Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,014 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,474 given,
98,319
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BIG MIKE TRADING 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
THIS THREAD WILL BE FOR THE PRIZES "FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPIES OF AL BROOKS' BOOK: READING PRICE CHARTS BAR BY BAR: A TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF PRICE ACTION FOR THE SERIOUS TRADER". WE WILL BE GIVING AWAY FIVE (5) COPIES OF THIS BOOK IN TOTAL.
As mentioned in the main thread here, our 1-year anniversary is this June and to celebrate we are giving away over $4,000 worth of prizes!
futures.io (formerly BMT) owes its success in large part to you. Over the past year, you guys have contributed great content to the site... and in that spirit, we are going to ask you contribute just a little bit more in order to win this prize!
To enter the drawing, simply post a reply to this thread. Important: your reply needs to be creative! Don't just reply with something plain or basic. There is no particular topic that we are going to specify for you, but the prizes will be awarded based on the creativity of your reply to this thread. In other words, the better your reply is, the more likely it will be selected as the winner. Please don't ask for guidance, we are leaving this up to your judgment and asking you to be creative!
Eligibility and rules:
- You must be a registered member (it's free, it just means you've signed up and created a username on our site).
- You must be in the Continental USA for Big Mike Trading to cover the shipping cost of mailing the book to you. If you are outside the Continental USA, you should not enter this contest unless you are willing to PayPal us the cost of shipping the book to you via the USPS.
- You may enter only once per prize/thread (once for this exact prize). You can enter to win the other prizes in the other threads as well, but you can only win the exact same prize once. It is possible that you win more than one different prize from more than one thread.
- There will be no substitutions of prizes. If you do not wish to accept the prize, it will be forfeit.
- The moderating staff at futures.io (formerly BMT) will select the winners. Again, the winners will be selected based on the creativity of the reply. In the event of a tie, Big Mike will make the final decision. Big Mike has the final say over the outcome of the drawing and the awarding of all prizes.
YOUR ENTRY (REPLY) MUST BE RECEIVED BY JUNE 25TH 2010.
WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS BETWEEN JUNE 26TH AND JUNE 30TH.
Really looking forward to bloging on the futures.io (formerly BMT) site. Trading so far to be a rather isolated career endevor. Sure you have those wanta be broker friends that know you as their cyber meal ticket... and then there's all the dream merchants out their who want a piece of your account. Gesh, I'm finding it hard to relate to real people these days and hope futures.io (formerly BMT) will lead to some meaningful productive dialog once more.
Any independents with 2yrs+ into trading futs is some one I'd like to melt minds with!
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,014 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,474 given,
98,319
received
Just a reminder, from post #1...
To enter the drawing, simply post a reply to this thread. Important: your reply needs to be creative! Don't just reply with something plain or basic. There is no particular topic that we are going to specify for you, but the prizes will be awarded based on the creativity of your reply to this thread. In other words, the better your reply is, the more likely it will be selected as the winner. Please don't ask for guidance, we are leaving this up to your judgment and asking you to be creative!
The subject says it all, the study of the relationship between the current price and previous price while taking into consideration
the volume and speed of trades. It is simple in concept yet complex in practice because of the sheer number of changes that
relentlessly occur. This aspect continually alters the market reader’s perspective. But this is the most important aspect of
Price Action Analysis, the edge that it provides, reading what the market is doing in real time.
To illustrate this point, consider a single trade of a single unit of an instrument. One basic construct we all know is there
must always be a buyer and a seller. If the price paid by the buyer is more than the price asked by the seller, price goes up.
And, if the price paid by the buyer is lower than the price asked by the seller, price goes down. So what do you know from
analyzing this single transaction just using this single basic construct?
You now know that buyers are willing to buy at the sales price.
You now know sellers are willing to sell at the sales price.
You now know the price where someone owns a unit of the instrument.
You now know a direction price is heading.
You now have an idea of how long it took for the buyer to take action.
