Moving Average

[dbphoenix]

SMA: 3 and 8; crossovers. ( stop and reverse; always in the market )
SMA: 21 and 11: when prices breach both averages. ( plus other rules )
am moving towards just using price channels.
also look at pivots ( swing ) trading. ( as and when required )
also fibs. ( only trade in direction of major trend - trading about 50% of time )

have started to add Narrow-Range-7 day triggers to trading.

I prefer to use more than 1 system. That way, I have a "consensus" trading.

Even if one method becomes unprofitable, the others will "cover" the cost of the loss.
Very rarely have I been in a situation when ALL the trades have been losing.
for example, if the 11:21 SMA is losing me money short-term, the tighter 8:3 is making me money. overall, I can be profitable.

think of it as hedge-trading.

keep it simple.

In what way is all of this "simple"?

 

[trendie]

In what way is all of this "simple"?

I dont understand. In what way is it NOT simple ??

 

[bracke]

trendie

If this is simple I hope you don't get complicated.

You appear to be combining a number of factors which in themselves are not simple and may be considered to be methods in their own right eg Fibonacci.

You may consider that it is all simple and straight forward but remember that a number of us are not operating at your level and think it is complicated.

The above is not meant as a criticism but as a comment

Regards

bracke

 

[neil]

Traders do it without Indicators :cheesy:

 

[trendie]

trendie

If this is simple I hope you don't get complicated.

You appear to be combining a number of factors which in themselves are not simple and may be considered to be methods in their own right eg Fibonacci.

You may consider that it is all simple and straight forward but remember that a number of us are not operating at your level and think it is complicated.

The above is not meant as a criticism but as a comment

Regards

bracke

bracke, no criticism taken !
I tend to write faster than I can think !

What I mean is treat each as a separate strategy.

strat account 1: 8:3 SMA.

strat account 2: 21:11 SMA.

start 3: fibs. etc

What I wanted to put across was that I use each of these simple ideas alongside each other.
The effect of one does not affect the actions of the other.

I do not combine them - that would be complicated !!

Its like being able to bet on more than one horse in a race - although I dont like the analogy.

More often than not, I find that all strats make money.
But there are times when they lose. But it is rare when ALL of them lose at the same time.
Psychologically, I feel better. If one is losing, the others are winning, so I dont focus too much on the losers.Overall, they seem to be positive.

The strats are actually a bit more involved than the simple explanation.

Hope this clarifies what I meant.

 

[theknifemac]

Trendie

Are you trading these different systems in separate accounts, or are you trading them all together ? What I mean by this, is would you have a long position from one system and a short from another system open at the same time on the same stock / index ? Or can a signal from one system close a position opened from another one ?

Stew

 

[trendie]

Traders do it without Indicators :cheesy:

I am a mere beginner.
It is a long and winding path.
Soon, I hope to be as good as you.
Allow me my stabilisers while I learn.

 

[dbphoenix]

The effect of one does not affect the actions of the other.

Actually, since they are all dependent on the same price, they are all interconnected simultaneously. One may not affect another, but they are all affected by the same variable at the same time.

 

[trendie]

Trendie

Are you trading these different systems in separate accounts, or are you trading them all together ? What I mean by this, is would you have a long position from one system and a short from another system open at the same time on the same stock / index ? Or can a signal from one system close a position opened from another one ?

Stew

separate accounts - otherwise I will lose visibility of which is doing what !!

separated signals - one cannot trigger action on another - that would be complicated.

each are hermetically separated from each other.

yes - I could be short and long simultaneuosly - net result overall - null gain/loss.
( thats what I like, when the market is unsure/noisy, the combined effect is null ( slience!! ) )

when the market makes a definite move, they all eventually trigger in the same direction.

however, I am thinking of using the pivot high/lows as early warning signals to exit the MAs, as they seem significant.

Fibs are stand-alone.

hope this clarifies.

 

[theknifemac]

hope this clarifies.

It certainly does. Might be worth trying to combine the signals to avoid paying comms on both sides that end up being flat, though that probably depends on your holding period.

I'm finding it easier to combine the signals, as it makes the simulation side of things a lot easier to only ever have a maximum of one open position in each instrument.

Stew

 

[trendie]

It certainly does. Might be worth trying to combine the signals to avoid paying comms on both sides that end up being flat, though that probably depends on your holding period.

I'm finding it easier to combine the signals, as it makes the simulation side of things a lot easier to only ever have a maximum of one open position in each instrument.

Stew

I have got quite carried away with this thread - didnt realise I had written so much.

Take everything I say with a pinch of salt - and do your own tests.

I have reasons for doing this:
01: I lose discipline when a trade goes against me. I focus on that SINGLE losing trade.
I thought if I have several positions, and some are losing, and some are winning, I wouldnt have a SINGLE focus, I could view my trades as a group, and see the group effect, thus helping to diminish my focus on individual losses.

02:All I am doing is adding in parallel different techniques. Differetn techniques work better in some trading situations, and some in others. I want to be able to trade in any market conditions.

