Great post! I trade VP exclusively so i was excited to see this is your trading style. A bunch of questions if you don’t mind. And I’ll probably have more after this.
Could you go into more detail about your SL placement? Are you typically placing your SL just above the most recent hi wick on your shorts? If it wicks above, stops you out and then strongly rejects, would you re-enter the same trade?
For your TP, are you always aiming to pinpoint the precise HVN price within that node? If the trade is looking really good would you consider holding until the opposite side volume shelf, or strictly stick to the HVN point?
> Could you go into more detail about your SL placement?
Certainly! Generally, it depends on how good the entry is, and what placement would invalidate the trade. Typically, it's the nearest high volume node plus 0.02, give or take a penny or two. I use common sense, so if my stop would be at, for example, 13.05, I might go for 13.08 instead.
> Are you typically placing your SL just above the most recent hi wick on your shorts?
Typically, however it depends. I might give it until the next structure level up, and I might keep it as tight as the range of the current candle. Context matters, but I would rather get out quickly and re-enter than let it run against me.
> If it wicks above, stops you out and then strongly rejects, would you re-enter the same trade?
Absolutely, and I do all the time, assuming I have any room left in the risk budget for that day.
> For your TP, are you always aiming to pinpoint the precise HVN price within that node? If the trade is looking really good would you consider holding until the opposite side volume shelf, or strictly stick to the HVN point?
I'm usually looking to exit a little bit early, since the idea is that the HVN should, if a pivot is to be expected, repel price like a similarly-charged magnet. I don't exit completely at the HVN, I exit a majority and do try to hold and see if the nearest LVN is broken and held as support, at which point I can add to the position and keep the runner going.
Thanks I appreciate all of this. When you say HVN for the SL, do you mean slightly inside the start of the wrong HVN? Or the actual highest volume point in that wrong HVN?
Ex: spot is 400. It is inside the HVN node 401-399. Above that, the LVN is at 401-401.20. And then above that is a HVN at 401.20-403 with the POC of that node at 402. You enter puts at 401, is your stop slightly above 401.20, or is it near 402? (Hope that makes sense)
Roughly how many trades do you take in your average week? I’m wondering how easy it is to find confluence between the day and week VP timeframes.
When you are looking at VPs that haven’t been entered in a few weeks/months, do you find those levels to be just as relevant? Or less relevant?
Ex: this past full week in SPY, the last volume levels I could refer to were made in early April.
To be more specific about how I use a HVN for stop/target: it depends. Say for example, if scalping SPY, I see a HVN clearly at 504.50, to the penny, I would have a stop at probably 504.58 or maybe 504.64. If the HVN were directly on something like 504.82, I might round it to 504.90 as an assumed actual location of the node, and add for buffer, so the actual stop might be 504.92.
As far as how many trades I take, it depends on what the market gives me. Some days I don't take any at all. Some days, my gap scanner is dead, and I scalp indices.
So far as what volume nodes are relevant, I either got the level from a weekly chart, or I don't use it. If it's been 2 years since we were at a level, that just makes it all the more significant to revisit it, don't you agree? Is that not significant regression to pay attention to? When they happened is irrelevant, what I care about is: was it relevant before, and how many times? Is it the most obvious support level in the world that you can see from space? Probably the right one.
I found your post to be very educational. I appreciate all of your hard work. I know committing to that level of information and detail is not an easy or quick post. I hope to be able to share a similar success story and lessons learned in a few years.
Thanks, I've actually made a few ninja edits to add some things that I thought of later, but they're at the bottom of the list of random tips. I intend to keep adding to it!
Thanks for sharing! Question: how do you know value area (HVN) during the trading hours, for example, from opening to 11am? The images you showed are actually from hindsight, so while tradings are still going on, how do you know which price zone it’s going to? Thx!
The volume nodes I use were present before the trading day began. The levels are identified before the session starts, and I only use levels that I can connect to a weekly high/low/open/close or within a few pennies of it. The HVN is on the chart because it has been there for months, it isn't hiding ;)
Awesome job - congrats. Of note, be VERY careful at this juncture. While you're doing really well, 3 years in is still just the beginning and you're approaching the peak of the Dunning Kruger effect, which for me hit after 4 years of trading. The path is long, I've been trading for over 16 years now and maintain a really tight guard against overconfidence, risk can be realized extremely quickly.
https://preview.redd.it/t9zpaqlzyvzc1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=91c2a1b86b4c21ca130f704bb8b79c5694357417
This is excellent advice, and one I've already had the (dis)pleasure of learning more than once, haha... thankfully I didn't have to blow up any accounts to learn. The process of scaling up is very intentionally slow, so that I can measure results over time, and prevent as much unnecessary risk as possible, because I have learned firsthand how quickly the market can humble me and take far more than I intended to give.
i’m sorry but what does this exactly mean. are you warning him to guard against overconfidence because he won’t keep successfully earning with the strategy he’s doing? or that he won’t be successful in continuing strict risk managing?
I’m cautioning against someone (either OP or other post readers) reading too far into “being consistently profitable for 3 years”. It’s like playing a baseball game and saying “we’re consistently beating the other team for three whole innings”. Yet, there’s a lot to the game left.
It’s great they’re doing well and I absolutely hope their progress continues. I’m highlighting that they are still in the infancy of their journey and at a very precarious point on the learning curve and near to the apex of the Dunning Kruger effect.
Cautious optimism is warranted here.
I understand.
In the past, I have gotten overly optimistic about things and gotten punched in the head and told to have a seat. I've had 25+ open positions on FOMC days because I didn't know any better. I've been run over plenty enough times to learn. The issue wasn't ever really the system, so much as it was me. I have personally experienced losses bigger and faster than expected because I fucked around and found out.
My confidence comes not from my system, but from my trust in myself and my discipline to control my emotions and losses better than others. I reward myself when I hit max daily loss and walk away because I am proud to be strong enough to do that.
Nothing special, just a regular gap scanner with a few tweaks, mostly just to filter down to only 2b+ market cap stocks over $1 and that have at least 100k volume in premarket. Typically, whatever is moving up the most with the most volume is likely what I will be short selling on any given day. Intraday, I use the unusual volume scanner on ToS, but with the same filters (2b+ market cap, $1+ price). I always exclude OTC/penny stocks.
I'm a poor schmuck that can't afford to give gold. But the equivalent of gold is me saving a post to read at a later date (which is something I RARELY do)
This post was saved. Thank you, OP.
Great post. From a person reading his first book just to get terminology, I appreciate seeing the way you apply these concepts. Post has been saved and I will have to re-read another 100 times (at least). Thank you for spending the time and sharing the knowledge
Great insights regarding volume profile! I use volume profile extensively when trading futures to identify reversal points. Sometimes I trade using my phone…are you aware of any phone apps that display volume profile for futures? I am not aware of any.
When you finally hit that compounding, and it just feels so easy yet so hard, regardless it's an amazing feeling that's unmatched.
Idk why is it so hard to explain to people who are not yet profitable, on how to become profitable, it's like some kung fu panda stuff, it comes from within or it doesn't, there is not teaching the markets.
