Anyone scalping the FTSE Futures??

[DaddyJohn]

yup
if we were in a rush to hit all lower bases so traders over the pond can have a buying spree after thanksgiving
this would put
DOW 11103
ftse 5089 THEN 4934

but and big but the FTSE has given short term 5426 target so Im a buyer of every thing 50 or 100 point drop into next tuesday and will exit when ftse reaches 5400 and dow 11800

Hi DC... I also have orders in from 5100 down to 4900.. looking to scale into anticpated move up...

must admit .. they are not large positions.. but enough to make it worthwhile

 

[DaddyJohn]

yup
if we were in a rush to hit all lower bases so traders over the pond can have a buying spree after thanksgiving
this would put
DOW 11103
ftse 5089 THEN 4934

but and big but the FTSE has given short term 5426 target so Im a buyer of every thing 50 or 100 point drop into next tuesday and will exit when ftse reaches 5400 and dow 11800

DC.. given Martins comments and the fact that all traders are different i.e different timeframes, risk profile etc..etc.. it would be very useful if you could give some outline (not expecting you to give away any trading secrets) to your logic sometimes e.g." FTSE has short term target of 5426 to be hit within next XXX days because ........" so that others can factor that into their own thinking / trading styles etc..

Please take above comment as constructive and friendly.. many thanks

I would also ask others if I need to explain myself better on how I set my levels for daytrading.

 

[supernovered]

I would also ask others if I need to explain myself better on how I set my levels for daytrading.[/QUOTE]

Hi DJ,

As a struggling trader making a profit one week only to give it back the next, I am very interested on your thinking when it comes to your levels. Also, do you tend to enter on limit at a level or wait for a retest, or enter on break of a high (low) of reversal candle, and what sort of stop strategy do you employ?

Any pearls of wisdom you can throw before this swine would be gratefully appreciated!

 

[DaddyJohn]

I would also ask others if I need to explain myself better on how I set my levels for daytrading.

Hi DJ,

As a struggling trader making a profit one week only to give it back the next, I am very interested on your thinking when it comes to your levels. Also, do you tend to enter on limit at a level or wait for a retest, or enter on break of a high (low) of reversal candle, and what sort of stop strategy do you employ?

Any pearls of wisdom you can throw before this swine would be gratefully appreciated![/QUOTE]

Let me start by asking what kind of a trader are you? We are all different due to our personalities and upbringing... Some people like short term quick trades..large size , high probs....others like holding trades for longer..days, maybe weeks... Some like trends, other ranges. Do you prefer to stick with one Market...or do you trade multiple instruments..

 

[reksa]

Where from here?
Range is low.
Cant see any buying going on across the pond, no one will want to hold over to next week. 7 year note results @ 6pm which should put more downward pressure on the markets. With low volumes the move could be quite large.

 

[supernovered]

Let me start by asking what kind of a trader are you? We are all different due to our personalities and upbringing... Some people like short term quick trades..large size , high probs....others like holding trades for longer..days, maybe weeks... Some like trends, other ranges. Do you prefer to stick with one Market...or do you trade multiple instruments..

Scalper/short term, though would like to try holding a little longer. 1min chart for entry with reference to 5 minute, also consider hourly and daily support/resistance levels. Minimal indicators - vol,ATR, modified 'Supertrend', and 2 VMAs. Only take trades in direction they line up on 1 minute chart.

Only trade FTSE Z using DMA account (have previously traded forex and equites).

 

[MartinC-J]

Dear Bund Specialists, why is the FTSE down a zillion percent at the same time that the bunds are down a zillion and one per cent? I always thought bonds down, equities up. What be going on?

 

[MartinC-J]

And why do we have to wait until the end of the day for the cash market before we break the low of the day? The ES has been dragging it down all afternoon, whereas the FTSE was trying to rally up. Now quite often of late, when the gong sounds at 4:30pm, the ES has switched sides and gone the other way. Why it should try and force things prior to the close of the european cash markets I don't know. I am watching it now to see if it does that again.

 

[reksa]

And why do we have to wait until the end of the day for the cash market before we break the low of the day? The ES has been dragging it down all afternoon, whereas the FTSE was trying to rally up. Now quite often of late, when the gong sounds at 4:30pm, the ES has switched sides and gone the other way. Why it should try and force things prior to the close of the european cash markets I don't know. I am watching it now to see if it does that again.

Yes its been the same the last 3 days. Around 16:35 straight up.

