Point & Figure - A Dying Art?

zambuck said:
Hi

It is very good charting site indeed......but couldn't see the P & F charts.....

Could you please give more details or link to the charts..?
put up a chart.say vodafone daily.a line chart,then dlick on chart properties and you will see candle/bar/pf/renko etc.you have the choice of % or arithmetic box size.close or h/l etc
 
Hi folks,
just spotted this thread.

Stockcharts.com do some nice p&f charts for EOD, dow+stocks etc.

Also quotracker.com free charting package (pay for feed+exchanges)
offers very nice p&f charts EOD and intraday.

I like p&f for clarity of signals + targets.
The last couple of days offerd some nice breakout setups towards the end of the day.
Nice how you can estimate target prices (T) from horizontal count (C).
Doesn't always work of course:-

Beware whipswas!! ; some earlier signals Yesterday were good examples, see if you can spot them!

Chart is 3 box reversal 5pts per box...works for me :D
 

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P&F and Time

On another thread, a 1 hour P&F chart was posted which caused some confusion given that P&F charts don't represent time along the x axis in the way that most other charts do. So, where does the time aspect come in?

This is an interesting point and, as the thread in question was not about P&F, it seemed appropriate to re-activate this old thread to expand further on the topic here. With the exception of tick charts, all P&F charts have a time-frame. It matters not a jot what that time frame is, be it 1 minute, 1 hour or 1 day, the basic principles of the P&F method apply to each and every one of them. I'll do my best to explain . . .

Imagine a chart - say a 1 hour chart - in which the current column comprises blue 'X's denoting that price is rising. If, during the hour the price rises by the value of one full box, then a new blue X will be added to the top of the column when the chart updates at the end of the hour. The really important point to note is that the chart will record this even if, during the course of the hour, price has waterfalled to zero and then risen back up again! The reversal will NOT be recorded on the chart. Now let's zoom in to a 15 minute chart examining the first quarter period of the same instrument. Currently, like the 1 hour chart, this also has a column of rising blue 'X's. For the sake of argument, let's say price falls by the value of at least 3 full boxes. (This is a 3 box reversal chart.) However, although price starts to recover within the 15 minute timeframe, it doesn't quite manage to move up above the highest blue X by the value of one full box. When the chart updates at the end of the 15 minute period, it will print a new column of falling red 'O's, indicating a three box reversal has taken place.

The timeframe of a chart will produce very different results, even if all other variables remain the same. Given that you can not only adjust the timeframe of the chart but also the the box size and the reversal amount, the possible variations on P&F charts is virtually limitless. If you don't know exactly what you want your chart to show and how to utilise the information it yields, this vast choice might not be a good thing. On the other hand, if you know what you want, why you want it and how to use it once you've got it, well . . . :)

Tim.
(BTW, I'm not trying to present myself as an expert on the P&F charting method; I'm anything but! However, I am interested in it and am keen to stimulate discussion between other users and prospective devotees.)
 
Last edited:
Timsk,

I seem to remember from the du Plessis 'bible' that the ideal point and figure chart would be constructed from tick data simply because you'd then capture everything that happened during the day, and not just the closing level. Of course this also has an implication for 'time' because tick data doesn't have time as a factor either, in the same way that P&F ignores it.

Well done for resurrecting this thread. Although I've always struggled to make P&F work, I've always thought the problem lies with me rather than the method!
 
Thanks

virtually limitless. If you don't know exactly what you want your chart to show and how to utilise the information it yields, this vast choice might not be a good thing. On the other hand, if you know what you want, why you want it and how to use it once you've got it, well . . . :)

Tim.
(BTW, I'm not trying to present myself as an expert on the P&F charting method; I'm anything but! However, I am interested in it and am keen to stimulate discussion between other users and prospective devotees.)[/QUOTE]

Hi Timsk,

Thanks for that, much appreciated, think i am in traditional camp defo :LOL:

because quoted paragraph describes me perfect :eek: so I"ll stick with what I don't no and hope for the best.

I used to use them for intra day trading when I 1st started and sb charts were pants, 5 point box size on ftse, it worked real well, you could see all the days / week at a glance.

only problem was it gave me eye ache squinting at the price :eek:

Subscription to sharescope required :D

Cheers for taking time to post, much appreciated.
 
Timsk,

I seem to remember from the du Plessis 'bible' that the ideal point and figure chart would be constructed from tick data simply because you'd then capture everything that happened during the day, and not just the closing level. Of course this also has an implication for 'time' because tick data doesn't have time as a factor either, in the same way that P&F ignores it.

Well done for resurrecting this thread. Although I've always struggled to make P&F work, I've always thought the problem lies with me rather than the method!

Hi Jack,

Thats what I think , if you mess with original idea , well I can"t work it out but see above post, it took me a long time to adjust to bar charts, and I still don"t think they are as good.

Tried looking at them in various sizes on sites that draw them for you but its not the same, don"t no why, just not. :?:

You do them manual of the ticks and they sort of stick in your brain. :eek:
 
time,the big question,surely the answer is trade the chart,whatever TF you are looking at.
this chart is saying a lot to me.just my opinion.i thought i would chuck this in the mix.
1 support @ 13860
2 res @ 13930
3 we are on a sell signal
4 if it prints 13825 we are going to 13683
 

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Where to find closing prices for a selection of futures and currencies?