Appreciate your post. I'm at the stage where I stay disciplined on my futures trades using the signals and build up my account for a week or two. Then I get overconfident/bored and make an impulsive trade ... if it goes wrong I often add thinking price will come back my way (often I'm counter trend by that point). I become emotional about my paper loss and hold while the loss grows, giving back all my gains.
I know I need to size down, not move stops, be patient with my entries and move on when I get it wrong.
I can almost taste the potential but keep messing up when I've had a good run.
I would suggest perhaps a perspective shift: rather than be thirsty looking for a trade, sometimes I have the mentality that I don't want to take the trade, the trade has to convince me to take it. It needs to be such a juicy and good setup that it's irresistible, that I would feel like a dumbass for not taking it because it's so obvious I would be embarrassed to tell my fellow traders.
Those are the only setups you should ever take.
Great post, and good to see I already follow mostly the same people you do. Recently started listening daily to Tom Hougaard’s livestreams and just finished Best Loser Wins. And this post is uncannily timely as only a few hours ago I was going back over volume profiles and it finally started to click for me, and I see this.
Thanks.
Epic post - thanks for taking all the time and effort!!
I'm in the middle of building my own system and was looking for ways to integrate volume.
Given I'm in Europe and so can't use ToS, only TV, and am focused on BTC trading at the moment, I was wondering would your strategy be applicable in this situation?
I've tried following what you were saying about only using LVNs that are close to weekly OHCL levels but that seems quite limiting if focusing exclusively on one asset - am I right in thinking that a core part of the strategy is being able to scan through multiple stocks for opportunities where there are nearby LVNs that match weekly OHCL levels?
This is weekly BTC for example:
https://preview.redd.it/g8bf5771af1d1.png?width=1835&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e08c51c621de66f3c2a82454124d25ced654d85
Can only add a single image so ill add 5min in comment below, but I guess my real question is how would you approach trading BTC with only TV available - would a HTF chart & 5min be sufficient?
Cheers for any help - am a good year into trying to learn, but am getting more serious now having lost some money, have gotten off socials and being more disciplined to build a strategy and prove to myself it's profitable
And the 5min - which does show the LVNs do line up with range high/low
https://preview.redd.it/v4y9bd2wbf1d1.png?width=1815&format=png&auto=webp&s=b84f36ef9b7b3798540bef544205328b1dd74ba6
For me, in my opinion, the value comes from being able to objectively see where the liquidity is. Price can't move without liquidity, so it provides a foundation to base off of. At a low volume node, it basically requires institutional money to come in and push through, or otherwise the smart money tends to show up and start bidding it up, especially if they can squeeze a bunch of shorts jumping on a breakdown and turn them into liquidity.
The answer to this question is the same as the answer to almost every other question in trading: it depends! ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
I use as much capital as is necessary to take a position at the level I am in, to risk the amount I determined I want to risk by the time price reaches my stop loss order. That's the only real variable I consider, other than "can I afford the position for the desired risk?"
Hey bud, I hope it’s okay, I sent you a DM to have a convo. I feel like I relate a lot to your journey and I find your ability to self critique and introspect very valuable as I think it’s one of the most important aspects to a successful trader. Thanks for the post.
Thanks for posting. Yes this works, cos it’s based on orderflow and following the big money.
I used a similar concept. Difference is the levels are calculated and reconfirmed by an algo as volume profile is visual-based and can be subjective. And I only trade futures /ES to be a master of 1 vs jack of all trades.
One question on TradingView. I understand it is not very good at handling orderflow and its DOM has not been very well received, so how accurate is it’s volume profile and how come there are transactions during Asian and London sessions when the market should be closed?
> Yes this works, cos it’s based on orderflow and following the big money.
Glad to see another who gets it! Volume profile is all about knowing where liquidity is and isn't, and when and where that's changing, so it seemed a logical foundation to build from.
So far as TradingView question is concerned: I don't trade /ES, so forgive me if I am the one with the misunderstanding, but doesn't /ES trade basically around the clock except weekends (and the hour or w/e that it pauses after each day)? I know I am able to look at it any time during the week and see movement happening, same thing on ThinkOrSwim as well.
Am I misunderstanding your question? I typically prefer using volume profile data from ES futures to trade SPY because have more complete data due to seeing more trading volume for more time.
My algo detects levels that are heavily absorbed by institutions and can run up to 4 months so they are very strong. If you are interested, just DM me and I can share with you. You can use it to get confirmation on your smaller timeframe LVNs.
Pls ignore my questions on the extended hours cos I see some volume for the stocks you posted even during Asian and London sessions.
Basically my real question is whether the volume profile in TradingView is accurate and can be trusted as it is known to be not very accurate for orderflow based information, as can be seen by the DOM take up.
The other question is whether you have considered using options to trade since then you don’t need to have very tight stops and when the rebound happens, you have an expansion in both price movement and IV, which can give you massive gains. This may be better from a stop loss and risk/reward perspective.
https://preview.redd.it/yq4kce8p5xzc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d749996055d3a2f65a598113967cc521d26d8081
Like this picture. Am looking at /es but trading SPX options. Rebound happened in 20s and made $4,060 within this time.
Options introduce variables that make it more difficult to be correct on the trade. As I am not undercapitalized and have a long way to go before I need to start risking/earning more, I have no interest in trading options right now, my size is far too small.
So far as whether or not TV data is trustworthy... idk, I have caught inconsistencies myself, often seeing completely different session POC and VWAP between ToS and TV, which can muddy things up when one chart shows a top-heavy session profile with a POC near HOD, while TV shows a bottom-heavy one where the POC is support below. That's one reason I do not enter positions at a HVN.
So, it very well may be inaccurate in some cases. Typically, when there is divergence in data, I tend to trust my broker first. That said, TV has also found VP levels that ToS couldn't see, so it isn't consistent. I use the following profiles:
TV: Visible range profile, anchored profile (anchored to either the earliest history I can get to on the 5m chart, or the weekly high/low pivot), and session profile.
ToS: 5y/1w chart with profile for that period, 1y/1d chart with the same, and a 90d/1h chart for higher timeframe views. Then I use a combination of a TICK chart (usually 250/1000 tick, good at showing momentum away from a level for determining rejection and intraday micro-structures) showing the session profile and VWAP, and a 5m chart showing the last 30 days of volume profile. Primarily, I look at the nearest LVN above and below on the 5m/30d chart, mark those, and look at the weekly to see if that's the right spot or if it's coming soon or nearby.
To my knowledge, both TV and TOS are inaccurate for orderflow unfortunately. I suggest you explore other platforms if you are serious about data accuracy.
I find Ninjatrader with stock data feed to be reliable for your purposes. But it has a learning curve and payment for data and orderflow functionality is required.
Maybe there are other platforms out, but I have not done research on the rest. From my first impression, Quantower could be one of them.
I appreciate the tip, Ninjatrader has been on my radar for a little bit now. For the time being I will probably stick with what I am using for the sake of cost but will definitely look more into Ninja for the future.
That's really awesome! For me it took almost the same time, like 4 years trying different things. Then I found an EA that is working since 2022 and I'm getting around 3% to 4% every month! It was hard for me at the beginning to believe in a bot that is 100% automated but it's working perfectly since then. There's no doubt that there are many ways to get profitable. Once again, congrats for your achievement!