Not so sure today. As you said yesterday many will be calling it quits at lunch.

As for the bunds, Italy and Spain were on the up so it was very much out of sync.

 

[DaddyJohn]

Scalper/short term, though would like to try holding a little longer. 1min chart for entry with reference to 5 minute, also consider hourly and daily support/resistance levels. Minimal indicators - vol,ATR, modified 'Supertrend', and 2 VMAs. Only take trades in direction they line up on 1 minute chart.

Only trade FTSE Z using DMA account (have previously traded forex and equites).

I also use that set up.. But only works best when Market is trending I.e going from one area of value to another.... It maybe that the week you make money is when the markets are trending ,but of course trend days are usually followed by consolidations/ ranging days.. In which case you will find it difficult to make money using that method. The answer is to only trade on the days when you see trending price action .. Or learn how to spot ranging days and change tack. In terms of my levels they are based on Taylor method and are calculated based on his method.. DC put me onto Taylor and I am very ever in his debt...it is not an easy method to learn, but with perseverance it is the best I have seen. I also use Market profile to calculate the value ranges for every day and I Mark them on my charts...the value area is very, very important is marks out the range tha 70 pc of the volume traded in a day. The highs and lows of this range make excellent support and resistance and you will often see consolidation patterns at the top and bottomsmwhich you can scalp...

I never trade breakouts...I always assume that for the first two hits my levels will provide support / resistance....

Stops are based on risk, reward...I want at least a 2x reward..my entry will always be at a point where I can easily judge when I am wrong.

I also Mark levels on ES.. If ES hits a key level, ftse will move too even if it is not at a key level....

The greatest skill you can learn is patience and you must always be thinking " where is price trying to get to?". Then...."how will it get there?"

You must have a system and have a positive expectancy..ie you know that out of every 10 trades 6 will be right and you will get at least 2 times risk , reward from those trades.

 

[DaddyJohn]

yup
if we were in a rush to hit all lower bases so traders over the pond can have a buying spree after thanksgiving
this would put
DOW 11103
ftse 5089 THEN 4934

but and big but the FTSE has given short term 5426 target so Im a buyer of every thing 50 or 100 point drop into next tuesday and will exit when ftse reaches 5400 and dow 11800

Hey DC... I hear you are selling tickets for the big show in Woolworths

Shall I ask Pippa to bring a friend?

 

[supernovered]

I also use that set up.. But only works best when Market is trending I.e going from one area of value to another.... It maybe that the week you make money is when the markets are trending ,but of course trend days are usually followed by consolidations/ ranging days.. In which case you will find it difficult to make money using that method. The answer is to only trade on the days when you see trending price action .. Or learn how to spot ranging days and change tack. In terms of my levels they are based on Taylor method and are calculated based on his method.. DC put me onto Taylor and I am very ever in his debt...it is not an easy method to learn, but with perseverance it is the best I have seen. I also use Market profile to calculate the value ranges for every day and I Mark them on my charts...the value area is very, very important is marks out the range tha 70 pc of the volume traded in a day. The highs and lows of this range make excellent support and resistance and you will often see consolidation patterns at the top and bottomsmwhich you can scalp...

I never trade breakouts...I always assume that for the first two hits my levels will provide support / resistance....

Stops are based on risk, reward...I want at least a 2x reward..my entry will always be at a point where I can easily judge when I am wrong.

I also Mark levels on ES.. If ES hits a key level, ftse will move too even if it is not at a key level....

The greatest skill you can learn is patience and you must always be thinking " where is price trying to get to?". Then...."how will it get there?"

You must have a system and have a positive expectancy..ie you know that out of every 10 trades 6 will be right and you will get at least 2 times risk , reward from those trades.

Thanks very much for this DJ.

I will have a little rethink...

 

[mazdaq100]

I also use that set up.. But only works best when Market is trending I.e going from one area of value to another.... It maybe that the week you make money is when the markets are trending ,but of course trend days are usually followed by consolidations/ ranging days.. In which case you will find it difficult to make money using that method. The answer is to only trade on the days when you see trending price action .. Or learn how to spot ranging days and change tack. In terms of my levels they are based on Taylor method and are calculated based on his method.. DC put me onto Taylor and I am very ever in his debt...it is not an easy method to learn, but with perseverance it is the best I have seen. I also use Market profile to calculate the value ranges for every day and I Mark them on my charts...the value area is very, very important is marks out the range tha 70 pc of the volume traded in a day. The highs and lows of this range make excellent support and resistance and you will often see consolidation patterns at the top and bottomsmwhich you can scalp...

