yesterday

ok, for my style/system I would have to say yesterday was the first time I identified an actual type of day.

open: open - test - reverse
somethings to further add. How big was the IB/opening range compared to recent?

TICK - strong, extremely bullish through the day
high/low - violations of the high resulted in range extension, then reverse, resistance became support...auctioning to higher and higher balance areas.

best location - going long at the bottom of the previous balance area. Strangly enough I had a great day with counter trend trades, although the danger with this for the future is if the analysis was off and we go into a strong trend day, risk/reward would vanish doing that.

random thoughts on TICK-
Wonder if a running total of the average of TICK bars would do the trick? The biggest thing we know about tick is that it will rotate. something like the TPO count might be cool.

need for cumulative tick

today was a great example of why I need cumulative TICK.

Such a bulk of readings + 0, clearly not going to be a balancing day with so much buying lifted on the ask. The problem with regular old TICK is this information is hard to spot/digest while in the heat of battle.

good algorithm from the ninja board from dr brett:

1. Indicator is on the 1 minute $Tick index.2. Calculate the average of (High, Low and Close)/3 for each bar3. Calculate the average of the previous 2030 bars of the above before current day (this is 5 days (5 x 406 bars)(Brett uses 20 days instead).4. Take the close of current 1 minute Tick bar and minus the value calculated in 3.5. Add the the current value in 4 to the last value calculated, making it cumulative. Start the day at zero, although maybe that isn't important.

The thing is i'm not so sure that is really what I am after. The average of the bar is an interesting concept though. I may try something like a moving average that would plot bar[0] + ((H + L + C) / 3). Basically, start at 0 at 9:30 and sum the average of each 1 minute bar through the day, plot it. That way the skew of the ticks could be quantified, possibly even trying to get fills on divergences.

profitable but dumb trading

 -6, -5 then plus +22.  I have to think about trading in a trending market now even though I despise trending markets. The tape is starting to whisper at least and I guess I had to take a trade from a risk/reward perspective on the test of those lows on YM with such a nice balance area above the short.
I think I've finally flipped in my thinking that this is not a balancing market in a downtrend but its a bear. Step very very very carefully.

yawn

No trading for me after a big trend day like last night. My levels right now are at about a 100 points so things are far too risky. Maybe if the market establishes a smaller range.
work for this morning - investigate TICK

stick to the plan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10:01Price is getting totally hammered. This is where delta bars would have kept me in this last trade longer for probly 30 extra points as i'm sure the bid is just getting crushed. would have paid for market delta right there. Just changed order flow, bouncing off yesterdays volume area low. Back up now to the valley.Have to stick to the plan, currently 25 point profit target for the day until I have more experience. 2/2, +34 on the day in the opening range. done for the day.Here is where I have to be aware of the pyschology of trading . I can feel how over confident I am right now. My premarket analysis worked to a tea but this is where I get sloppy and will give some back. Almost over whelming feelings of wanting more. greed and fear are the enemy.

Price moved to the top of the valley with a pretty flat TICK. Faded it, took about 2 points of heat on a small rise in the TICK...TICK stalled, buyers had nothing to move out of the range. Sellers came in and hammered price. Stuck to the plan and got a bit extra under the vwap because price moved so fast. +23

9:40
starting off in the valley. first trade+11, should have got in 4 points earlier. got out at the vwap. probly could have held a little longer but nice trade overall. TICK is extremely flat. Could be a very range bound day which would kick ass.