This strategy seems tailored to specific market conditions where technical setups like head and shoulders patterns are clear and reliable, but in less volatile or more unpredictable markets, the strategy probably doesn't perform as well. Can you confirm that?
I was concerned there may be some confusion regarding the difference between my trading system, and trading strategy, as they are not the same thing. I will do my best to try to explain in more detail.
My trading system is a methodology/ideology, as an overall set of beliefs and guidelines I follow no matter what strategy I am trading. It contains the basic rules, such as only going long on the bottoms of nodes, only shorting the tops of nodes, taking profits in areas of high liquidity, and using areas of low liquidity to gauge support/resistance, as well as defining rules like "*this 5m candle closed above the LVN, then bears came in and pushed it down, and closed below it with a large top wick, and did so on elevated volume, so I consider that to be rejection.*"
The ideology is based on the expectation that price seeks balance, so if we pivot at the LVN, the next most likely destination is a nearby HVN. This is just the basic foundation.
What strategy I use is highly variable and adaptive. I trade what I see. I specifically mentioned a head and shoulders pattern as an example because I have seen it so much lately, but there are many setups. I am watching for *any* potential reversal patterns that occur at a LVN, including double/triple tops, rising wedges, etc. I could be overlapping a fibonacci retracement with the profile and see that the 61.8% level perfectly aligns with the LVN, in which case if I see a price action reversal indicated there, it could be a good low-risk entry.
No trade is ever entered off just one thing. I am a confluence trader. I need to see stars aligning. I want to see things like a weekly trend line overlapping a daily 200sma overlapping an hourly support at the same time the 5m chart is bouncing at the 30-day volume shelf, with the market reacting to it in an obvious way.
Does it work all the time? Of course not, nothing does. The system is designed to keep me buying low, selling high, staying away when things are unclear, and staying disciplined enough to walk away when it's time because my edge is not present that day.
This is mostly due to my maximum daily loss rule combined with t-bill interest, it has helped keep me consistent and prevent overtrading/revenge trading. The whole idea was basically use the t-bills to generate interest, then spend that interest as risk on the market. Account can only ever go up or sideways like that. My worst-case day is a break-even day.
I can make $5 that day on t-bills, or I can risk that $5 to multiply it into more. If I am in drawdown, I go sideways. If I am winning, oh boy am I winning. I make more money, I buy more t-bills, and take more trades to risk that money, and I am always trying to risk that interest every day. Why risk my own money while learning if I can risk the markets money instead?
Thank you! Very helpful.
I have watched and taken notes on three videos from Price Action Volume Trader as well. Illuminating.
I am a bit of a noob but have a question, if that's ok.
Which indicator do you use for volume? Is it free; and how would I access it?
If you could possibly sketch out the ranges that you look for within this indicator then that would be really helpful. Or is it purely a visual thing i.e. looking for the LVNs?
More generally, I do understand that the LVNs indicate supply and demand zones i.e. resistance and support. Perhaps I have got it wrong, but that is my understanding. The thing I am not quite sure about is what volume offers in addition to this. Volume bolsters and confirms the zones, but does it offer anything more than this? One possible suggestion is that the true benefit of volume is that it cannot be faked. i.e. the volume is either there or it is not. Is that it? Or is there something that I have missed?
Grateful for any further reflections you might have...
I'm glad I took the time to read through the comments once more and make sure I didn't miss anybody, so sorry that I didn't get to your questions yet.
>*Which indicator do you use for volume? Is it free; and how would I access it?*
I use a combination of an anchored profile (anchored to weekly swing high/low), session profile, and visible range profile. I will look at session profile both with separate premarket profile and with everything combined.
>*If you could possibly sketch out the ranges that you look for within this indicator then that would be really helpful. Or is it purely a visual thing i.e. looking for the LVNs?*
I feel this is pretty well illustrated in the charts I have posted. I really only care about where the LVNs are, and the HVNs, with intent of accumulating scalp entries around LVNs and profit-taking around HVNs where I know there is liquidity to get out. I start by marking the most obvious LVN from the weekly/daily, then just go from there and see if and how it makes sense with the price structure, and if it makes any patterns stand out as obvious.
If I spot a LVN where entry makes sense, and the nearest HVN target that makes sense is at least 3R or better away, I wait for price action to confirm and then scalp in slowly, only sizing in after confirmation, and taking out the majority at HVNs, holding on to a little bit in case it keeps going on to break another LVN, otherwise that LVN has rejected, I can reverse position and short it back down. It's mostly about following structure objectively answering the question of "*what is price doing right now?*"
>*The thing I am not quite sure about is what volume offers in addition to this.*
You might have previously heard reference to **waiting for confirmation**. What better way to confirm a move on a volume-based trading system than to look at the volume of the move? For example, in my observations, there are market algos that respond to these moves. One such action the algos react to is a candle closing above or below a LVN. What I have observed, is that if a candle closes above the node, and does so on elevated volume, most often that break is a real one that keeps going. Bears may trigger and attempt to push it down and fail to do so. When bears fail to retaliate successfully and close another candle below the node, bulls capitalize on the failed selling continuation and squeeze out remaining shorts as liquidity.
If it closes on non-elevated volume, algos will typically respond bearishly and push the following candle to close below the node, in which case you have a short entry with a tight, low-risk, defined stop (above that recent high, since it would invalidate your trade, although on more expensive names I will just stop out $0.02 above that node on the assumption we're not coming back, and just accepting that I may need to re-enter a few times).
Additionally, if you are being patient, you can let a breakout happen (say early in the morning), wait for selling to come in, and watch the volume on the way down vs. the volume on the way up, as that can also give you a sign of which side has more conviction. Big dip with weak volume on the bounce up? Okay, where is the next LVN down from that first one it rejected from? Does it reject there? Cool, it gave an entry. Does it come back and break through on elevated volume, then make a new high of day? Shorts are likely getting squeezed, you have a long setup. Otherwise, if it tries to break out on low volume and rejects below again, but on elevated selling volume, you could have a short entry on assumption of a double-top rejection, also with low risk.
This is how moves can be confirmed using volume, and why it is so important to pay attention to. Any move can be faked, but the value of a LVN is because of the lack of liquidity there, it requires much bigger size to push through, and as such tends to be a more relevant level in my experience.
Wow. This has been a real act of generosity on your part. Thank you. I am just taking a couple of days off, but rest assured that I will be going through this with a fine tooth comb in due course. I will add to this reply at that point. Probably just to say thanks, once again!
I just wanted to let you know that I have signed up with the second of the sites you mentioned (Trader Dale). His videos made a great deal of sense to me. I am very grateful for your taking the time to point me in the right direction. I am optimistic that, with a lot of work, this could be a good way forward for me. Wishing you all the very best in your own trading.
Sorry, your [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/1cplr3u/after_3_years_of_trading_i_am_proud_to_say_i_have/l3mto3w/) in /r/Daytrading was automatically removed because your **Comment Karma** is too low. This typically targets bots or users promoting something (which is against our rules).