I never trade breakouts...I always assume that for the first two hits my levels will provide support / resistance....

Stops are based on risk, reward...I want at least a 2x reward..my entry will always be at a point where I can easily judge when I am wrong.

I also Mark levels on ES.. If ES hits a key level, ftse will move too even if it is not at a key level....

The greatest skill you can learn is patience and you must always be thinking " where is price trying to get to?". Then...."how will it get there?"

You must have a system and have a positive expectancy..ie you know that out of every 10 trades 6 will be right and you will get at least 2 times risk , reward from those trades.

Hi DJ

Very useful thank you. Just wondering if you have read Mind Over Markets by Dalton? I've just been reading it this week as I realised Market Profile was something I needed to learn about. From what I've read so far, I'm beginning to see how useful Market Profile is and obviously you recognise it as a very important tool.

Can I ask what you base your value area calculation on - is it Cash or Futures? And if Futures, do you use a full day (ie 24 hours) as your range?

Taylor Trading Technique is the next book on my list.

Thanks.

 

[Sidekicker]

Still holding. Impressed with that. Its been hard work just getting down to this price.

Is this sarcasm? It has been down all the way from the daily 200MA on FTSE.

 

[Sidekicker]

Hi DJ

Very useful thank you. Just wondering if you have read Mind Over Markets by Dalton? I've just been reading it this week as I realised Market Profile was something I needed to learn about. From what I've read so far, I'm beginning to see how useful Market Profile is and obviously you recognise it as a very important tool.

Can I ask what you base your value area calculation on - is it Cash or Futures? And if Futures, do you use a full day (ie 24 hours) as your range?

Taylor Trading Technique is the next book on my list.

Thanks.

The problem with market profile, as I found, is that it is very difficult to pick which type of market it is just base don the open or the 1st 30mins. Market profile targets a return to the norm so you are always shorting the highs, or buying the lows. Nothing with that per se, but you will often find yourself in a trend day where you are constantly trading against the flow and it is recognising you are caught in this that is the problem.

 

[Splitlink]

The problem with market profile, as I found, is that it is very difficult to pick which type of market it is just base don the open or the 1st 30mins. Market profile targets a return to the norm so you are always shorting the highs, or buying the lows. Nothing with that per se, but you will often find yourself in a trend day where you are constantly trading against the flow and it is recognising you are caught in this that is the problem.

Right. And if you know how the market is trending, what use is MP? All you need is a bar chart and buy or sell the extremes. Which is what TRO does, although he is a scalper. Not that I am a follower of his method of trading but the principle is the same, surely?

 

[reksa]

Is this sarcasm? It has been down all the way from the daily 200MA on FTSE.

Ha ha. Not at all. I was impressed as I did not hold my short that long. Still got some shorts going but the bulk I have closed.

 

[neil]

Taylor technique?
Is their a url to bookseller?

 

[mazdaq100]

Taylor technique?
Is their a url to bookseller?

I got it from Amazon.com - cheaper than the UK site.

Amazon.com: The Taylor Trading Technique (9780934380249): George Douglass Taylor: Books

 

[DaddyJohn]

Hi DJ

Very useful thank you. Just wondering if you have read Mind Over Markets by Dalton? I've just been reading it this week as I realised Market Profile was something I needed to learn about. From what I've read so far, I'm beginning to see how useful Market Profile is and obviously you recognise it as a very important tool.

Can I ask what you base your value area calculation on - is it Cash or Futures? And if Futures, do you use a full day (ie 24 hours) as your range?

Taylor Trading Technique is the next book on my list.

Thanks.

Yes I have read the book..I have to admit that I only take the rudiments into account n trading...I.e the value range...what I am interested in is where the market is trying to go..is it pushing to a new range ? Or is is testing ? Market profile helps me to anticipate where the Market may push or range...but it cannot be used in isolation...it is one tool in many.

Thie key thing for me is that all traders need to find what works for them..I will not say ..yoummust use market profile... All I can tell you is what I use and how it helps me mentally to figure out the next potential move the Market may make.

To me the Market is a game of strategy , with various tactics to use..our job is to make choices with the tools we choose to deploy..and make decisions based on what tools and capital we have.

But you hive to keep it as simple as possible..Django only had two fingers but he was the best jazz guitarist of his generation.