Tutorials

This started out as a boring session on a boring day, but the material toward the end makes it one of the most important recordings I have ever posted. You may have noticed that patterns that have looked very tradable have been failing with greater frequency, especially in the E-Mini S&P. This is presumably because algorithmic traders have begun to catch on to the usefulness of what you and I call ‘internal’ and ‘external’ peaks (and lows). The effect has been to reduce the value of these peaks and lows for our purposes, especially camouflage trading. What can we do about it? Check out the last half of this recording for the answer. Essentially, it will entail looking for even subtler opportunities than the algos may have thought about.

When using the ‘camouflage’ technique to find low-risk entry points, the subtlest set-ups will usually work best. But how subtle is subtle? Fast-forward through the first 50 minutes of this recording and ponder the trade we found in LinkedIn, because it’s a gem of obscurity. This is a nearly perfect ABC opportunity that played out amidst the tedium of a sideways move that would have put our trading competitors to sleep. _______________________________________________________________ By Rick Ackerman on February 6, 2014 Even when the markets are brain-dead, as they were when we looked in on them on this particular morning, there will always be opportunities for the canny trader to exploit. We found some good ones here, but it required zooming down to Amazon’s 4-second bar chart in search of the ever-elusive fat pitch. Price activity at that level is always going to be frenetic and challenging, but if there’s a $400 payoff at the end of trade that takes just 90 seconds to complete, then what’s to lose from trying? If you’re keen to understand the dynamics of ‘camouflage trading’ on the tick charts, you will find this lesson well worth your time. _______________________________________________________________ By Rick Ackerman on January 30, 2014 Sometimes a trend is so strong that every entry signal produces a profit. This implies that trades initiated at ‘X’ achieve their respective midpoint pivots, at least, without having to create a second point ‘C’. For successful traders, the trick lies in knowing which days such conditions will obtain. In this lesson, we considered some instructive set-ups in LinkedIn (LNKD) where it was possible to predict, from the opening bell, that everything would be going our way.

Even when the markets are brain-dead, as they were when we looked in on them on this particular morning, there will always be opportunities for the canny trader to exploit. We found some good ones here, but it required zooming down to Amazon’s 4-second bar chart in search of the ever-elusive fat pitch. Price activity at that level is always going to be frenetic and challenging, but if there’s a $400 payoff at the end of trade that takes just 90 seconds to complete, then what’s to lose from trying? If you’re keen to understand the dynamics of ‘camouflage trading’ on the tick charts, you will find this lesson well worth your time.

Sometimes a trend is so strong that every entry signal produces a profit. This implies that trades initiated at ‘X’ achieve their respective midpoint pivots, at least, without having to create a second point ‘C’. For successful traders, the trick lies in knowing which days such conditions will obtain. In this lesson, we considered some instructive set-ups in LinkedIn (LNKD) where it was possible to predict, from the opening bell, that everything would be going our way.

Although this lesson began with a look at long-term charts for Gold and the E-Mini S&Ps, the goal was to connect up the dots to charts of lesser degree. In this way, we were able not only to sharpen our outlook for 2014, but to align short-term trading strategies with the larger trends. The session was attended mostly by students who have been attending these classes for years, and although the material covered was at expert level, it is presented in a way that will be accessible and valuable to all.

There was tedium such as we’ve rarely seen before as the market bided its time in anticipation of a Fed Tapeworm announcement. If this recording has value, it lies in the ‘anything goes’ thinking that lay behind our trading decisions, such as they were. For a glimpse at desperation in action, check out this session, a dubious classic.

Just three simple tricks can greatly improve your results when you trade using the camouflage technique. We cut to the chase in this lesson, focusing on those tricks rather than getting bogged down in such Hidden Pivot ephemera as ‘k-A segments’, distinctions between ‘internal’ and ‘external’ peaks and all the rest. The tricks are proprietary, but if you want a quickie refresher on how to use them, this recording is a must-see.

Every now and then, a seemingly perfect ‘camouflage’ set-up will produce a losing trade. When this happens, as occurred in December Gold during this session, don’t despair or swear off Hidden Pivots. Instead, you should take the failure of the trade to pan out as a sign that your trading vehicle is about to head in the opposite direction. The best way to capitalize on this is to jump on the very first camouflage ‘trigger’ headed the other way. December Gold misbehaved in exactly this way. _______________________________________________________________ By Brian Catalucci on September 13, 2013 Using puts and calls to play directional hunches is akin to using numbers cribbed from Chinese fortune cookies to play the lottery. In either case, your chances of coming out ahead are slim to none. For a look at how badly the deck is stacked against you, check out the anatomy of an option trade in which our primary goal was to keep risk and reward in a 1:3 relationship.

Using puts and calls to play directional hunches is akin to using numbers cribbed from Chinese fortune cookies to play the lottery. In either case, your chances of coming out ahead are slim to none. For a look at how badly the deck is stacked against you, check out the anatomy of an option trade in which our primary goal was to keep risk and reward in a 1:3 relationship.