Now, consider the very next moment in time where you and another trader, who did not look at the
previous trade, are contemplating entering the market. Given the simple knowledge you gained from
your analysis of the previous trade you have an edge over this trader – you know the direction of the market, you
know the momentum of the market, you know where buyers and sellers are located - all of this based on the
single, basic construct of Price Action Analysis used in this example.
I have heard the following quote a bazillion times “being consistently profitable is how you win at trading.”
I submit that any advantage or edge, used correctly, should help you obtain consistency.
Yes there is more to Price Action Analysis, so much more. Yet to me, all of it is based on simple, logical
constructs. To exemplify further, it is widely known and accepted to use the 5 minute chart for day trading.
Furthermore, because of common practice, protective stops and entries are placed 1 tick beyond the
extremes of signal bars. What advantages do you gain applying simple Price Action Analysis to 5 minutes
time periods, incorporating these additional constructs into your analysis?
You know where, given the appropriate market context, buyers should be buying and
sellers should be selling - 1 tick beyond the extremes, You can ride the actions of these traders
to consistency, specifically trapped traders
You know based on the tails of the bar, how bullish the bulls are or how bearish the bears are
- If the tails are long, the other side pushed it back, if the tails are short or nonexistent that
side is in control. If they are even, market context will indicate which side is control.
You know the size of the bars relative to previous bars - Is this move climatic, a break out,
occurring at common news times – do you expect more or less from this move, what
happened the last time this occurred?
If you were watching the construction of the bar, you know how price behaves as it hit
certain levels of price – for example round values such as 0, 5, 10, 25, etc.. - Did or will Price
Action pick up or slow down as it approaches 1100 - most people like seeing or are attracted
to round numbers. For example is 1098.75 close enough to 1100? If your answer is yes I will
gladly take the remaining 1.25 points from you as profit.
And if you were watching, how did price behave as it approached or bounced off established
points of interest such as 1 tick beyond the bar extremes of previous bars or say, the open of
the day, yesterday’s close, a previous swing high, swing lows, trend lines, trend channel lines,
protective stops, weekly highs, etc… etc… etc... - What happened to price after yesterdays mid
day market low when it finally approached the opening price, for the first time in the session?
–Price is doing the same thing again today and is approaching the opening price, what
do I expect to occur? THINK - Can I scalp out a profit or will this run big with multiple swings?
Price Action Analysis is simple, in theory. But then again so is a single snow flake. If 100 tons
of simple snowflakes come crashing down on you in a climatic avalanche, you and your account
can be wiped out in seconds.
To make things even more interesting, consider that at any given time there are literally
thousands and thousands of other traders looking at the same data you are using different
techniques, high speed super computer programs, Holy Grail processes, different timeframes,
even chart types. What you see as a buy entry is absolutely someone else’s sell entry. The stop and
profit targets from these other points of view add variance to the analysis. Price Action Analysis is
more akin to Quantum Physics instead of Newtonian Physics - given certain circumstances
“price should behave like this instead of that”, as opposed to, “if I see price do this it will do the following”.
To the random observer, Price Action Analysis may appear more of an art than a science, but if you
loosen up and embrace the constructs, patterns emerge. I believe the state of mind during such analysis
needs to be similar to the state of mind required to view 3d stereo graph images. To see such images I
need to focus yet let my sub conscious mind churn on the data, then and only then does the pattern appear.
Your sub conscious mind knows how to process visual data and eventually settles on an outcome which is
when the image appears. With Price Action Analysis, you need to teach your sub conscious mind to churn on the
simple constructs in order to visualize or read what the market is doing in real time.
The Price Action Analysis edge provides you with an ability to read what the market is doing right now. It provides
you with a methodology to categorize what is occurring in real time so you can take action in real time. There are
numerous simple constructs or points of view to consider. The best way to learn this approach is to first master
one of them and then move onto mastering the next; solidly and confidently building up your repertoire. The
Price Action Analysis edge provides a focus and confidence, which used correctly, many times more than not, offers a winning advantage.
