Well, go on and let's see what you want to know. Probably you let us know what kind of price action trader you are and may what you favorite in this special segment of trading.
Hey
I mainly trade the 5 min chart and focus extreme on the candle sticks. Combine with support resistance and volume.
Entry Points
Long: generel conflunce of candle sticks and identification of pattern (e.g. flags double bottom). My entry point is when a green candle closes above a major red candle.(I always wait for candle close) i put my stop at the opening of the green candle.
Short:
The same but when a red candle closes below a major green candle ( thats why exit signals from longs are short signals vice verca)
MY win rate is relativly low (Rn 20%) but my wins tend to be on average 2.5-3 Risk Reward.
I often add to winners if they trend but often also loose profit cause i wait for exit signal. +
I like price action because it reflects realtime data.
Main problems:
loss rate to high looking to specify my entries more but how ?
are a result not specifiying entries enough Overtrading in ranging/markets and bull/beartraps
i dont really know what to study or how to collect data for new strategies
i feel like swimming in big ocean with nothing to hold on.
The following user says Thank You to OG65 for this post:
Why five minutes charts? Any absolute powerful reason for this, as "Price action trading" today within this time frame is a game against the fasted computing systems, existing in the world in most markets?
Edit: Sorry about the "XD", as it is of course "X-Dax". No Idea why I get confused about it. Guess it is because I am more familiar with US and India future markets and less with the German markets.
Asking about time frames, I prefer less stress and so 30 min, 60 min and day charts are more important for me. In my active time I tried a lot on short time frames with price action, even know some very successful traders which had the nerve to pyramid their on going trades, but it did not fit to my style of strategy trading with options and futures.
Any way, as I see now @Intrepid has given you a nice answer in the mean time about your topic "Price Action".
I wish you a nice Sunday and much success in your trading.
Let's see if I can help a bit. Here are some thoughts:
1) What market are you trading? Hopefully, it's just one. That's because each market (whether it's the ES, Gold, the Russell, e-mini Dow, etc) has it's own "personality" ... and while it's true an EXPERIENCED price action trader should be able to trade any chart, it's also true that some of the most successful traders in the world SPECIALIZE and trade only "1" ... that way, they learn that market with all its individual quirks, inside out. (You don't want to be a "jack of all trades - master of none). Once you get experienced - THEN - maybe consider trading multiple markets - just don't switch from market to market throughout the day looking for trades - that's not going to serve you well.'
2) Now... let's talk markets. IF you're trading the ES (e-mini s&P 500) ... you probably shouldn't be. Yes, it's can great market (I personally like trading it) but it's not necessarily the best for beginners. That's because when you trade the ES you are trading against the most experienced & best traders in the world and they absolutely will take your money all day long. You're also trading against high speed algos. There are (in my opinion) easier markets to trade. Similarily, I don't think the Russell or CL is good for beginners either. Markets you MIGHT consider: the Dow (YM), Gold, NasDaq. Don't get me wrong - there is no "easy" market ... you can (and will) get destroyed in any of them if you don't know what you're doing - but some are more brutal than others, at least in my opinion.
3) Risk vs Reward ... you're doing well going for 2.5 - 3x. I'm glad to hear you're not trying to scalp! In fact - don't scalp. At least not in the ES. Your much better off going for "swing trades" of at least 2:1 if not 3:1 or more. If you scalp, you're basically trading against the ALGOs* and they will eat you up. (Yes, I know it can be done, and I've done my share of scalping in the ES, but it is not something you should be doing at your level).
* Re: Algos, you are of course trading against them in the ES (and other markets) even when you're not scalping - HOWEVER - one of the nice things about Algos is that they're driven by math. And that makes price action somewhat more predictable. No - not perfectly predictable of course since not all algos will enter and exit the market at the exact same time - but enough do so that they make for some nice patterns. I don't try to trade "against" the Algos but rather trade "with them". I use a combination of price action and market geometry in my trading.
4)Context - context is critical. Where are you in the cycle? Is the market trending or is it ranging? Remember, the market spends it's time doing three things: 1) Breaking out 2) Trending and 3) trading in a range. 80% of the time, the market is in a trading range. Most beginners (and sometimes even experienced traders) get chopped up in trading ranges. That means most of the time, i.e. 80% of the time, you probably shouldn't be trading. When you have more experience, then you may consider trading ranges that are of decent size. How do you know where you are in that cycle? You look left. What has the market been doing up to this point in time? Learn to recognize trends ... and stay out of congestion.