03: I use different MAs, so that when one MA has a choppy time of it, another MA in a diffferent time-frame sails through it because of the MA number.

04: my reasons to try these ideas are to overcome my psychological failings, not necessarily to make more money.

thanks for bearing with me.

 

[dbphoenix]

Since you're a beginner, your going through all this in order to insulate yourself from loss is understandable. But eventually you'll have to deal with that. Better now than later. Loss is, after all, unavoidable.

 

[Roberto]

Traders do it without Indicators :cheesy:

There is a view that using one or two MA's is about as close as most people want to get to trading without indicators, you know. I know that Socrates and Skimbleshanks trade by price and volume only, and Socrates' posts are invariably so impressive, stimulating and interesting that I sit up and take notice when he writes ... but ... and but ... and but ... it's not easy. (No, well, he never said it would be: quite the opposite, in fact).

I've got rid of many TA gadgets and am grafting a lot more to understand the markets I want to trade, but I still feel that in some ways a MA is just another way of looking at the price. It's determined by the price so simply and directly, you know ...

It can make things easier to see (or maybe sometimes harder? ... Am undecided on this point ...) ...

Maybe the important thing to realise when looking at MA's is that the price produces them, and not the other way round(?).

 

[dbphoenix]

Maybe the important thing to realise when looking at MA's is that the price produces them, and not the other way round(?).

You're on the verge of having an epiphany here.

MAs are moving trendlines. Period. They aren't indicators. They don't provide signals. They don't act as support or resistance. They're just trendlines. If you can get past all the MA myths and legends and relate what your MA is doing to the HrHs/Ls and LrHs/Ls that price is making (or not making), then you'll have a handy and useful little tool. Otherwise, you're just retarding your growth as a trader.

Having said all that, MAs and other indicators can be great when doing computerized scans, for example, MA XOs, which are essentially trendline XOs but a lot easier to program. Or if looking for stocks that are basing, the ADX is handy. But none of this has anything to do with actual trading, any more than using a flashlight to locate the can of nails in the dark means that one can then use the flashlight as a hammer to drive the nails.

 

[MX]

Moving averages are indicators, they can provide signals that can be backtested, they do show support and resistance and they can make you a lot of money if used correctly.
They can take the emotion out of trading by giving you a set of rules to trade by and take a lot of the noise out of the markets. They can be used in loads of different ways and if I only had one indicator in my tool box it would be MA's

All in my humble opion

Jeff

 

[c6ackp]

Victor

Pretty much anything can be used to generate your entry/exit signals: that includes MAs, fib, s/r, dates, full moon, etc. What's important is that you have done sufficient testing to ensure that your strategies work and they yield the risk/reward ratios required to make a profit. Do this manually or by using an automated back-testing system such as fxengines.com.

Regards
c6

 

[MX]

Can someone tell me how to post a chart

 

[dbphoenix]

Moving averages are indicators, they can provide signals that can be backtested, they do show support and resistance and they can make you a lot of money if used correctly.
They can take the emotion out of trading by giving you a set of rules to trade by and take a lot of the noise out of the markets. They can be used in loads of different ways and if I only had one indicator in my tool box it would be MA's

All in my humble opion

Jeff

If you like

 

[ardhill]

Can someone tell me how to post a chart

(1) Save your chart in a jpeg or gif format somewhere on your computer.
(2) Don't post from the box at the bottom of the thread, but click on the "Go Advanced" button.
(3) Type your message in the box then scroll down and click the "Manage Attachments" button.
(4) A new window will open, click "Browse" on the first brows button. You will noe be browsing on your computer. Find the image you want to attach, click on it, then click "Open"

The computer will upload the image and you will see the file path of the image on the box beside the "Browse" button.

If you want to upload another image, click the second "Browse" button and find the new image.

When you have finished with the images and your message and spell check, then press the "Submit Reply " button.

That should be you.

 

[bracke]

You're on the verge of having an epiphany here.

MAs are moving trendlines. Period. They aren't indicators. They don't provide signals. They don't act as support or resistance. They're just trendlines. If you can get past all the MA myths and legends and relate what your MA is doing to the HrHs/Ls and LrHs/Ls that price is making (or not making), then you'll have a handy and useful little tool. Otherwise, you're just retarding your growth as a trader.

Having said all that, MAs and other indicators can be great when doing computerized scans, for example, MA XOs, which are essentially trendline XOs but a lot easier to program. Or if looking for stocks that are basing, the ADX is handy. But none of this has anything to do with actual trading, any more than using a flashlight to locate the can of nails in the dark means that one can then use the flashlight as a hammer to drive the nails.

dbphoenix

I should probably know the answer to the following and maybe I do but I don't recognise it the way it is stated.

What does the following mean ?

"relate what your MA is doing to the HrHs/Ls and LrHs/Ls that price is making (or not making), then you'll have a handy and useful little tool. Otherwise, you're just retarding your growth as a trader."

Regards

bracke