The following 3 users say Thank You to tulanch for this post:
i always follow you when you go up and up on the highest high, and i start a long posizion.
But ahhhhh no the price starts go down, down down and down, so i decide to do a stop a reverse. just a seconds and the market seems to follow the down, "ahhhh yes i am right" sboom great economic news chage the direction... So fu.. i close the open posizion and i start to think. "what is it the price action"
The following user says Thank You to iwannatoscript for this post:
We scalp ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks on the screen the whole day through
To scalp ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks is what we like to do
It ain't no trick
To get rich quick
If you scalp ticks ticks ticks
With a five-minute chart
On the screen
On the screen
Where a million candles
Shine.......
We scalp ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks from early morn to night
To watch ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks ticks until the moment is right
We watch micro breakouts
By the score
A thousand candles
Sometimes more
We look for momentum to get on board
We scalp ticks ticks ticks
Trading: ES primarily, recently CL is in the picture,occasional forex
Posts: 25 since Jun 2010
Thanks: 158 given,
52
received
Big Mike, Congratulations on your 1st anniversary. As a novice to your site, I sure would love to learn more about the bar charts... Likely this is a sure thing to make some additional successful trades on any trade. Test Your Brain
This is really cool.
ALZHEIMERS' EYE TEST
Count every " F " in the following text:
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...
(SEE BELOW)
HOW MANY ?
WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke.
READ IT AGAIN !
Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 F's before you scroll down.
The reasoning behind is further down.
The brain cannot process "OF".
Incredible, or what? Go back and look again!!
Anyone who counts all 6 "F's" on the first go is a genius.
Three is normal, four is quite rare.
Send this to your friends.
It will drive them crazy.!
And keep them occupied
For several minutes..!
The following user says Thank You to two views for this post:
Simplicity is not easy. The "KISS" principle works only for those who embrace it and for the markets, understanding price is "KISS"! It's funny how we all use price for entries, exits, profits, losses but depend on "other stuff" to tell us what to do - why not depend on price itself to tell us what to do? Sure, we need to put in some work and move away from our comfort zone!
The following user says Thank You to Bengaltiger for this post:
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,014 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,474 given,
98,319
received
Just a reminder, from post #1...
To enter the drawing, simply post a reply to this thread. Important: your reply needs to be creative! Don't just reply with something plain or basic. There is no particular topic that we are going to specify for you, but the prizes will be awarded based on the creativity of your reply to this thread. In other words, the better your reply is, the more likely it will be selected as the winner. Please don't ask for guidance, we are leaving this up to your judgment and asking you to be creative!
I already own the book, I think its one of the best books i have ever read. Infact im in my second time through. I would love to have signed copy for keeps sakes.
Would also love to join the session as well. I would also love to be able to contact Al to ask a few questions as well.
Great book. A Must buy.
Daryl
The following user says Thank You to dfris2003 for this post:
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,014 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,474 given,
98,319
received
Just a reminder, from post #1...
To enter the drawing, simply post a reply to this thread. Important: your reply needs to be creative! Don't just reply with something plain or basic. There is no particular topic that we are going to specify for you, but the prizes will be awarded based on the creativity of your reply to this thread. In other words, the better your reply is, the more likely it will be selected as the winner. Please don't ask for guidance, we are leaving this up to your judgment and asking you to be creative!
I spent some time thinking how can I CREATIVELY post something interesting enough to be consider for this important prize.....and one day I had my "aha" moment in creativity....let combine my two passions to express it.
I am VERY EXCITED for the Soccer World Championship starting tomorrow...the most important sport event worldwide. Here in Argentina the world almost STOPS for a month....it's the only thing we talk about....people don't work, kids do not go to school and even women are glued to TV when our national team plays.
So here are my 2 cents....or 2 balls...hope you fellow traders and soccer fans from around the world enjoy it and wherever u feel the same about this event.....GOOD LUCK FOR YOUR TEAM !!!
