Bob Volman Price Action Scalping

[BLS]

...and another....

I think I got into the same trade that you did but I was aiming for 10 pip.

 

[vanica]

Did anyone else take this Range Break setup on EURUSD?

I ended up with a loss of 3.3 pips but I'm fairly happy with the trade. It seemed to be a valid setup and I managed it well enough.

I thought that the last leg of the trend, which brought prices to the bottom barrier for the last time, was a bit too directional. It was hard to say bulls were fighting back at that point and would capitulate on the break lower. Assume another bounce from the barrier would create a better setup.

 

[samich1262]

Hmm, I've been saying that I need to reduce my trade volume because I'm hesitant to get into valid setups. I think after today, I definitely will. I got up at 4:30 central time to catch part of the European session since it has been moving better than the US session this week. I saw two perfect BB's and skipped them. It really doesn't get any better than this, so I think trade volume is the reason for my hesitation. BB's were one of the last setups that I became comfortable with. I am still not comfortable with IRB's although I have seen 2 today. All in all, it's a much better trading opportunity day than Monday and Tuesday.

EUR/USD European session chart:



Here's an RB that I skipped. It had plenty of pressure and I probably should have taken it, but I didn't like that to the left there were some lower lows. Still, there was a pretty good buildup before the break. 9 equal touches to the barrier before the break, I think that makes this a valid RB that should have been taken. But I have not yet gotten comfortable with setups that don't have extremely economical stops, and I think that was my main reason for hesitation. The risk here was about 6 pips.

After that, there's a great BB that I didn't take, probably because of that FB in the middle of it, but there were 8 equal touches of that low plus several dojis. I am kicking myself for this one.

Then I saw a nearly identical BB during the US session on the AUD/USD chart:



Missed this one too. I hate setups that come after IRBs or that don't have a retest, but this one looked like it had proper buildup to me. The stop was pretty economical. That 2nd box on the AUD/USD chart didn't have a good push so I skipped it. I did not think there was enough pressure to break the round number zone. It's ranging right now below the round number.

I think I am going to have to reduce my trading volume to .2 or .3 lots until I can become more logical. Part of it is not trusting my judgement yet, but that will come with experience.

AUD/USD is becoming my 2nd favorite pair. It seems to move enough and has some high quality setups. It behaves similar to the EUR/USD in terms of movement and smoothness. USD/CAD is too slow, and GBP/USD is good sometimes, but it's wild and choppy at other times. I always watch EUR/USD first but if it slows down, I scan the AUD/USD and GBP/USD charts to see if there's anything trade-able there. At the very least, watching them will help me learn to identify valid setups quicker.

 

[samich1262]

Well, lowering my trade volume helped. I missed this RB and decided to lower it after missing my 4th valid setup of the day. Lol. I was then able to get in on the BB here on the AUD/USD chart. I did exit for about a 4 pip gain after it dipped below that line. I felt like if price came down and attempted to go back up, that horizontal wall of price action would be tough to crack. This pair made a nice run this morning. EUR/USD made a nice run during the European session but has been consolidating all morning. My goal will be to get comfortable and work my lot size back up to .5 by the end of the month, and then work my way up to 1 full lot sometime in September.



PS - Ignore the thumbnail chart. I don't know how that old chart got attached as a thumbnail. Oops. Haha.

 

[virtuesoft]

Hmm, I've been saying that I need to reduce my trade volume because I'm hesitant to get into valid setups. I think after today, I definitely will. I got up at 4:30 central time to catch part of the European session since it has been moving better than the US session this week. I saw two perfect BB's and skipped them. It really doesn't get any better than this, so I think trade volume is the reason for my hesitation. BB's were one of the last setups that I became comfortable with. I am still not comfortable with IRB's although I have seen 2 today. All in all, it's a much better trading opportunity day than Monday and Tuesday.

EUR/USD European session chart:

View attachment 142772

Here's an RB that I skipped. It had plenty of pressure and I probably should have taken it, but I didn't like that to the left there were some lower lows. Still, there was a pretty good buildup before the break. 9 equal touches to the barrier before the break, I think that makes this a valid RB that should have been taken. But I have not yet gotten comfortable with setups that don't have extremely economical stops, and I think that was my main reason for hesitation. The risk here was about 6 pips.

After that, there's a great BB that I didn't take, probably because of that FB in the middle of it, but there were 8 equal touches of that low plus several dojis. I am kicking myself for this one.