5) S & R - generally, you want to be buying at support & selling at resistance - I'm sure you know that. Hopefully you also know that S & R are usually "zones" and not lines. The market will often dip below that support only to rocket back up. This happens a lot in the ES. Why? A few reasons: one, the market looks for liquidity. The algos (and experienced traders) know exactly where inexperienced traders are placing their stops ... triggering those stops results in liquidity. What can help is to use market structure to protect one's position.
6) Entry Points. Candle stick patterns like engulfing patterns can be helpful BUT they are meaningless unless taken in context. For instance, taking a bullish engulfing entry signal in the middle of trading range is not likely going to end well.
7) Successful Trading is more than Price Action. It's also about:
a) Trade Management ... how you manage that trade once you're in it is critical. It's often summed up as take losses quickly, and let your winning trades run, but there's a lot more to it than that.
b) Discipline ... if you're over trading, that my friend is a "mindset" / discipline problem. You need to sort that out. WHY are you over trading? It comes down to emotion. Greed & Fear. It's critical you are DISCIPLINED when you trade. Have a system. Trade that system. There is never an excuse to do anything that violates your system - no matter how enticing a set-up may look. Fear of "missing out" causes a lot of traders to lose a lot of money. Don't worry about missing trades. There always another trade that'll come along. What's key is to follow your system. Don't have a working system? Develop one. And paper trade it until your confident. Then, when you're confident and feel ready - know this - you're still not ready, lol. Sorry, but that's reality. Once you finally go live ... trade SMALL. That's because no matter how good you do on paper, and how ready you think you are, live trading is a whole different animal.
Some of my most successful trades have come by SITTING ... and WAITING. Waiting for what? Glad you asked Waiting for the market to come to me. Never try and rush a trade or enter a trade just to "be in the market". Sit. Watch. Think. Be strategic in your approach.
What to study ... great question. You can study books. You can study courses. You can study this forum. You can study the market. You don't have to spend money to buy a course. Or you can. It's up to you.
The Market
Let's talk about the market first. One of the best things you can do is WATCH price action unfolding on a chart during the day. Whether it's a 5 or 6 min chart, a tick chart, whatever. The market is a great teacher. Look for traps - places you would've been caught on the wrong side of the market - and learn to recognize them. Some of us like to trade those traps on the other side Look for HOW the market moves. When you watch price action you'll notice the market tends to move in "2's" a lot. Look for 2 legged moves, and what happens at the end of that second leg. Look for measured moves (a second leg that matches the length of the first) and watch what happens there.
Courses
Here are some I personally have found helpful: Al Brooks' price action course and Mack's course (Price Action Trading System). Other teachers with outstanding courses include: Timon Weller, NicTrades, and TradeCiety. Note: while some of the aforementioned may have apparent emphases such as "Forex" or "Cryptocurrency", ALL of them provide strategies applicable to ANY market.
You can find free videos from some or all of these on YouTube to sample their training AND see if any may be a fit.
Summing it up
Trading successfully is not a matter of simply purchasing a course or book, or watching a few videos. It takes time. If you become a successful trader, it's likely that you'll ultimately end up crafting your own trading approach. If you got 10 successful traders in a room together you'll find they each have their own way of trading the market. Some may trade Forex, or Corn, or Coffee or Stocks - but beyond that, it's HOW they trade them.
Ultimately, to trade successfully you must:
1) master your emotions and trade with discipline 2) understand price movement & market structure 3) learn HOW to manage your trades 4) get comfortable with uncertainty. remember there are two sides to every trade - while you may be confident the market will rise, there's someone on the other side of that trade who's equally confident that it's going to fall. you can't both be right. that's why it is so important to cut your losses quickly.
There's more I can add to this list but it's a start.
Hope that helps!
The following 20 users say Thank You to Intrepid for this post:
You're welcome, Splinter. EVERYONE struggles in the beginning. Trading (like any serious pursuit) takes a lot of work & study. If you have any questions that I didn't address in my response to OG65, feel free to post them. Perhaps I (or someone in the community here) can shed some light.
The following user says Thank You to Intrepid for this post:
Waiting for the market to come to me. Never try and rush a trade or enter a trade just to "be in the market". Sit. Watch. Think. Be strategic in your approach.