GT
The following user says Thank You to gtichauer for this post:
I have a kinship with Al that I realized when I first read his bio in the back of his book. I am also a doctor who left his profession to raise my two children, and have been a serious trader for many years. All I can say is that I already own his book and copies of every article and webinar he has done, and I have learned a great deal from him, though I have never spoken to him or met him. Owning an autographed copy of his book would mean a great deal to me...
Thank you,
Chris
The following user says Thank You to cstirone for this post:
To enter the drawing, simply post a reply to this thread. Important: your reply needs to be creative! Don't just reply with something plain or basic. There is no particular topic that we are going to specify for you, but the prizes will be awarded based on the creativity of your reply to this thread. In other words, the better your reply is, the more likely it will be selected as the winner.
Please don't ask for guidance, we are leaving this up to your judgment and asking you to be creative!
I'm not a very creative person but here it goes...
Top 10 reasons why I think I NEED a signed copy of Mr. Brooks' excellent book:
10. Other traders are too busy to actually read his book
9. A "signed" copy just makes it cooler!
8. I'm actually trying to be creative writing this when there isn't a creative hair on my head (ok, I'm also bald)
7. I will actually appreciate this prize - I'm not just trying to get free stuff.
6. My wife thinks I'm insane but really I'm just a trader.
5. My copy of Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar is worn out - it's been on 3 trips with me, dropped in Pacific Ocean, ran over by a car, used to kill monster sized mosquitos, but yet is still at my bed side table for my nightly reading.
4. Why? Cause I'm saying "Please".
3. I like hoppy beer.
2. Having already read his book 5 times, I still need to re-read it another 5 times to fully grasp his concepts.
Why me? I really don't know what I'm doing!
This has finally occurred to me after blowing up several accounts, losing the confidence of my wife and children, and funding the college education of dozens of other traders. It's good to be generous, but this is absurd!
Here's some of my other sterling qualities that make me stand out as deserving of this fine book...
1) I'm bald.
2) I'm almost 59 and bald
3) I have no retirement, I'm almost 59 and bald.
4) I have 6 children who all agree that when I get in a wheel chair they will push me down the steps, I have no retirement, I'm almost 59, and did I mention? I'm bald.
There is much, much, more I assure you, but why bore you?
I could go on, and perhaps I should until you give me the book just to shut me up!
More about me? Montana Radio Cafe - Front Porch Music Served Fresh Daily. The bald guy in the picture? Yep, it's me.
mtnscot
The following 2 users say Thank You to mtntrader for this post:
In keeping with Al’s 3 push pattern here are 3 things that I take away from Al in his room
1 Anticipate what a forming bar can have on the existing bars and pattern. Look for different offshoots of patterns and realize the best odds you get is 70%
2 Wait for the bar to finish because in the last seconds in can change dramatically
3 It’s just a job leave emotion out of it. There is nothing personal about getting trapped just get out and move on to the next trade
I work in a steel mill. The oily sludge enviroment would make Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs run away and cry, yet this is where I study Al's book while on shift. As you can imagine my copy is oil and water stained. My wife won't even let me bring it into the house. A new copy to have for home use would make us both very happy.
Great website and congrats on your anniversary! I can already tell I be spending a lot of time here.
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,014 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,474 given,
98,319
received
Just a reminder, from post #1...
To enter the drawing, simply post a reply to this thread. Important: your reply needs to be creative! Don't just reply with something plain or basic. There is no particular topic that we are going to specify for you, but the prizes will be awarded based on the creativity of your reply to this thread. In other words, the better your reply is, the more likely it will be selected as the winner. Please don't ask for guidance, we are leaving this up to your judgment and asking you to be creative!
Great seminar thanks Mike. Big Mike has always used minimal indicators and after trying seemingly every indicator with limited or no success. I agree! I have seen the light. Price action is the truth. Simplicity. I want to toss all my indicators now, but going to Al's site to start my journey into price action- everything seems to referenced in Al's book. I really want the book! Please! I am ready to be a price action student and I need Al as a mentor. Please help me out before I blow up my account again.