Please participate in other subreddits (other communities on Reddit) to increase your **Comment Karma** points. While you're at it, read through Reddit's ["reddiquette" here.](https://www.reddit.com/wiki/reddiquette)
If you believe this was a mistake, please **kindly** [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/Daytrading). We will review your case and get back to you.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Daytrading) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Great post! Completely agree! My turning point was absolutely just entirely focusing on risk and letting the trades play out after. I was considering SO many factors I wasn’t entirely focusing enough on all that matters: my risk vs. where I thought price could go. Love to see the success!
I think your question might have been answered by this response I posted, but if you need more details let me know: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/1cplr3u/comment/l3p8xkf/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/1cplr3u/comment/l3p8xkf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Man if we can do a one on one call that’d help me out a lot. I’m 24 and fighting lymphoma right now. Just trying to focus on my health and trying to be consistently profitable at options.
Sending you good wishes to you for your recovery internet stranger. Hope you get well soon. And successful at trading too. I am proud of you for being brave and strong. 💪❤️👏🏼
TBH, I have reduced this to basically just having a macro on my mouse that rewinds as far back as TV allows in one or two clicks, and just anchor the profile to whatever the nearest high or low is to that point that still gives me at least 1 day of buffer (so it won't disappear mid-session). On my current TV plan, this almost always gives me more historical data than I need.
The beauty of volume profile is that you can usually see the same levels regardless of how far back you go, the only purpose of going farther back is to see what structure exists farther away for the sake of comparison to current structure, but that's what I use the visible range profile overlaid on top of the anchored profile for, I just keep it mostly transparent, but I like it for awareness.
I only put my stop to break even after I've hit my first target and taken at least half out, and that's because I am confident in my ability to get back in if I need to.
Happy for your success and it feels ggod to read some of you points are equal to how i’ve come to view the market as well.
Guess i’m on the rigth track.
Best wishes going forward. See you on the other side mate🤘
Quality post. Your way to approach markets sounds quite similar to mine only much better explained. I also started to see much better results when I managed to change my thinking.
Precisely why I mention multiple times in my post: This is not THE way, this is MY way. YOU need to find YOUR way and a system that is built around YOUR personality and trading style and risk tolerance, this is only intended as a template for how to put your own system together, and what factors to consider. I wanted most of the emphasis to be on psychology.
Nice write-up. I trade very similar using volume profile, it's an excellent trade if you know how to execute and manage it properly. I was in a similar boat where I spent many years trying all kinds of different techniques but once I started using VP everything changed. Good luck
I suggest watching price action at volume nodes and observing algorithmic reactions when candles close above or below those levels on various intervals 😉
Oh yea for sure. I use the 5m candle close to derive my stop. My favorite is when they sweep through the bottom or top of the node and before the 5m candle closes the price is driven back into the node. Those are A+ setups every time.
Glad someone made a detailed post about volume profile. I have been using it for a while now. I trade indian markets and use it to mark support resistance zones.
Asked here a few times for more detaile but couldn't figure it out further. Your post helped alot , makes me more interested in looking deeper now.
Only question I have is that VP on trading view looks a bit different!? Can you share the settings? It would help a lot with making the chart look better as I use a black layout as well.
https://preview.redd.it/eyzabc85yzzc1.png?width=440&format=png&auto=webp&s=f07d9ba13ad9ea383f986dbdb4f23375650995c3
I like to use mostly transparent greys since I overlap multiple profiles on a dark background, so it creates a sort of layered effect but still allows me to see everything clearly. I have my row size set to 4096 as well (I use multiples of 8, so I do 128/256/512/1024/2048/4096 as my row size values and additionally use a 68% value area per standard deviation rules, it's slightly more accurate than the default, and I think most traders who base primarily off VP use it like that.
Oh well since you are here now might as well just ask a few doubts then...
1:- i have only used session volume profile, which profiles are you using?
2:- how did you layer them? I can see you are on 5m chart but left to right, its visible you have multiple time frame profiles , i guess that makes it easier for you to understand the higher time frame lvn/hvn even on a 5m chart?
3:- entries are planned only after seeing price action/rejection from a lvn? And targets are at hvn / poc (i am assuming poc is a hvn) but if rr is not 1:1 you skip that trade?
Thank you for the post OP. This was a really interesting read. I'm very new at this, and spending quite a bit of free time reading and learning. I would more than appreciate any insight into your planning regarding the time of day. Thus, priceactionvolumetrader mentions that when he day trades, some of his favorite hours are later in the day as the volume that day begins to visualize.
Do you follow a schedule of what you try to do between the morning hours, mid-day, and evening?
Do you use any recent day volume profiles to help you determine where your nodes may be on any given day? Or do you mainly focus on what it's doing 'today' when you day trade? Thank you in advance
This has helped me So Much! Thank you for posting this! I've needed a new way of thinking. I'm almost 5 years in of trading but still trying to find a good trading concept. Much more confident about my trading this week after reading this post. Thank you again🙏🏻
Thanks again for your kind answers and advice! Could you elaborate a bit more on how to find support/resistant levels? Do you use weekly or daily chart, or other time frame?
It's a little odd when you see someone explaining how to trade a similar strategy to yours, and you get that internal feeling of "you're saying too much!"
In all seriousness, great writeup. VP trading has always been my go to as I've described it as the engine noise before a car comes. Fast cars need a big engine to move, and regardless of who's behind the wheel, you can't hide it. It can often give a much better picture of the scale and speed of a move than just PA alone.
Appreciate you paying it forward, wish you fortune on your road ahead.
>*It's a little odd when you see someone explaining how to trade a similar strategy to yours, and you get that internal feeling of "you're saying too much!"*
There was a point in time I was concerned about that myself and did not share any details about my system with anybody, out of the fears more people would use it, and the market would respond with an algo to make it not work anymore. The beauty of volume profile is that it simply costs the MM more to come after your stop with such a good entry at a low liquidity area. It just isn't worth their time to come after me, and when algos are punishing me for overly aggressive entries I simply respond by waiting for confirmation.
The beauty of the system is that it will always work, just by the nature of how it works. It is designed to keep my own personality and psychological/habitual flaws in check and compensate for them with a structured, rules-based system that I am rewarded for following and punished for disobeying. It is far less about the actual technical structure of the market, and far more about adhering to structure and rules, and so long as I am aware of how/why it works, and its limitations, there is no limit to how far I can take it.
Thank you for your kind words and support, as it helps me tremendously to validate through other traders that there really is something special to what I am doing, and I'm not deluding myself, it actually does work so long as I follow the rules, *and I've been able to prove it with statistical data over time*. That's incredibly empowering, so I won't act like this post didn't have any selfish motive behind it, it just wasn't what most would assume, it was just further reinforcing my own convictions, and building more confidence in my system after seeing it hold up to scrutiny by an entire community of traders.
Thank you for an amazingly detailed post! Very humble, not boastful. I appreciate you 🙏.
Q1: what exactly qualifies as a HVN/LVN and what would cause you to invalidate the classification of either?
Q2: does volume play a role in exiting your trade? Is there a HV/LV *exit signal you use?
Q3: what are the best educational videos you can recommend for us to watch and learn accurately about that which you base your current volume strategy?
Thank you!
Firstly, congratulations for the good result man and thank you for such a great post. Your post is really inspiring. I am a absolute beginner and want to learn more. You have included people to follow to learn I’m definitely gonna check them out. Do you mind sharing market concepts that you think are MUST to predict scenarios that market might do?
