SLAyers' Notes

[EminiTraderCBOT]

Yes

 

[dbphoenix]

Did you buy the reversal on the 9th?

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

No. Was the 9th the last trade you entered? I'm learning SLA to apply it on 5 and 1 minute charts intraday. Looking for a couple good trades.

What did the chart show you to enter on the reversal on the 9th?

It also seems that with SLA you need to widen your stops a bit for confirmation.

 

[dbphoenix]

If you're ignoring the weekly and daily, then you're applying the SLA inappropriately, and the probability of your catching a trend is no better nor worse than the probability of trading chop.

I suggest you read what was posted on the 9th.

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

I'm not ignoring them. I look at both to see where we are at on the D and W and then go to the 5 min and 1 min charts to trade.

I did ask once but didn't get a reply. When trading on a 1 min and 5 min chart. How do you piece it all together with respect where we are at on the D and W or even H charts?

The thing is, learning to draw a straight line is just part of being a successful Trader. It's not just if you can draw a straight line.

 

[dbphoenix]

Actually I did reply. I said to read "Trading Opportunities" in Notes. I may also have mentioned "Please Sir" and Appendix G.

As for the "straight line", manraygun drew it, noted the break, and further noted the reversal opportunity. You say you did not. Therefore the opportunity was missed and lost.

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

After learning supply and demand and the rest of the context. The SLA seems more of a visual aid than turning you into a successful Trader. Am I right to some extent with that?

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

How do you have your SLA structured on the D, W and H charts so currently?

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

Actually I did reply. I said to read "Trading Opportunities" in Notes. I may also have mentioned "Please Sir" and Appendix G.

As for the "straight line", manraygun drew it, noted the break, and further noted the reversal opportunity. You say you did not. Therefore the opportunity was missed and lost.

But are you saying that no other trading opportunities were available if you didn't take the trade on the 9th? Nothing intraday or any good trades since then? I don't scalp but I also don't hold for days/weeks. I look for 2 to 3 good trades a day for 5 points or so.

 

[dbphoenix]

After learning supply and demand and the rest of the context. The SLA seems more of a visual aid than turning you into a successful Trader. Am I right to some extent with that?

All charts are visual aids. Whether or not one is successful with them depends on whether or not he understands what he's looking at.

How do you have your SLA structured on the D, W and H charts so currently?

I track price every day.

But are you saying that no other trading opportunities were available if you didn't take the trade on the 9th? Nothing intraday or any good trades since then? I don't scalp but I also don't hold for days/weeks. I look for 2 to 3 good trades a day for 5 points or so.

The opportunity presented by the SLA on the 9th was not only an opportunity to trade but an opportunity to watch the SLA in action, which is a chief objective of observation. The observation phase takes place before any trading. If you are not spending at least an hour a day in replay, then you're just spinning your wheels.

If you are unable to successfully trade a daily chart, it is highly unlikely that you will be successful with intraday trading. If you can't recognize and act on one or two reversals, how will you act successfully on dozens, each coming in rapid succession?

The purpose of the Straight Line Approach (SLA) is to enable both the beginning and the damaged trader to focus on what is most likely to affect his ability to enter and manage profitable trades. Both will find this simple. That's the point of it. But those who are just starting will likely find it far easier (there's a difference between simple and easy) than those who have been struggling for years, largely because of all the nonsense the latter have been carrying in their heads. All that must be got rid of, and not everyone can do it. Many cling to their MACDs and RSIs as if they were rosaries. The SLA, however, demands that the trader focus, pay attention, keep his mind on business and ignore all the extranea like indicators and Fibonacci and Pivot Points and envelopes and bands and clouds and candles and what CNBC said and whatever the hell else and perform the simple task of drawing straight lines to track the course of demand and supply and the balance between them. If he can do this simple thing, his profits will be consistent and his losses will be minimal. Why? Because the SLA forces him to be in synch with the market, and if he can keep his ego out of it and stop trying to outsmart it, he will be in and stay in the right side of the market.

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

I seen the reversal on the 9th. I only observed it, not trade. The reversal on the 9th could have been traded by solely utilizing SLA. And that Is why I was asking if one focuses on learning SLA, can they be successful? I am in the observation phase as you can see from the charts I've posted. I took your advice when you mentioned to not even observe and focus on studying the material.

If all one needed to know on the 9th is how to apply SLA then wouldn't that be sufficient for someone to be a successful Trader? Learning how to apply it in higher time frame charts and then to lower? Would it be beneficial for someone to then go to apply sla on the H, 30, 15 minute charts before the 5, 1 min and even seconds charts?

If sla forces you to be in synch with the markets, that should provide one a sufficient method to trade successfully without the other context? Not saying don't study the other parts of the book but learning SLA can bring you success

 

[dbphoenix]

I seen the reversal on the 9th. I only observed it, not trade. The reversal on the 9th could have been traded by solely utilizing SLA. And that Is why I was asking if one focuses on learning SLA, can they be successful? I am in the observation phase as you can see from the charts I've posted. I took your advice when you mentioned to not even observe and focus on studying the material.

If all one needed to know on the 9th is how to apply SLA then wouldn't that be sufficient for someone to be a successful Trader? Learning how to apply it in higher time frame charts and then to lower? Would it be beneficial for someone to then go to apply sla on the H, 30, 15 minute charts before the 5, 1 min and even seconds charts?