Hi all,

I'm glad I found a point and figure charting thread. I've seen a Dorsey video and I was struck by something he said: you can monitor 20 markets in 5 minutes a day. I'd love to do that but I've got a problem: can't find a site where I can get closing prices for a selection of futures and currencies. does anyone know of a website where you can pick up prices for stocks, futures and currencies by sticking a bunch of markets on a watchlist??

I've looked everywhere on the net and I can't find any free service that offers that. Any help with that would be infinitely appreciated.
 
prorealtime .com might help you out
 

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prorealtime .com might help you out

No, I've been on it and the free stuff on there does not display closing prices. I don't understand this, I've got accounts with 3 spread betting companies and not one of these providers has a complete listing of opening, high, low, closing prices. How difficult can it be to provide that service?? Grrrr.....
 
Does anyone know if MetaTrader provide P/F charts? If not, do you know any add-on for it?
 
No, I've been on it and the free stuff on there does not display closing prices. I don't understand this, I've got accounts with 3 spread betting companies and not one of these providers has a complete listing of opening, high, low, closing prices. How difficult can it be to provide that service?? Grrrr.....

How about Yahoo!? You have to do it share by share, but if you have a selection prepared it might be of use.


ADMIRAL GROUP Share Price Stock, Quote | ADM.L | GB00B02J6398 | Yahoo! Finance UK

Split
 
Like you I cut my P&F teeth on Jeremy du Plessis's book.
I'm not very experienced at computer operation but I am prepared to trade home made P&F charts in Excel with you if you let me have your e-mail address. I can just about manage to send them as an attachment.
I'll look out for your response...............B.
 
Hi New2tradeanalysis,
Welcome to T2W and thanks for your offer.
P&F charts are widely available on most charting packages these days, usually with all sorts of added features that would be tricky to replicate in a programme like Excel. Many of these are free too for end of day prices, such as the one I use: www.ProRealTime.com
Tim.
 
Hi New2tradeanalysis,
Welcome to T2W and thanks for your offer.
P&F charts are widely available on most charting packages these days, usually with all sorts of added features that would be tricky to replicate in a programme like Excel. Many of these are free too for end of day prices, such as the one I use: ProRealTime : Real Time Technical Analysis Software
Tim.

Thank you Tim,

I'll check out the Web site you use............B.
 
Re: P&F and Time

On another thread, a 1 hour P&F chart was posted which caused some confusion given that P&F charts don't represent time along the x axis in the way that most other charts do. So, where does the time aspect come in?

This is an interesting point and, as the thread in question was not about P&F, it seemed appropriate to re-activate this old thread to expand further on the topic here. With the exception of tick charts, all P&F charts have a time-frame. It matters not a jot what that time frame is, be it 1 minute, 1 hour or 1 day, the basic principles of the P&F method apply to each and every one of them. I'll do my best to explain . . .

Imagine a chart - say a 1 hour chart - in which the current column comprises blue 'X's denoting that price is rising. If, during the hour the price rises by the value of one full box, then a new blue X will be added to the top of the column when the chart updates at the end of the hour. The really important point to note is that the chart will record this even if, during the course of the hour, price has waterfalled to zero and then risen back up again! The reversal will NOT be recorded on the chart. Now let's zoom in to a 15 minute chart examining the first quarter period of the same instrument. Currently, like the 1 hour chart, this also has a column of rising blue 'X's. For the sake of argument, let's say price falls by the value of at least 3 full boxes. (This is a 3 box reversal chart.) However, although price starts to recover within the 15 minute timeframe, it doesn't quite manage to move up above the highest blue X by the value of one full box. When the chart updates at the end of the 15 minute period, it will print a new column of falling red 'O's, indicating a three box reversal has taken place.

The timeframe of a chart will produce very different results, even if all other variables remain the same. Given that you can not only adjust the timeframe of the chart but also the the box size and the reversal amount, the possible variations on P&F charts is virtually limitless. If you don't know exactly what you want your chart to show and how to utilise the information it yields, this vast choice might not be a good thing. On the other hand, if you know what you want, why you want it and how to use it once you've got it, well . . . :)

Tim.
(BTW, I'm not trying to present myself as an expert on the P&F charting method; I'm anything but! However, I am interested in it and am keen to stimulate discussion between other users and prospective devotees.)

This is a very interesting view of how to use PnF charts. And the answer is really just around your trading objectives. If you are a day trader, you would like to filter out the excessive tick noise by choosing to use 1, 2,3 or 5 minute bars as input for the point and figure charting program, while also adjusting box size. Dentist, whose thread, on the subject of PnF, has demonstrated the use of such adjustments quite effectively. The challenge really is in the implementation of such as setup, given that there are not too many good PnF charting platforms.

I have done this by using script automation to output text files of data from one charting program that spews out data at frequencies which can be as little as 15 seconds which is used by the PnF charting softare. That works pretty well.
 
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