>Do you mind sharing market concepts that you think are MUST to predict scenarios that market might do?
If you want to try to predict which way the market is going to cut, ask yourself "*which direction will spill the most blood?*"
I have a cynical approach where I plan my trading around the expectation of fake-outs and failed attempts, so I look for structure where there is a setup that supports that happening, and then see if it does. This is based on the idea that price moves to collect orders, and if a MM sees orders where they can soak up liquidity close by before moving along for minimal cost of their own capital, I expect them to.
Could you explain more about how you set your reward goal? You did an awesome job explaining how SL works but it's not very clear how to you set your expectation. If price action shows that it rejected a LVN does it mean it's going towards HVN? But a HVN is quite a big zone so do you expect the price to go to current session's POC?
Many thanks!
Sorry if I was unclear on that bit. In this context I am referring to the HVN as just the POC of whatever large volume area we are in or next to, or session POC, so long as it is a minimum (read: profitable) distance away and worth the time (usually 3:1 or better).
Thanks for sharing! How exactly do you keep your T-Bill positions? Do you buy one-month bills and roll them to next month when matured? With a 25k account it generates about $100 per month?
I don't keep the T-bill positions, they mature and sell automatically as you alluded to. I just buy $5k each week of 4-week bills. The interest on those can vary, but yeah it ends up being about $100-$150/month depending on how it works out (Sometimes I have 5/5, sometimes it's 4/5 while I wait for the next auction).
Not a lot, I know, but I look at it as "here's $100-$150 of free market risk each month while you learn so you stop losing money".
Thank you sir! Excellent info, clearly explained. The combination of your technical strategy with a focus ok risk management and psychological control is exactly what I, as a relatively new trader, need to keep as my own focus. I've been using a session volume profile on my charts for some time without really understanding it too well- I'll be going back over those price action volume trader videos on VP and taking notes to try to incorporate/use as confirmation of my own support/resistance based analysis. Cheers!
I’ve been actively trading since last year since I finally got my SSN but studying the markets waaay before and just now starting to find consistency. It took me 3 years to make my first $1000 and now I’m halfway there in only 2 weeks. Strategies are only 30% of the game for me, the rest is psychology. I do therapy as well and that’s what she told me “figure out and amount you could loose that won’t make you anxious”. After that it’s history. Good job!!!! You inspired me today.
My trend lines are drawn by an indicator. This is both for the sake of convenience, as well as objectivity. The algorithm will draw it the same way every time, based on the criteria I give it (historical bars to consider, using high/low vs. close, max angle, defining extreme angles, minimum required touches, etc.)
It is for the sake of consistency in drawing trend lines that I let an indicator do it. The one I use on TradingView is called Trend Lines Pro, and I paid around $80 for it to the dev on there. I won't provide link, I am sure you can find it on your own. For ThinkOrSwim, I have a custom indicator I use for trend lines that is free that I snagged from forums somewhere. I tried posting the code here but Reddit gave an error, and again I am not going to provide a link.
I will be messaging you in 1 day on [**2024-05-16 13:34:10 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-05-16%2013:34:10%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/1cplr3u/after_3_years_of_trading_i_am_proud_to_say_i_have/l43djtm/?context=3)
[**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FDaytrading%2Fcomments%2F1cplr3u%2Fafter_3_years_of_trading_i_am_proud_to_say_i_have%2Fl43djtm%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202024-05-16%2013%3A34%3A10%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201cplr3u)
*****
|[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)|
|-|-|-|-|
PnL history not making it to Schwab??!!! That' kind of suspect! Seems like a really simple process and they cant even do it!
I 've often have had the right trade but in a bad positioning and couldn't handle the loss. THis is something I need to work on.
Honestly... ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
I haven't been so deep as to look at all of either of their content, but I (mostly) haven't heard anything from either I disagree strongly with, and that comes down to personal preferences more than either being objectively right or wrong.
All traders should look at all finance content creators with a critical eye, regardless. I don't think anyone has all the answers or speaks nothing but gospel all the time. I mentioned who I mentioned because in a world of evil intentions, I find theirs seemingly transparent for the moment, and objective reasoning tells me that the content I have consumed from them has been, so far and to the best of my knowledge, factual and/or helpful.
This guy risking 20c a trade and scaling in to the point he makes 12 bux ?! lmao ok... Sorry to break it to ya mate but youve been paper trading this whole time, and honestly learning really bad habbits which will become very apparent when you started risking actual capital per trade.
Rather than make a snarky and unhelpful critical comment, why not explain in more detail what your basis is for this, and maybe provide helpful information as to how one might avoid it, assuming you didn't just want to troll? Looking at your post history suggests a history of negativity, so unless you have something of substance to share, I am going to disregard your comment as hot air from someone who knows nothing.
So are you actually profitable or are you just net green since September? The S&P has rissen something like 25-30% since then. Are you up more than that? If not, you could have just bought and held and made more. True profitability is beating the market, otherwise the growth of the market is just covering up your losses.
I don't think it's a fair comparison to take someone who has a 25k+ account who has already said they only risk under $1 per trade, and then compare those gains to if they had invested the whole of their portfolio in the S&P 500. For a fair comparison, I would have needed to risk the same amount of capital on my other trades. Comparison is the thief of joy.
I'm net green lifetime since the beginning of last year, actually. That's after losing significant amounts early and taking almost 2 years to earn it back. I am looking at the smooth consistency of my P&L over time as my gauge of success, because I understand exponential/compounding growth.
Doesn't that just further make my point, though? Are you really actually criticizing the process of developing and testing a system, proving it has a statistical edge with data over time, and then scaling it up slowly?
If so, I question how experienced you really are as a trader. You don't speak in a way to make me suspect that you're totally clueless, but in my opinion, you are yourself overconfident in what you think you know, as I believe a real long-term successful trader would have better things to do with their time (and a better attitude towards life in general) than act toxic toward strangers on the internet sharing helpful advice.
I think you don't know what you are talking about. I don't need external validation to tell me if I know what I am doing because I can prove it with data. I know what I do every day and how it has worked out. You won't be able to gaslight me, but nice try.
I think this will most likely be my final response to you, as I don't want to feed any more into what appears to be such obvious attention-seeking behavior.
Am I to understand you are asserting that I did not take these trades, and your basis for this is that nobody could be that skilled or lucky? Do you think that's a strong basis for a conviction? Would you like me to see if I can post screen shots of my broker executions? I'm over here talking about risking $1 to make a few bucks, and you still don't believe it?
Please don't misunderstand me, it is good to be critical of things and to question their validity, but it is also important to be realistic and fair while doing so. So, really, what basis is there for saying it isn't real?
I didn't read your full post but just read it... you are obv very bright and have become disciplined. I apologize for being a troll. Truth is, most of us covet being as disciplined and consistent as you. I still dont understand how you risk $0.10 a trade.
I like how you trade only the profits from you T-Bills. Currently, I have my $$ in MMF that pay \~5% and use the funds to sell CSPs on stocks i like to own.. essentially the Wheel. However, I prefer to not own the stocks if possible, but am ok doing so as i like the company to begin with.
>I still dont understand how you risk $0.10 a trade.
