fatdog1

I should explain that the reason I draw the trendlines is to mark off areas of support and resistance. The long trade will be exited when the price trades up to the yellow trendline and a short will be entered if the 60 minute candle closes above the dark red line.

I had an idea to use trendlines 1 tick above the previous bars value low area and 1 tick below the previous bars value high area to enter trades long and short as an automated system. I use Tradestation and I have tried several times to plot the trendlines. So far, no luck. I have to draw them in by hand. Here is a screen shot of the British Pound showing what happens when I try to draw the trendlines into the Tradestation Market Profile Activity Bar using Easy Language. It looks like a Gann fan. The second screen shot of the Euro shows the Tradestation color trendline strategy I use to enter using the manually drawn trendlines.

This is the best message board I have ever seen for traders. I hope it stays that way. I don't have time to post during the week, but I do like to read on the weekends. Thanks SoulTrader.

"Hammers are important because they show shifts in supply and demand." I agree with that statement but rather than look for hammers and inverted hammers, I look for the areas of supply and demand ahead of time that will cause the hammer and inverted hammer to form. Hammers occur when price reaches an area of demand. Inverted hammers occur when price reaches an area of supply. For example, a hammer will occur when the Russell trades down to the horizontal line at 777.00 which is an area where demand exceeded supply the last time price traded at this level. The first time price revisits this area of the imbalance, a hammer will be the result. The inverted hammer will occur the first time price revisits the 814.90 area which is an area where supply exceeded demand the last time price traded at that level. These two areas are the both areas that have not been revisited by price since the imbalance. The area of demand at 777.00 formed on 3-14-07 and the area of supply at 814.90 formed on 2-27-07. There is an area of demand at 782.50 that has been revisited twice on Friday and it did produced a hammer once already. Unfortunately, there is an area of supply directly above 782.50, so the bounce was very small. There are other areas of supply ahead of 814.90, but they have already been revisited and some of the supply at those levels have been absorbed.

Hi Texxas, I have a few triggers for entry based on candle patterns and volume that I use to enter in the automated strategy. Lately, the indexes and currencies are overshootting the places that I normally place the initial stop loss. It happens now and then and it takes the repeative part out until it settles down. Steve

HiTex and everyone else, Great thread Soultrader. Yes to the repetative trigger part, for sure. The problem is that sometimes the trigger needs an adjustment like adding a filter when the market is jumpy. I have noticed that my automated strategy has taken a ton of losses after entry due to the volatility recently. Premature exits also. When you see that happen, it is time to go back to the manual entries and work on adding a filter. Has anyone else noticed excessive slip lately? Have a good day, FD1

That is what a trend continuation move will look like on a MP. The people who trade with the Market Profile noticed the P and B shapes before trend continuation moves and have written articles about it. If the price hangs out near 792 on Wednesday, it will mean that the demand at that level is being absorbed. If there is a close on a 60 minute chart below 792 then the number of buyers has dropped to zero.

Hi Torero, I missed this post the first time, sorry: "How do you determine where the peak demand or supply is? From MP? Price-by-volume indicator?" I look for areas where there are imbalances in the supply demand equasion that are continuation areas in the current trend. Best way to describe this is a consolidation area preceeded by a up candle in a uptrend or a consolidation area preceeded by a down candle in a downtrend. Let's use the 787.36 - 786.77 demand area as an example. I opened the screen shot to see the area so as to describe the area and the potential long trades better from the picture. There is a small area of peak demand at 786.77 and also a breakout area at 787.36. This means there could potentially be a trade near the 787.36 breakout line and another near the 786.77 peak demand area as well. Since after we based for a period of time on 12-22-06 between 785.50 and 787.36 we then went higher, there were more buyers than sellers at that 787.36 level and therefore an imbalance in the supply demand equasion. The number of sellers dropped to zero at 787.37. That can be the only logical explaination for why prices traded higher. It stands to reason that there will be willing buyers left behind wanting to buy when price trades there in the future. I don't use MP and a volume indicator to determine that. I just use the candles. That big candle tells me there was a lot of demand at that price. "And how do you determine the low/high zone where to place your stop when you go long on peak demand area or short on peak supply area? " To determine where to place a stop loss, I look at the size of the area where supply and demand was in balance before the move higher and place a stop loss below the low of the area for a long. For a short near supply, I place the stop above the high of the consolidation area. I make the entry with either a limit order at the price where the imbalance occured if the area is peak demand, or a buy or sell stop if the area is not peak, or if it is a breakout of a trading range that formed after a sell off. " How do you make the entry? When momentum reverses in the opposite direction. Say, when and if it hits 787.6, do I wait for the next bar to go higher than the previous bar to go long? " Let's separate the two possible trades in the picture. I re-read my post from Sunday and looked at the picture and I amended the 787.60 price to 786.77 for the area of peak demand. I will use a limit order at 786.80 and my initial stop loss will be 785.40 for that trade. It is very possible that the price will turn higher when it hits the 787.36 breakout line. I will place a buy stop at 787.50 or 787.60 if that line is hit to catch the reversal and I will watch the tape for buyers. "The other question is, from last Friday's MP, I see a P shape, so this means that 792 is not absorbed yet but it's no longer peak demand area correct? " Correct. It is not absorbed until price closes below the 792 area on the 60 minute chart and it is not peak anymore. "Since we don't know what Wednesday's MP shape will be, we expect Wednesday to be in 792-799 action seeing Friday's MP shape?" There is no way to determine the shape of the Wednesday Profile from Friday's. If the price trades between 792 for the low and 799 for the high, it could be a normal profile if the price rotates in the middle of the range, or a P shape if the price hangs out near the 799 area of supply, or a B shape if the price returns to the low of the day and rotates there.

