Trading the opening GAPS

[cu2]

Anyone out there trading the opening gaps in the AM.
That is my favorite.

1. I don't over trade
2. I have more time for other things
3. It is profitable - should I say for 5%

Would Iove to here any success stories or bad experiances.

Here's mine!
I am stuck by having read so many bad things about ripe off brokers, that I am not game to play live anymore. My system was excellent for over 6 months using 1min and hourly charts on a full demo account. The software is excellent and free and there is no difference on Demo or live account. But at that moment I went live on it ......................it

 

[mark2]

I had high success rate when I trade the morning Gap in the US ( with real money). you mentioned that you got 5% profitable for the morning gap... wow.. that's huge !! My targets are usually less than 1% for index and ETFs. I use a little different morning gap approach for individual stock which will give me around 2% target.

For me, morning gap trades is one of the most essential strategies I am using...and they contribute big portion to my day trade profits.

 

[rathcoole_exile]

yes, it's something i trade every day, or i should say whenever a suitable opportunity presents itself.
maybe 6 days out of 10 with a success rate of 4 or 5 per 6 trades

 

[cu2]

Sounds good

yes, it's something i trade every day, or i should say whenever a suitable opportunity presents itself.
maybe 6 days out of 10 with a success rate of 4 or 5 per 6 trades

Way to go are you trading stocks or futures? US or ?
After my experiance I gave up with futures or should I say CFD's, where I ended up loosing when going live on it. Someone told me that I was playing with fire, playing opening gaps always tend to go bad in the long run. Nevertheless I still believe in it, just need a mentor to show me that it can be done.

My experiance with swing trading and stocks was the most successful up until march. 2007 where I ended up packing it in as my targets weren't being reached, so it was becoming too dangerous for me.

 

[rathcoole_exile]

Way to go are you trading stocks or futures? US or ?
After my experiance I gave up with futures or should I say CFD's, where I ended up loosing when going live on it. Someone told me that I was playing with fire, playing opening gaps always tend to go bad in the long run. Nevertheless I still believe in it, just need a mentor to show me that it can be done.

My experiance with swing trading and stocks was the most successful up until march. 2007 where I ended up packing it in as my targets weren't being reached, so it was becoming too dangerous for me.

i trade the Gap on the YM and/or ES.
To reduce losing trades, I suggest, imho, to use it in conjunction with
a) Pivot Points
b) Main trend, ie if the trend is Up, and the Gap is Up, DO NOT try to fade the short back to close the Gap. However if the trend is Up and the Gap is Down, I feel safer fading the Gap Long as the closure is moving in the direction of the trend anyway
c) I usually enter all my trades on BuyStop or Sell Stop signal. eg, if the down Gap is -22 YM points away from yesterday's close, I'll put a BuyStop in at say -20
d) consider taking half you profits at the 50% mark, eg if the gap is -22 points, close one lot at 11 points pprofit and move Safety Stop to B/E

good luck, hope it helps, garry

 

[jerry828]

i trade the Gap on the YM and/or ES.
To reduce losing trades, I suggest, imho, to use it in conjunction with
a) Pivot Points
b) Main trend, ie if the trend is Up, and the Gap is Up, DO NOT try to fade the short back to close the Gap. However if the trend is Up and the Gap is Down, I feel safer fading the Gap Long as the closure is moving in the direction of the trend anyway
c) I usually enter all my trades on BuyStop or Sell Stop signal. eg, if the down Gap is -22 YM points away from yesterday's close, I'll put a BuyStop in at say -20
d) consider taking half you profits at the 50% mark, eg if the gap is -22 points, close one lot at 11 points pprofit and move Safety Stop to B/E

good luck, hope it helps, garry

Agree with the above. Most big trend days start off with a gap that will never close. Check what was happening the previous days, what are the odds for continuation? Also, I would like would like to see some signs of sup/res working for me before I get into any kind of trade, may it be previous levels, buy/sell pressure or MMs taking my side.

 

[cu2]

Good tips!

Thanks for the tips guys. That gives me a better way to trade the gap with a little bit more saftey. Are you guys trading real futures or do you have spread betting accounts?

 

[rathcoole_exile]

Thanks for the tips guys. That gives me a better way to trade the gap with a little bit more saftey. Are you guys trading real futures or do you have spread betting accounts?

i mostly use tradestation for swing trades and infinityfutures for scalps and gap plays

 

[jerry828]

Thanks for the tips guys. That gives me a better way to trade the gap with a little bit more saftey. Are you guys trading real futures or do you have spread betting accounts?

I am trading Eurex and Globex futures, never did SB.
I'm currently with a European broker that offers much better margins on Eurex than all the US brokers I've used so far, PM me if you want more info.

 

[Trader1UK]

Could you recommend the European broker Jerry828?

Thanks

 

[jerry828]

Could you recommend the European broker Jerry828?

Thanks

I am currently with Berkeley Futures, which offer eustoxx/bund with about 700 EUR margin per lot. Excellent service and execution, you will probably need a seperate data feed though (e.g. DTN).

 

[james 123]

I use a little different morning gap approach path for individual stock which will give me around 2% target.
__________________________________
james
Paddy power online sport betting review, freebet offers. Paddypower.com site

 

[Omoh101]

Can you trade gaps via spreadbets?

 

[Sunshine On Leith]

Agree with the above. Most big trend days start off with a gap that will never close. Check what was happening the previous days, what are the odds for continuation? Also, I would like would like to see some signs of sup/res working for me before I get into any kind of trade, may it be previous levels, buy/sell pressure or MMs taking my side.

I look to trade the gaps on the european indices with a current succesful trade ratio of 73%.

I trade about every 4 days out of 5 so this is a nicely profitable strategy but every now and again a big trend day comes along and smashes me. I would love to cut these out but Ive been struggling to find a way of predicting them, can I ask what you look for the previous day to give you a hint of a big trend day following a gap?

 

[Sunshine On Leith]

Can you trade gaps via spreadbets?

Yes I dont see any reason why not.