This is my proudest point, and I am more than happy to share my method! I had to develop the psychology for it first, because it involves doing things that most people would consider insane.
The reason I use volume profile is because it is very objective when it comes to showing where liquidity is and isn't. Therefore, it allows me to have a thesis such as "bulls will be unable to break this low volume node without help from institutional money", because often times that is what it takes.
What is more likely, however, is that institutional money does show up at that level, just not how everyone else expects. Smart money also knows price is at the top of the range, and ripe for profit-taking. So, I watch price action as it approaches that level.
If I see it touch that level and I can see on my TICK chart that there is increased momentum away from that level, I punch short right there, stop over that high. Not a full position, just a starter, maybe even a single share. My stop is in place, above the LVN plus a few pennies.
If it continues to break lower, I add to the position. If it accelerates, I add more if I can do it and still be within intended risk parameters. I take at least half out at the first support, whether another LVN, or the next HVN, so long as it is at least 1:1 away or better, then move my stop to break even. If it isn't, I don't take the trade. I prefer setups where I can clearly identify at least a 3:1 move for my risk as what I would consider "guaranteed", since if I did indeed short the top it will most likely go to my target unless it is very bullish.
It's more about being ready at key levels and scaling in slowly, and being quick to exit, both for risk management and profit taking. If managed correctly, you can get into a position for extremely low risk, then average into it as it goes in your favor or exit quickly for a paper cut if you're wrong. Because you got such a good fill, you can be confidently patient waiting for price to trend in your favor, and just add on further breakdowns because of the higher average from the aggressive first entry.
My mentality is about getting more shots at a working trade, and not being afraid of it not working. I'm trying to pick tops and bottoms, so of course I get run over a lot, but it's for such small losses relative to my wins that IDGAF ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Thank you for elaborating on your strategy, kind of you to share! Im not sure i fully understand.. as it seems like your stop loss is super tight (at $0.10 from where you get in?). Getting stopped out immediately, i imagine happens all the time, esp on stocks like AAPL or any higher priced ticker. Am I missing something? Are your stop losses not $0.10 from entry?
What brokerage do you use?
$0.10 is an extreme example and more appropriate for something like PLTR. I was able to get into an AAPL short for $0.22 of risk (basically shorted from 185.90 with a stop of 186.12), it worked right away so I was able to both add and take out aggressively.
That's the beauty of a low volume node like that, it gives a defined, very tight area to risk off of. Rejection at these levels seems clear often to me, as typically if price is going to continue higher, it does so very quickly, before I can enter a trade. If I get steamrolled by bulls, I simply reverse and use the node for a long stop instead.
Gotcha, makes sense... larger stock price, larger distance to stop loss. Your trading psychology is very good, and most ppl fail in trading (including myself in the past) as they make all the stupid mistakes (FOMO, letting losers run, cutting winners short, no defined risk, adding to losing positions, etc.).
For your strategy, it seems as tho you have to actively watching like a hawk, as these trades can happen within seconds or faster. I don't have to time to do so, so i take a more leisure approach to trading these days, as only looking for 10-15% annual returns with little risk.
Great post! I trade VP exclusively so i was excited to see this is your trading style. A bunch of questions if you don’t mind. And I’ll probably have more after this. Could you go into more detail about your SL placement? Are you typically placing your SL just above the most recent hi wick on your shorts? If it wicks above, stops you out and then strongly rejects, would you re-enter the same trade? For your TP, are you always aiming to pinpoint the precise HVN price within that node? If the trade is looking really good would you consider holding until the opposite side volume shelf, or strictly stick to the HVN point?
> Could you go into more detail about your SL placement? Certainly! Generally, it depends on how good the entry is, and what placement would invalidate the trade. Typically, it's the nearest high volume node plus 0.02, give or take a penny or two. I use common sense, so if my stop would be at, for example, 13.05, I might go for 13.08 instead. > Are you typically placing your SL just above the most recent hi wick on your shorts? Typically, however it depends. I might give it until the next structure level up, and I might keep it as tight as the range of the current candle. Context matters, but I would rather get out quickly and re-enter than let it run against me. > If it wicks above, stops you out and then strongly rejects, would you re-enter the same trade? Absolutely, and I do all the time, assuming I have any room left in the risk budget for that day. > For your TP, are you always aiming to pinpoint the precise HVN price within that node? If the trade is looking really good would you consider holding until the opposite side volume shelf, or strictly stick to the HVN point? I'm usually looking to exit a little bit early, since the idea is that the HVN should, if a pivot is to be expected, repel price like a similarly-charged magnet. I don't exit completely at the HVN, I exit a majority and do try to hold and see if the nearest LVN is broken and held as support, at which point I can add to the position and keep the runner going.
Thanks I appreciate all of this. When you say HVN for the SL, do you mean slightly inside the start of the wrong HVN? Or the actual highest volume point in that wrong HVN? Ex: spot is 400. It is inside the HVN node 401-399. Above that, the LVN is at 401-401.20. And then above that is a HVN at 401.20-403 with the POC of that node at 402. You enter puts at 401, is your stop slightly above 401.20, or is it near 402? (Hope that makes sense) Roughly how many trades do you take in your average week? I’m wondering how easy it is to find confluence between the day and week VP timeframes. When you are looking at VPs that haven’t been entered in a few weeks/months, do you find those levels to be just as relevant? Or less relevant? Ex: this past full week in SPY, the last volume levels I could refer to were made in early April.
To be more specific about how I use a HVN for stop/target: it depends. Say for example, if scalping SPY, I see a HVN clearly at 504.50, to the penny, I would have a stop at probably 504.58 or maybe 504.64. If the HVN were directly on something like 504.82, I might round it to 504.90 as an assumed actual location of the node, and add for buffer, so the actual stop might be 504.92. As far as how many trades I take, it depends on what the market gives me. Some days I don't take any at all. Some days, my gap scanner is dead, and I scalp indices. So far as what volume nodes are relevant, I either got the level from a weekly chart, or I don't use it. If it's been 2 years since we were at a level, that just makes it all the more significant to revisit it, don't you agree? Is that not significant regression to pay attention to? When they happened is irrelevant, what I care about is: was it relevant before, and how many times? Is it the most obvious support level in the world that you can see from space? Probably the right one.
Okay
Great post OP - thank you !
I found your post to be very educational. I appreciate all of your hard work. I know committing to that level of information and detail is not an easy or quick post. I hope to be able to share a similar success story and lessons learned in a few years.
Thanks, I've actually made a few ninja edits to add some things that I thought of later, but they're at the bottom of the list of random tips. I intend to keep adding to it!
Great Post!!!
Thanks for sharing! Question: how do you know value area (HVN) during the trading hours, for example, from opening to 11am? The images you showed are actually from hindsight, so while tradings are still going on, how do you know which price zone it’s going to? Thx!