Very good question with a two part answer. Peak demand and supply is peak until the first time price revisits the area. There are areas of peak supply in the indexes like the S & P and Nasdaq from the bubble that have yet to be revisited. There will still be sellers when price revisits those levels. I find those areas on weekly and monthly charts. Even though the Dow and Russell are near all time highs, they won't be able to advance very far without the S & P and Nasdaq advancing as well, and they will sell off when the S & P or Nasdaq comes into a large enough area of supply. On the rise from the July lows, areas of peak demand formed that will produce bounces when the price revisits them in the future. There are also areas of peak demand from the 2002 lows that will produce bounces should the market ever test those lows. The second part of the answer is to determine who is in control of the market now and try to trade with them. The market is making new highs, so I am buying pullbacks to areas of peak demand as they form. Once the current uptrend ends, I will switch over to shorting pullbacks to areas of peak supply as they form. The first chance to find out if the uptrend is ending is when the Russell trades up to the 800 area which is a area of peak supply that has recently formed.

Torero, My trading style is simply this: I am a buyer at this price, I am a seller at this price. I use daily, weekly, 240, and 180 candlestick charts to find the big range areas of supply and demand that I expect the price to trade between. For the actual entries, I use a 60 minute candlestick chart to find the small range areas of supply and demand that I want to trade between by going long near demand and short near supply. Today is Monday, and I am planning to trade the Russell on Wednesday between 792 and 799 because the demand is near 792 and the supply is near 799. The areas I speak about have nothing to do with Market Profile at all. If the price trades between 792 and 799, the Wednesday Market Profile will automatically form between those two prices. I use the Market Profile to tell me if a range day or a trend day is likely by the shape and location of the bell curve and the POC. If a B shaped Profile forms near 792, then it is possible that a trend move lower could occur when the number of willing buyers drops to zero and a imbalance in the supply demand equaision occurs. The possibility of a trend move lower exists because the 792 demand area is not peak demand anymore. Peak supply and demand are areas that price has not revisited since the initial imbalance in the supply demand equaision. The 792 area was revisited on Friday afternoon. That was the highest odds, lowest risk long entry at 792. It also happens to be the bottom of the Market Profile from Friday. It was the area of peak demand which shut off the selling and forced the rotation higher before the close. I would still trade long again at 792, but, like you, I will now need confirmation before I enter a long trade. Like SoulTrader, I will use the tape before I enter to determine if there are buyers left at 792. If the range is extended lower, I would next be a buyer near 786.77 which is the next area of peak demand. I don't need confirmation to enter long here. My first target would be 792 where an imbalance in supply and demand will have occured if we trade below 792. I won't short 792 since the areas of supply and demand are close together, but I will move my stop to even on the rest of my position in case price revisits the 786.77 area. I will still be a seller near 799 which is peak supply if it is reached on Wednesday or any other day as long as the distance between the areas of supply and demand are at least 3 to 1 at the time that price revisits 799. Hope this helps.

Torero, My observations on the areas of supply and demand for the Russell are below. The daily Market Profile will form on Wednesday between these areas. That is the extent of my expertise in using the Market Profile. I use the Profile to observe what kind of bell curve forms, and where it forms so as to guage the likelyhood of a trend move once an area supporting or resisting the Profile is absorbed. For instance, on the Russell, I am looking for the area at 792.20 to act as support on Wednesday morning. The Russell has been in the area of demand at 792.00 already on Friday afternoon and it bounced 4 points off the low before selling back down near the day's low by the close. It is possible on a selloff that the Russell could extend the range down to 790.40 which is a breakout line out of a trading range from the 21st and 22nd of December. I don't trade pullbacks to breakout lines that occur far away from the point of imbalance which is 786.77. There are no guarantees that there will be willing buyers that far away from the actual area of demand. The tape would have to get real positive near the 790.40 area for me to take a long trade there for confirmation. It is possible that the Russell could visit the area in the premarket too. If the Russell rotates back up to the 792.00 area after touching 790.40 in the premarket, I would be interested in a long position using the tape. The next breakout line at 787.36 is very near to the point of imbalance at 786.77. If there is an extreme selloff on Wednesday, that is the next place I will establish a long position without confirmation. On the top, I am looking for the Russell to trade up to the 799.60 -800.00 area. I will reverse to a short once that area is reached since it is the first time back to the area of supply. My first target is 792.00. A couple of possibilities for the future. Once both areas at 792.00 and 799.60 are touched, (792.00 has been already) we will see if a downtrend will begin, or if the Russell will again trade near the area of supply and form a P shaped bell curve indicating a move to the old highs. However, a B shaped bell curve near 792.00 means we visit the 786.77 area, and I hang on to the rest of my short.