Then I saw a nearly identical BB during the US session on the AUD/USD chart:

View attachment 142774

Missed this one too. I hate setups that come after IRBs or that don't have a retest, but this one looked like it had proper buildup to me. The stop was pretty economical. That 2nd box on the AUD/USD chart didn't have a good push so I skipped it. I did not think there was enough pressure to break the round number zone. It's ranging right now below the round number.

I think I am going to have to reduce my trading volume to .2 or .3 lots until I can become more logical. Part of it is not trusting my judgement yet, but that will come with experience.

AUD/USD is becoming my 2nd favorite pair. It seems to move enough and has some high quality setups. It behaves similar to the EUR/USD in terms of movement and smoothness. USD/CAD is too slow, and GBP/USD is good sometimes, but it's wild and choppy at other times. I always watch EUR/USD first but if it slows down, I scan the AUD/USD and GBP/USD charts to see if there's anything trade-able there. At the very least, watching them will help me learn to identify valid setups quicker.

I think you're being a little hard on yourself. I have been watching EURUSD and AUDUSD and I haven't taken any of those setups either. Here are my thoughts on each of the setups you mention...

The first RB in EURUSD isn't valid in my opinion. It just isn't a well defined range. There are lower lows at 03:00 which would put me off and the breakout level was only touched once prior to the break.

The BB in EURUSD is better, I was watching this at the time but I didn't take it because of the false break midway through the block. I can see how a more aggressive scalper would have taken this though.

The first setup in AUDUSD looks quite good on your chart but at the time I was looking at it as a failed RB. There were four highs earlier that tested the 1.0477 level and this level was broke without any pre-breakout tension. I watched the price stall and range just afterwards and my attention turned elsewhere. The resulting range was good and could have been traded as an ARB. This was probably the best opportunity you missed in my opinion.

I agree with your comments about AUDUSD and GBPUSD. I trade them too and they do present good opportunities.

 

[virtuesoft]

Well, lowering my trade volume helped. I missed this RB and decided to lower it after missing my 4th valid setup of the day. Lol. I was then able to get in on the BB here on the AUD/USD chart. I did exit for about a 4 pip gain after it dipped below that line. I felt like if price came down and attempted to go back up, that horizontal wall of price action would be tough to crack. This pair made a nice run this morning. EUR/USD made a nice run during the European session but has been consolidating all morning. My goal will be to get comfortable and work my lot size back up to .5 by the end of the month, and then work my way up to 1 full lot sometime in September.

View attachment 142786

PS - Ignore the thumbnail chart. I don't know how that old chart got attached as a thumbnail. Oops. Haha.

Yeah, I just took that setup too. It got quite close to reaching my target but it didn't quite make it. I ended up closing around break even when the 20ema was broke.

 

[samich1262]

The first RB in EURUSD isn't valid in my opinion. It just isn't a well defined range. There are lower lows at 03:00 which would put me off and the breakout level was only touched once prior to the break.

The BB in EURUSD is better, I was watching this at the time but I didn't take it because of the false break midway through the block. I can see how a more aggressive scalper would have taken this though.

You're probably right about that first setup. I hadn't seen one quite like it yet. The lows at 3:00 were ultimately what scared me off. I couldn't decide if there was enough buildup to break through that. I thought maybe it should be treated as an ARB, but I really don't know. Maybe a risky play, but those dojis might make for a nice economical stop-loss.

 

[BLS]

This RB got pretty damn close to target but I didn't want to make a habit of closing out early for no technical reason. Still, I'm kicking myself a bit.

Prices made a false break to the downside after the bulls failed to break to the upside earlier. We get a pullback to the 20EMA where a bunch of dojis formed. I would have likes to see prices test the 80 again and make a series of lower arches before a break but I thought those dojis represented a lot of tension. There was a lot of uncertainty here and the bears emerged victorious. Prices went down 9 pip in my favor before stagnating. I place my new tipping point at the previous false break level because prices couldn't follow through and it seemed like a very technical place for a stop, even though it was one pip below the 20EMA. My stop does seem a bit aggressive but after that second bottom you'd probably bail 1 pip above my stop (if you haven't bailed when prices reached that second bottom ).

I'm a bit frustrated that my valid trades haven't worked out too well but at the same time I'm glad that I didn't take any obviously bad trades today. That's some progress for me. I'm finding my patience again.

I just have to remind myself that I don't have to make money today to have a good trading day. I just have to follow sound trading practices, from skilled execution to prudent risk management.

 

[samich1262]

This RB got pretty damn close to target but I didn't want to make a habit of closing out early for no technical reason. Still, I'm kicking myself a bit.