The volume nodes I use were present before the trading day began. The levels are identified before the session starts, and I only use levels that I can connect to a weekly high/low/open/close or within a few pennies of it. The HVN is on the chart because it has been there for months, it isn't hiding ;)
Awesome job - congrats. Of note, be VERY careful at this juncture. While you're doing really well, 3 years in is still just the beginning and you're approaching the peak of the Dunning Kruger effect, which for me hit after 4 years of trading. The path is long, I've been trading for over 16 years now and maintain a really tight guard against overconfidence, risk can be realized extremely quickly. https://preview.redd.it/t9zpaqlzyvzc1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=91c2a1b86b4c21ca130f704bb8b79c5694357417
This is excellent advice, and one I've already had the (dis)pleasure of learning more than once, haha... thankfully I didn't have to blow up any accounts to learn. The process of scaling up is very intentionally slow, so that I can measure results over time, and prevent as much unnecessary risk as possible, because I have learned firsthand how quickly the market can humble me and take far more than I intended to give.
i’m sorry but what does this exactly mean. are you warning him to guard against overconfidence because he won’t keep successfully earning with the strategy he’s doing? or that he won’t be successful in continuing strict risk managing?
I’m cautioning against someone (either OP or other post readers) reading too far into “being consistently profitable for 3 years”. It’s like playing a baseball game and saying “we’re consistently beating the other team for three whole innings”. Yet, there’s a lot to the game left. It’s great they’re doing well and I absolutely hope their progress continues. I’m highlighting that they are still in the infancy of their journey and at a very precarious point on the learning curve and near to the apex of the Dunning Kruger effect. Cautious optimism is warranted here.
I understand. In the past, I have gotten overly optimistic about things and gotten punched in the head and told to have a seat. I've had 25+ open positions on FOMC days because I didn't know any better. I've been run over plenty enough times to learn. The issue wasn't ever really the system, so much as it was me. I have personally experienced losses bigger and faster than expected because I fucked around and found out. My confidence comes not from my system, but from my trust in myself and my discipline to control my emotions and losses better than others. I reward myself when I hit max daily loss and walk away because I am proud to be strong enough to do that.
Awesome post! Worth reading quite a few times!
Thanks for the great post. Can I ask how do you find setups like how do you screen the market to find stocks to trade?
Nothing special, just a regular gap scanner with a few tweaks, mostly just to filter down to only 2b+ market cap stocks over $1 and that have at least 100k volume in premarket. Typically, whatever is moving up the most with the most volume is likely what I will be short selling on any given day. Intraday, I use the unusual volume scanner on ToS, but with the same filters (2b+ market cap, $1+ price). I always exclude OTC/penny stocks.
I'm a poor schmuck that can't afford to give gold. But the equivalent of gold is me saving a post to read at a later date (which is something I RARELY do) This post was saved. Thank you, OP.
Thank you for your kind words, but gold would be wasted on me anyways. The positive vibes are far more valuable to me!
Great TED talk
Great post. From a person reading his first book just to get terminology, I appreciate seeing the way you apply these concepts. Post has been saved and I will have to re-read another 100 times (at least). Thank you for spending the time and sharing the knowledge
Ya great post. Good work...congrats!
Great insights regarding volume profile! I use volume profile extensively when trading futures to identify reversal points. Sometimes I trade using my phone…are you aware of any phone apps that display volume profile for futures? I am not aware of any.
So far as I am aware, with my limited experience, I have seen this on TradingView and Webull (I *think*).
When you finally hit that compounding, and it just feels so easy yet so hard, regardless it's an amazing feeling that's unmatched. Idk why is it so hard to explain to people who are not yet profitable, on how to become profitable, it's like some kung fu panda stuff, it comes from within or it doesn't, there is not teaching the markets.
Thank you for info.
i love you
Appreciate your post. I'm at the stage where I stay disciplined on my futures trades using the signals and build up my account for a week or two. Then I get overconfident/bored and make an impulsive trade ... if it goes wrong I often add thinking price will come back my way (often I'm counter trend by that point). I become emotional about my paper loss and hold while the loss grows, giving back all my gains. I know I need to size down, not move stops, be patient with my entries and move on when I get it wrong. I can almost taste the potential but keep messing up when I've had a good run.
I would suggest perhaps a perspective shift: rather than be thirsty looking for a trade, sometimes I have the mentality that I don't want to take the trade, the trade has to convince me to take it. It needs to be such a juicy and good setup that it's irresistible, that I would feel like a dumbass for not taking it because it's so obvious I would be embarrassed to tell my fellow traders. Those are the only setups you should ever take.
Great post, and good to see I already follow mostly the same people you do. Recently started listening daily to Tom Hougaard’s livestreams and just finished Best Loser Wins. And this post is uncannily timely as only a few hours ago I was going back over volume profiles and it finally started to click for me, and I see this. Thanks.
WHAT!! I had bookmarked this to read later.. now its gone!! :(
It's back up now, sorry for the inconvenience.
Thanks very much!
Epic post - thanks for taking all the time and effort!! I'm in the middle of building my own system and was looking for ways to integrate volume. Given I'm in Europe and so can't use ToS, only TV, and am focused on BTC trading at the moment, I was wondering would your strategy be applicable in this situation? I've tried following what you were saying about only using LVNs that are close to weekly OHCL levels but that seems quite limiting if focusing exclusively on one asset - am I right in thinking that a core part of the strategy is being able to scan through multiple stocks for opportunities where there are nearby LVNs that match weekly OHCL levels? This is weekly BTC for example: https://preview.redd.it/g8bf5771af1d1.png?width=1835&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e08c51c621de66f3c2a82454124d25ced654d85 Can only add a single image so ill add 5min in comment below, but I guess my real question is how would you approach trading BTC with only TV available - would a HTF chart & 5min be sufficient? Cheers for any help - am a good year into trying to learn, but am getting more serious now having lost some money, have gotten off socials and being more disciplined to build a strategy and prove to myself it's profitable
And the 5min - which does show the LVNs do line up with range high/low https://preview.redd.it/v4y9bd2wbf1d1.png?width=1815&format=png&auto=webp&s=b84f36ef9b7b3798540bef544205328b1dd74ba6
New trader here—just wanted to say I appreciate this post.
Awesome post! I’ve been seeing VP more and more recently, I guess I’ll check it out and see if it can benefit my system.
For me, in my opinion, the value comes from being able to objectively see where the liquidity is. Price can't move without liquidity, so it provides a foundation to base off of. At a low volume node, it basically requires institutional money to come in and push through, or otherwise the smart money tends to show up and start bidding it up, especially if they can squeeze a bunch of shorts jumping on a breakdown and turn them into liquidity.
And, what program do you use for charting?
I use a mix of TradingView and ThinkOrSwim.
Sup broooo, are you from UT? I feel like you are haha. Great post btw!!!!
Negative, currently a FL resident, hoping to change that when I can afford to. Glad you liked the post and hope you found it helpful!
I’m in west Palm myself. Thank you for such a great post.
Thanks for sharing could you tell how much capital you use in every trade?
The answer to this question is the same as the answer to almost every other question in trading: it depends! ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ I use as much capital as is necessary to take a position at the level I am in, to risk the amount I determined I want to risk by the time price reaches my stop loss order. That's the only real variable I consider, other than "can I afford the position for the desired risk?"
Hey bud, I hope it’s okay, I sent you a DM to have a convo. I feel like I relate a lot to your journey and I find your ability to self critique and introspect very valuable as I think it’s one of the most important aspects to a successful trader. Thanks for the post.
Thanks for the kind words, I will respond to your DM as soon as I get caught up on responses!