Hi everyone, I want to add a bit to the discussion if I may. I am a discretionary trader only because I am not able to code what I do. I totally agree with Ant about the entry being as early as possible so as to reduce the initial risk. I also agree that with my method automated, I will miss many entries because the price will not reach the area exactly where I have my entry order placed. Mostly, a different index will reach an area of demand or supply and turn and take the rest of the indexes along with it. That happened at the end of the day with the S & P's. My entries are in areas of supply and demand which is price based only. Since it is price based, it does not lag or require math formulas. I am able to find areas where price will turn consistantly with no doubt in my mind that until the area is absorbed, the laws of supply and demand will force the vertical move to cease, and the horizontal move to absorb the area to begin. In fact, I can post a Tradestation chart of any market you wish with areas of supply and demand marked off with horizontal lines with alerts. You will be able to observe in real time the market trade between the areas of supply and demand until either the supply is absorbed and the price moves higher, or the demand is absorbed and the price moves lower. I will have additional areas of each marked off on the chart for when the original areas are absorbed. When price reaches the next area, the new trading range will be established. If you can combine the Market Profile with what I do, it will lead to a more robust trading system. You will know when a trend day or a range day is likely by how many times price visits a level on either end of the Profile. The first time to an area is the highest odds, lowest risk trade. The more times a price visits a level of demand, the odds are reduced that there will be willing buyers at that level and the same for sellers at areas of supply. Once the area is absorbed, price moves on to the next area. The Market Profile shows these areas as vertical moves or horizontal rotations. In addition, P shaped rotations are near areas of supply being absorbed, and B shaped rotations are near areas of demand being absorbed. Put the two together, and watch what happens to the Profile when the price reaches the areas I mark off. If it is the first time, it should be a normal bell curve Profile. If it is the second or third time, watch for the area to be absorbed by the shape of the Profile. I have a screen shot of the S & P's below. I can't post a TS workspace here. If someone here can help me code the patterns, then the lines could be added to the chart like the HVA and LVA are now. Happy New Year everyone, FD1

Torero, Perfect example of the stage 3 top. The best part is it is shortable the first time back to it no matter when that happens. I am shorting those patterns in @NQ and @ES from 2002.

Depends on the firm. If the firm is into training new people, they are sharing in the commissions, the desk fees, a portion of the profits, software fees, ect. They will hire anything with a pulse until they blow out the deposit and leave, or deposit more and stay. You want a job at Goldman so you can share in the billion dollar bonus if you have a track record, lol.

I am looking at the 180 minute @YM chart for today. I am going to post the screen shot of the chart below. There is going to be a economoc release later this morning which will complete this pattern one way or another. I have adapted the method that Stan Weinstein wrote about in his book Secrets For Profiting in Bull or Bear Markets. In the book, Mr. Weinstein describes the 4 stages of the market. Here is a screen shot of the 4 stages. In the book, Mr. Weinstein briefly mentions buying and shorting pullbacks to the breakout and breakdown areas, and the possibility of a continuation patterns. That is the picture on the 180 @YM chart for today. There is a stage 1 or stage 3 trading range between 12,500 and 12,512. It will be a stage 1 if the Dow rallies past 512 and the 180 candle closes above 512. It will be a stage 3 if the Dow declines below 503 and the 180 candle closes below 503. The current candle closes at 6:15 Central and the economic data is released at 7:30 AM Central, so that will be the candle where the action takes place. Even if the news is good, the party ends at 12,545 until the area of supply between 12,545 and 12,566 is absorbed. If there is a decline after a rally, the 12,512 area will produce a bounce the first time it is revisited, and my range for today is 12,512 to 12,545. If there is a decline and no rally, the 12,472 area may produce a bounce if it holds as the trading range bottom on a daily chart between 12472 and the old high, or the next area for a bounce is down near 12,437. On a daily chart, a push down to that area could be a long tail on today's chart if we close back near 12,475. That's my contribution to the @YM group for today. Using the Market Profile in addition to this information and the tape will be interesting to watch as to the possibility of range extension, failed breakouts, ect. I would love to be able to code it and lay it on top of the Market Profile lines that Ant coded for you. Merry Christmas, FD1