Every now and then I get a hair-brained idea and jot it down in a notepad. When I get a little free time I'll then do some homework on the idea. So here's the latest . . .
I use pivot points on my charts that are drawn by ZigZatUTCSwing. However, I can't get these points to draw to my liking no matter how I adjust the settings. So I've been tinkering with other methods to draw the points. Out of frustration I went back the MIN and MAX indicators furnished with Ninja to start fresh once again.
I've set each indicator to a value of 6 to show the highs and lows of the last 6 bars. My intention is to look for 1) a breakout from the channel 2) a retracement after the breakout 3) then a resumption of the trend.
The overall idea is not to try and pick highs and lows of a trend but rather to take advantage of an established trend. In an uptrend, buy the dips.
So now I'm wondering if it is possible to connect the pivot points with lines and shade in the resulting "steps"? If so it would graphically illustrate turning points in the market, chop and trends.
Although likely a programming nightmare, I can foresee distinct advantages over other indicators with the same intent. Donchian Channel, Bollinger Bands, Wave, StepMA, etc. all strive to illustrate trend changes in one fashion or another. But it seems this style would offer added benefits. First, specific patterns would repeat themselves over and over that a trader could easily spot. Secondly, entry and exit points are easier to recognize. And lastly, it seems likely that the moves of the market makers would become more apparent.
Here's the kicker: as the lines are being drawn and filled there is still market action happening ahead of the shaded steps. The drawing and shading are "after the fact", meaning the indicator will illustrate the set-ups well but we still need a "live action" feature to get us in and out of trades.
The solution here would be to use the "ray" feature in Ninja that draws a line extending into the future. This means the current MIN and MAX values forming the channel would be illustrated by "rays", while old values would be drawn and shaded using traditional lines or the "rectangle" drawing feature. There will be times when the "ray" lines will be parallel. Other times they will point up in tandem, or down. At key points in the cycle they will cross.