Prices made a false break to the downside after the bulls failed to break to the upside earlier. We get a pullback to the 20EMA where a bunch of dojis formed. I would have likes to see prices test the 80 again and make a series of lower arches before a break but I thought those dojis represented a lot of tension. There was a lot of uncertainty here and the bears emerged victorious. Prices went down 9 pip in my favor before stagnating. I place my new tipping point at the previous false break level because prices couldn't follow through and it seemed like a very technical place for a stop, even though it was one pip below the 20EMA. My stop does seem a bit aggressive but after that second bottom you'd probably bail 1 pip above my stop (if you haven't bailed when prices reached that second bottom ).

I'm a bit frustrated that my valid trades haven't worked out too well but at the same time I'm glad that I didn't take any obviously bad trades today. That's some progress for me. I'm finding my patience again.

I just have to remind myself that I don't have to make money today to have a good trading day. I just have to follow sound trading practices, from skilled execution to prudent risk management.

I saw this one, but skipped it because that FB looked a little blockier on my chart. It showed two hammers, but by the looks of it, it probably was a valid RB. I think it's the low volume that is the problem this week. I have seen quite a few setups work out, but most of the ones that I have taken have turned back after an 8 or 9 pip gain. Things will probably pick up again in a week or two.

 

[virtuesoft]

This RB got pretty damn close to target but I didn't want to make a habit of closing out early for no technical reason. Still, I'm kicking myself a bit.

Prices made a false break to the downside after the bulls failed to break to the upside earlier. We get a pullback to the 20EMA where a bunch of dojis formed. I would have likes to see prices test the 80 again and make a series of lower arches before a break but I thought those dojis represented a lot of tension. There was a lot of uncertainty here and the bears emerged victorious. Prices went down 9 pip in my favor before stagnating. I place my new tipping point at the previous false break level because prices couldn't follow through and it seemed like a very technical place for a stop, even though it was one pip below the 20EMA. My stop does seem a bit aggressive but after that second bottom you'd probably bail 1 pip above my stop (if you haven't bailed when prices reached that second bottom ).

I'm a bit frustrated that my valid trades haven't worked out too well but at the same time I'm glad that I didn't take any obviously bad trades today. That's some progress for me. I'm finding my patience again.

I just have to remind myself that I don't have to make money today to have a good trading day. I just have to follow sound trading practices, from skilled execution to prudent risk management.

I took the same trade and I exited at around the same level.

None of my 3 trades have worked out today. Two of them reached a 9 pip profit which is frustrating. Despite the outcome I'm fairly happy with how the day has gone. It's much easier to judge your trades based on the validity of the setup, and your performance in execution and management, than it is to judge your trade on the outcome.

 

[Mark1979]

This RB got pretty damn close to target but I didn't want to make a habit of closing out early for no technical reason. Still, I'm kicking myself a bit.

Prices made a false break to the downside after the bulls failed to break to the upside earlier. We get a pullback to the 20EMA where a bunch of dojis formed. I would have likes to see prices test the 80 again and make a series of lower arches before a break but I thought those dojis represented a lot of tension. There was a lot of uncertainty here and the bears emerged victorious. Prices went down 9 pip in my favor before stagnating. I place my new tipping point at the previous false break level because prices couldn't follow through and it seemed like a very technical place for a stop, even though it was one pip below the 20EMA. My stop does seem a bit aggressive but after that second bottom you'd probably bail 1 pip above my stop (if you haven't bailed when prices reached that second bottom ).

I'm a bit frustrated that my valid trades haven't worked out too well but at the same time I'm glad that I didn't take any obviously bad trades today. That's some progress for me. I'm finding my patience again.

I just have to remind myself that I don't have to make money today to have a good trading day. I just have to follow sound trading practices, from skilled execution to prudent risk management.

I liked the look of this. Inside bars on the 1 minute chart...

Would have worked out for me (My target is 4 pips usually unless really volatility is high)....

 

[samich1262]

I skipped this because of that price action to the left. Although, the setup did come after basically a triple bottom followed by a double bottom with a higher low. What do you guys think? Too risky? Or do overall conditions provide enough support? I'm not very good at IRB's/ARBs yet.

 

[stehlikpetrmsncom]

1/ I didn't trade either of these BB setups because I was just eating my lunch, but I consider both valid - the first one unquestionably, the second one isn't bad either if you look how strong the trend was.

2/ On the second picture, there is a BB I took. I didn't think of it as RB, since there really is not only one barrier but various different lows. However, even though I treated it as a trending setup, I wasn't going to take DD or SB, that would be dangerous because the trend is weak. It's a good thing BB former, because it's a solid setup, EMA was sloping down, no chart resistance to the left (lows were taken out).

