, I think this methodology applies across any issue and any timeframe where there is liquidity.

What I'm getting at is I can do the same kind of posts on a swing trading basis. I could post for setups that last 1-3 days, two weeks, or two months, and do them, I feel, just as well as the intraday posts (although my opinion is that I have a somewhat uncanny 'read' on intraday action, and perhaps that is my best venue, who knows...).

I just felt I have a lot of intraday traders in the forum, especially ES traders, and that was the best use of my posting time. I want to be clear that I think the methodology applies to all these other issues and timeframes, and that I spend a great deal of time on those other areas, I just don't post about it very often.

If most people want me to post only higher timeframe, longer-term setups I would consider that. It just adds up to a lot less posting and setups to study and perhaps days without a useful post. The way I do it now gives a lot of bang for the buck, and given the fractal nature of this, I think studying what I post on an ES intraday trade is quite useful even for someone who only wants to use the methodology for position trading over months or years.