If sla forces you to be in synch with the markets, that should provide one a sufficient method to trade successfully without the other context? Not saying don't study the other parts of the book but learning SLA can bring you success

You ask the same questions again and again. Rather than my supplying the same answers again and again, I suggest you move beyond theory and philosophy and open up a journal in which you post your realtime notes along with whatever activities you were observing either via replay or delayed or realtime, your reviews of your activities for the session, and your preparations for the following sessions. Every day. Day after day. I've suggested this hundreds of times over the years but few people -- among those who inhabit trading forums -- have done it for more than a few days, much less a few weeks. Among those few who have maintained the effort are fortydraws and Gringo.

The SLA/AMT provides structure but it is neither rigid nor mechanical. You have to make choices. You have to make decisions. If you don't know what choices to make, then study and practice. If you can't make it work, try something else.

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

I'm not.

I will create a journal once I feel I have a better understanding of it all. It would make no sense at this point.

 

[Gring0]

I'm not.

I will create a journal once I feel I have a better understanding of it all. It would make no sense at this point.

A journal isn't there to highlight one's understanding only. It's there to highlight one's lack of it also.

Gringo

 

[dbphoenix]

I'm not.

I will create a journal once I feel I have a better understanding of it all. It would make no sense at this point.

If you wait until you "have a better understanding of it all", there's no point in doing it. One of the initial objectives of a journal, as Gringo points out, is to achieve that understanding.

If you don't understand the difference between a trading journal and a trading log, see "Developing A Plan".

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

Looking for trades and looking for entries is essentially the same thing.

Forget about the SLA. Forget about AMT. Read and study the three sections I suggested. Read and study Appendix D. Don't look at the real-time market at all. If you don't understand Appendix D, read and study the Wyckoff thread.

Hurry as slowly as you can.

I understand but I was just following when you said to not look at the markets

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

Looking for trades and looking for entries is essentially the same thing.

Forget about the SLA. Forget about AMT. Read and study the three sections I suggested. Read and study Appendix D. Don't look at the real-time market at all. If you don't understand Appendix D, read and study the Wyckoff thread.

Hurry as slowly as you can.

I understand but I was just following when you said to not look at the markets

 

[dbphoenix]

Your original question was "if one focused solely learning to apply SLA to daytrade. Do you think this would be successful?", referring to the title of the original thread, "If You Can Draw A Straight Line, You Can Be A Successful Trader". Application would involve looking at the markets. "Drawing a straight line" of course implies drawing a straight line as the SLA would have you draw it, not just plotting some random line somewhere. The SLA line is, again, a line that enables the trader to track and detect imbalances in supply and demand.

I did not say not to look at the markets; I said not to look at the real-time market. Zeroing in on the RT market at the outset means jumping past all the necessary protocols, like learning how to draw a trendline, developing an understanding of context, beginning with the weekly chart, and tracking trend. The very beginning of both the pdf and the book explain how to draw a trendline and how to lay a foundation for one's trading via the weekly and daily chart. From the beginning you've been looking for intraday trades, usually the 1m chart (see post 709). If you focus on intraday trading without having laid the proper foundation, the SLA/AMT will have been a waste of your time.

I suggest that you open up a journal and begin posting your observations of historical charts, beginning with the weekly for whatever period you choose, preferably something at least a year old. Ignore real time for the time being. Focus instead on replay, preferably no more than 2x, at least an hour a day. Don't think about intraday trading at all. If you don't know where to start, review the suggestions I made in posts 701 and 742.

 

[EminiTraderCBOT]

Your original question was "if one focused solely learning to apply SLA to daytrade. Do you think this would be successful?", referring to the title of the original thread, "If You Can Draw A Straight Line, You Can Be A Successful Trader". Application would involve looking at the markets. "Drawing a straight line" of course implies drawing a straight line as the SLA would have you draw it, not just plotting some random line somewhere. The SLA line is, again, a line that enables the trader to track and detect imbalances in supply and demand.

I did not say not to look at the markets; I said not to look at the real-time market. Zeroing in on the RT market at the outset means jumping past all the necessary protocols, like learning how to draw a trendline, developing an understanding of context, beginning with the weekly chart, and tracking trend. The very beginning of both the pdf and the book explain how to draw a trendline and how to lay a foundation for one's trading via the weekly and daily chart. From the beginning you've been looking for intraday trades, usually the 1m chart (see post 709). If you focus on intraday trading without having laid the proper foundation, the SLA/AMT will have been a waste of your time.

I suggest that you open up a journal and begin posting your observations of historical charts, beginning with the weekly for whatever period you choose, preferably something at least a year old. Ignore real time for the time being. Focus instead on replay, preferably no more than 2x, at least an hour a day. Don't think about intraday trading at all. If you don't know where to start, review the suggestions I made in posts 701 and 742.

Excellent points! I agree with you. Sometimes my eager to learn takes over the best of me. Especially since I received this book. It's what I was looking for. Has a solid foundation of advice.

Thank you, Db for taking the time to reply. I appreciate it truly.

 

[Gring0]

NQ Weekly: Reaching top of channel.
NQ Daily: DL breach and RET. Horizontal potential S/R.

Gringo