The following user says Thank You to longboat for this post:
I look at trading like a relationship we have with our spouses. We treat them in appropriately, we disrespect them, we expect to much from them and they will do us wrong. We then wonder why it happened.
To be more specific I look at it from the male female perspective.
Trading, like women, is a subtle complex yet delicate subject which I believe takes great finesse and good listening and learning skills to both conquer and respect.
Women talk and we as men MUST read between the lines in order to understand what she is truly saying. In the same way the market speaks and all this noise comes at us and we must learn to discern and also read between the lines.
As it's already obvious I am a beginning trader however what insights I do have into trading have been sufficient to draw these parallel though unorthodox analogies.
They say that hell knows not the wrath of a women and from what I have seen it seems that hell knows not the wrath of the markets. The markets, like any good man or woman, forgives but never forgets.
There is no holy grail book that will say "Edgar you fool it's all in here! All you ever wanted to know in trading is right HERE! Muah ha ha ha ha!"
No. I believe Al brooks book is one of few books that can cut through the chaff and get to the point of things and focus on what really matters. What really is important and what the market is really saying. However our success is directly proportional to our drive to succeed.
Tiger woods can outscore his coach yet his coach is very very vital to his game. A man may have riches and fame yet his wife provides a support on which his success is built upon. Al brooks can write the greatest books on trading yet my success relies not on his exceptional books but on my own success and determination and discipline.
Reading an exceptional trading book is not the holy grail but Al Brooks sure does give me a good head start. ^_^
The following 2 users say Thank You to ArbExec for this post:
Years ago I embarked on a mission to explore New York Bar by Bar. My intent was to begin uptown and end downtown. Long story short. I did not get as far as planned. Things started out fine. I used maps, street signs, directions from passers by and other indicators of which way was up and which was down. Just when things got rolling and I thought I knew what I was doing it all went bad. All that booze had my head swimming. I could still see the maps. I could still see the signs. But I was confused. Some were telling me one thing. Others were telling me something else entirely. I did not know if I was going up or down. Confusion reigned. The mission came to a horrible end. Spent a lot of money. Never made it downtown. Ended up with nothing but a headache. If only I had a simple, uncluttered method for knowing when I was going up or down. Maybe I should have taken Al Brooks with me.
The following 3 users say Thank You to Maestro for this post:
Al's autographed book would get incorporated into my morning trading ritual as follows ...
Catch up with the economic news over a coffee ...
Look at the higher timeframe charts to establish a bias for the day ...
Relax and focus my mind ...
** NEW - Open Al's Book at the autographed page, ask how I can better apply his ideas today & have it handy so I can refer to it at any point during the session ***
I want to have my own copy AND ,the autographed book will contain the HOLY GRAIL.............
.hopefully big mike you can send a cliff notes of the book.............to the winnerS.
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,014 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,474 given,
98,319
received
Thank you to all who participated! The creativity some of you have shown is quite awesome!
The contest is now over, and the threads closed to new entries. The moderators will be selecting the winners in each category between now and the end of June, and we will announce the winners soon.
Site Administrator Swing Trader Data Scientist & DevOps
Manta, Ecuador
Experience: Advanced
Platform: Custom solution
Trading: Futures & Crypto
Posts: 50,014 since Jun 2009
Thanks: 32,474 given,
98,319
received
First, I want to say thank you to those who entered the contest and followed the rules! And I want to once again say thank you to everyone on the forum for making futures.io (formerly BMT) what it is today!
CONGRATULATIONS, THE WINNERS FOR THE FIVE(5) AUTOGRAPHED COPIES OF AL BROOKS BOOK ARE:
The winners were selected by the moderators. There was a tie which I broke. If you won the prize, I will be contacting you via Private Message to congratulate you and arrange to ship the book to you.