I also got caught in that range break that many of you traded, but I tried to play it as ARB and the results were horrible, so I'm not even going to attach a picture

 

[Mark1979]

I skipped this because of that price action to the left. Although, the setup did come after basically a triple bottom followed by a double bottom with a higher low. What do you guys think? Too risky? Or do overall conditions provide enough support? View attachment 142800I'm not very good at IRB's/ARBs yet.

Dont follow GBp-USD to be honest, the spread + commission makes it a lot less favourable than the euro and the aussie. Plus I don't think it is wise to follow more than 2 pairs at once. When trading the aussie I always have my eye on the euro as this can potentially stall any movement even if the aussie has a great signal.

Would never trade the loonie either. See the link below. Useful also when thinking about targets too....

Forex Volatility Charts

 

[samich1262]

Ah. My spreads on GBP/USD are the same as EUR/USD. Often its even the lowest, so its worth it for me.

 

[stehlikpetrmsncom]

I skipped this because of that price action to the left. Although, the setup did come after basically a triple bottom followed by a double bottom with a higher low. What do you guys think? Too risky? Or do overall conditions provide enough support? View attachment 142800I'm not very good at IRB's/ARBs yet.

Just look at the chart, would prices break from that rectangle (and you were in a trade), there is MUCH more chart resistance to the downside than to the upside. Path of least resistance is clearly to the upside and even though there will definitely be some selling at the high point, the rectangle will provide a SOLID support where more buyers will come to help your trade.

I think this could have very well been traded. However, I'd call it BB rather ARB/IRB

 

[samich1262]

Had a good BB trade here this morning. There were 2 valid BBs and the third being questionable, and the last one turned out to not be a BB in my opinion.

1. That first one looked valid, but I don't like taking trades that don't have economical stops yet. It looked like a trend had started and conditions were bullish, but that signal bar was too long for me to be comfortable with just yet. Still, I thought it was a valid setup.

2. I did get in on the 2nd BB here. This is the kind of BB that I like, with a doji or two right before the break.

3. The third BB here may be a valid setup given overall conditions, but I'm not sure. I didn't like that there wasn't another push on the barrier before the box broke. I am also not sure that I wouldn't have exited early, although the price never dipped below the signal bar. Volman discusses BBs acting as strong support. In some cases he says to allow price to come back into the box before exiting. But here, I'm not sure where the tipping point would be, or if he would just stay in.

4. That last box did not look like a valid BB to me. That dip in the middle, although it does make an inverted head and shoulders pattern, did not look tradeable to me. I saw several lower lows instead of higher highs within the box, and not a lot of pressure on the barrier itself. Every candlestick that touched the barrier was pushed back to close 1 pip away from it, with no bullish dojis either. There seemed to be no clear winner here.



A little bit later, I almost took an SB after that range broke, but I decided against it because the range wasn't really that developed, and I decided the market had stopped trending and had yet to show me a solid sign that it was going to resume. Good thing I skipped that.

I skipped this IRB because I'm not good at those yet. At least I think it's an IRB. It comes after a higher high, and it's in the bottom of the range. At least the bottom is well-defined, not so much the top, which made me think it would break to the upside. The first low of the IRB also creates a double bottom, followed by a higher low. It was probably a safe setup, similar to one that I saw yesterday except this one was even a little bit clearer. Maybe soon I'll feel good enough about IRBs to start participating in those trades.

 

[BLS]

I overslept so I missed that rally from 1.2280 to 1.2320. Took an RB that fell 3 pip short of target (my entry was one pip higher than desired because prices broke out pretty fast). I think I should've bailed out earlier after prices couldn't follow through and stagnated, pulling back to that earlier false break high.

 

[samich1262]

Bummer! I did that a couple weeks ago, overslept on a nice Friday. I skipped that RB, didn't like those two FBs. Price looked a little blocky to me, so I got scared off. But the break itself looked pretty decent on your chart. A higher double-bottom and pretty good pressure before the break, all pretty bullish.

 

[stehlikpetrmsncom]

1/ I should have taken this trade.

2/ I should have taken this trade as well.

3/ Very nice BB I took.

4/ Counter-trend BB which had very good odds to land off nicely, but relatively low odds to reach the full target, I could have passed on this.

Edit:

5/ Nicely situated setup - I was looking for SB ( I wasn't going to take DD because of the way that pullback looks), but then little BB former and I had to take my chances.

6/ I hesitated to pull the trigger on the DD and had a late entry after the price returned back via the black candle. Even though the setup is ok, that entry method was plain stupid.

7/ Block break.