WHY?

I would like to make some comments here concerning how Taylor would have seen the price action today by Richbois count being an SS day. Finally, what he most likely would have done. Today was a failure to penetrate early in the session. However there was an immediate decline so why not short this decline?? Taylor says you have to recognize such action and trade on it even though it is a difficult trade to make many times it is very profitable. The key is knowing when to put out the short sell. This requires some tape reading skills. But in this case one would NOT short on 2-5-09. Why?
 
First, I take a few quotes out of his book concerning failures to penetrate the objective.
 
 
"In the beginning it might be well to study these failures to penetrate and the results of them before buying or short selling but you have got to recognize this action and trade on it, for while it is a most difficult ‘play’, at the same time many of the most profitable moves take place from failures to penetrate at both tops and bottoms. The failures to penetrate Buying or Selling Objectives are not exceptions to our method of trading, for a little study of the past movements of stocks and commodity futures will reveal that this action takes place approximately 40% of the time on an average, at either of these points, therefore, this movement is a very definite part of the method as a whole."
 
"When a stock makes a high FIRST on a Selling Day with a penetration of the Buying Day High, then reacts and is selling nearer the low of the day at the close, the indications are for a lower opening on the Short Sale Day. Should the lower opening occur, after the decline the stock or future will make an attempt to rally, in most cases, and this rally will penetrate the—High of Selling Day—if the immediate trend is higher, however, should the rally fail to reach this Objective and at the top of this rally the activity dies out and the trading narrows down to a few transactions at about the same price, then begins to ‘sell off’, we would ‘put out’ a short sale on this declining trend and J-U-S-T as it starts."
Quotes from p 46 The Taylor Trading Technique.
 
Now a quote about price action on an SS day
 
"We try to make all short sales on the high made FIRST on penetrations of—Selling Day Highs—‘This is the most favorable action for your play’—we would not ‘put out’ a short sale where the stock or future opened down and declined future, without a rally, for this action would carry the implications that rally, should it start later in the session, may cause the closing price to be up near the high of the day and this would be making the high LAST on a Short Sale Day, indicating a 46 future rally, and an up-opening but where the stock opened at the same price as the previous close and declined early in the session and then rallied higher than the opening price or for a penetration of the Selling Day High—we would ‘put out’ a short sale just as this rally began to exhaust itself after the penetration. This action is not as favorable to our trade as the above." P 39 The Taylor Trading Technique.
 
In summary, when there was no decline followed by a rally that failed to penetrate it is best to pass by the short. While one "could" have shorted and come out ok today in many cases one would get caught in the cross currents. Thus Taylor would have probably passed by shorting today right after the open.
 
Now taking the count as Elovemer did it was a buy day. First, some Taylor quotes from his book The Taylor Trading Technique
 
"The Short Sale Day Low is our point to watch and we watch for it to be reached or for the price to sell under this point, since this is where we buy our long stock." p28
 
Since today was a buy day by Elovemer count then yesterday 2-4-09 was an SS day. It is very important to watch the close oin the SS day to judge where you will probably be buying your long at on the next day. In this case the low close on the SS day 2-04-09 indicated a further decline on the next day 2-5. So one wouold be expecting to buy probably go long on a lower low than the previous days low made on 2-4.
 
"Now, we go back to the close of the Short Sale Day and we find that it was a ‘flat’ closing, then from this indication we expect a lower opening on the Buying Day and so far this would cause the low to be made FIRST and is a stronger indication when made early in the session that a rally would start from this low and hold the gains for a strong closing" p28
 
"On a Buying Day when the stock rallies from the low and the gain in points is sufficiently large, we sell out on the same day."p27
 
"The Buying Day—for our long stock provided the decline ends at or near this low but we can with reasonable certainty figure whether this low will be our buying ‘spot’ or if we may not expect further concessions to buy on and we get this indication from the way the stock closes on the Short Sale Day. We get this indication by watching the close and whether prices are up or down, that is down from the high of day or up from the low of day, weak or strong. Remember, we are watching the prices on a Short Sale Day trying to anticipate the coming point at which we can buy or go ‘long’" p 27
 
What would Taylor have done on 2-5-09 if the count said it was a buying day? First, he would have taken note of the close on the previous day (ss day) and seeing it close weak he would have expected the decline to continue on down after the open on 2-5. Therefore, he would have waited and as the tape indicated the decline was stopping he would have went long. Within an hour or so of the opening he would have been long and probably flat by the close today 2-5 with a good gain.