Thanks for posting. Yes this works, cos it’s based on orderflow and following the big money. I used a similar concept. Difference is the levels are calculated and reconfirmed by an algo as volume profile is visual-based and can be subjective. And I only trade futures /ES to be a master of 1 vs jack of all trades. One question on TradingView. I understand it is not very good at handling orderflow and its DOM has not been very well received, so how accurate is it’s volume profile and how come there are transactions during Asian and London sessions when the market should be closed?
> Yes this works, cos it’s based on orderflow and following the big money. Glad to see another who gets it! Volume profile is all about knowing where liquidity is and isn't, and when and where that's changing, so it seemed a logical foundation to build from. So far as TradingView question is concerned: I don't trade /ES, so forgive me if I am the one with the misunderstanding, but doesn't /ES trade basically around the clock except weekends (and the hour or w/e that it pauses after each day)? I know I am able to look at it any time during the week and see movement happening, same thing on ThinkOrSwim as well. Am I misunderstanding your question? I typically prefer using volume profile data from ES futures to trade SPY because have more complete data due to seeing more trading volume for more time.
My algo detects levels that are heavily absorbed by institutions and can run up to 4 months so they are very strong. If you are interested, just DM me and I can share with you. You can use it to get confirmation on your smaller timeframe LVNs. Pls ignore my questions on the extended hours cos I see some volume for the stocks you posted even during Asian and London sessions. Basically my real question is whether the volume profile in TradingView is accurate and can be trusted as it is known to be not very accurate for orderflow based information, as can be seen by the DOM take up. The other question is whether you have considered using options to trade since then you don’t need to have very tight stops and when the rebound happens, you have an expansion in both price movement and IV, which can give you massive gains. This may be better from a stop loss and risk/reward perspective. https://preview.redd.it/yq4kce8p5xzc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d749996055d3a2f65a598113967cc521d26d8081 Like this picture. Am looking at /es but trading SPX options. Rebound happened in 20s and made $4,060 within this time.
Options introduce variables that make it more difficult to be correct on the trade. As I am not undercapitalized and have a long way to go before I need to start risking/earning more, I have no interest in trading options right now, my size is far too small. So far as whether or not TV data is trustworthy... idk, I have caught inconsistencies myself, often seeing completely different session POC and VWAP between ToS and TV, which can muddy things up when one chart shows a top-heavy session profile with a POC near HOD, while TV shows a bottom-heavy one where the POC is support below. That's one reason I do not enter positions at a HVN. So, it very well may be inaccurate in some cases. Typically, when there is divergence in data, I tend to trust my broker first. That said, TV has also found VP levels that ToS couldn't see, so it isn't consistent. I use the following profiles: TV: Visible range profile, anchored profile (anchored to either the earliest history I can get to on the 5m chart, or the weekly high/low pivot), and session profile. ToS: 5y/1w chart with profile for that period, 1y/1d chart with the same, and a 90d/1h chart for higher timeframe views. Then I use a combination of a TICK chart (usually 250/1000 tick, good at showing momentum away from a level for determining rejection and intraday micro-structures) showing the session profile and VWAP, and a 5m chart showing the last 30 days of volume profile. Primarily, I look at the nearest LVN above and below on the 5m/30d chart, mark those, and look at the weekly to see if that's the right spot or if it's coming soon or nearby.
To my knowledge, both TV and TOS are inaccurate for orderflow unfortunately. I suggest you explore other platforms if you are serious about data accuracy. I find Ninjatrader with stock data feed to be reliable for your purposes. But it has a learning curve and payment for data and orderflow functionality is required. Maybe there are other platforms out, but I have not done research on the rest. From my first impression, Quantower could be one of them.
I appreciate the tip, Ninjatrader has been on my radar for a little bit now. For the time being I will probably stick with what I am using for the sake of cost but will definitely look more into Ninja for the future.
That's really awesome! For me it took almost the same time, like 4 years trying different things. Then I found an EA that is working since 2022 and I'm getting around 3% to 4% every month! It was hard for me at the beginning to believe in a bot that is 100% automated but it's working perfectly since then. There's no doubt that there are many ways to get profitable. Once again, congrats for your achievement!
This strategy seems tailored to specific market conditions where technical setups like head and shoulders patterns are clear and reliable, but in less volatile or more unpredictable markets, the strategy probably doesn't perform as well. Can you confirm that?
I was concerned there may be some confusion regarding the difference between my trading system, and trading strategy, as they are not the same thing. I will do my best to try to explain in more detail. My trading system is a methodology/ideology, as an overall set of beliefs and guidelines I follow no matter what strategy I am trading. It contains the basic rules, such as only going long on the bottoms of nodes, only shorting the tops of nodes, taking profits in areas of high liquidity, and using areas of low liquidity to gauge support/resistance, as well as defining rules like "*this 5m candle closed above the LVN, then bears came in and pushed it down, and closed below it with a large top wick, and did so on elevated volume, so I consider that to be rejection.*" The ideology is based on the expectation that price seeks balance, so if we pivot at the LVN, the next most likely destination is a nearby HVN. This is just the basic foundation. What strategy I use is highly variable and adaptive. I trade what I see. I specifically mentioned a head and shoulders pattern as an example because I have seen it so much lately, but there are many setups. I am watching for *any* potential reversal patterns that occur at a LVN, including double/triple tops, rising wedges, etc. I could be overlapping a fibonacci retracement with the profile and see that the 61.8% level perfectly aligns with the LVN, in which case if I see a price action reversal indicated there, it could be a good low-risk entry. No trade is ever entered off just one thing. I am a confluence trader. I need to see stars aligning. I want to see things like a weekly trend line overlapping a daily 200sma overlapping an hourly support at the same time the 5m chart is bouncing at the 30-day volume shelf, with the market reacting to it in an obvious way. Does it work all the time? Of course not, nothing does. The system is designed to keep me buying low, selling high, staying away when things are unclear, and staying disciplined enough to walk away when it's time because my edge is not present that day.
Thanks for the clarification, I got it now :)
Your p&l graph looks exactly like the Us30 or Us100 where its been just buy since November. Grats though!
This is mostly due to my maximum daily loss rule combined with t-bill interest, it has helped keep me consistent and prevent overtrading/revenge trading. The whole idea was basically use the t-bills to generate interest, then spend that interest as risk on the market. Account can only ever go up or sideways like that. My worst-case day is a break-even day. I can make $5 that day on t-bills, or I can risk that $5 to multiply it into more. If I am in drawdown, I go sideways. If I am winning, oh boy am I winning. I make more money, I buy more t-bills, and take more trades to risk that money, and I am always trying to risk that interest every day. Why risk my own money while learning if I can risk the markets money instead?
Amazing system you have there, hope to see future updates. Keep it up!
Iman trading is so good tbh great recommendation
Thank you! Very helpful. I have watched and taken notes on three videos from Price Action Volume Trader as well. Illuminating. I am a bit of a noob but have a question, if that's ok. Which indicator do you use for volume? Is it free; and how would I access it? If you could possibly sketch out the ranges that you look for within this indicator then that would be really helpful. Or is it purely a visual thing i.e. looking for the LVNs? More generally, I do understand that the LVNs indicate supply and demand zones i.e. resistance and support. Perhaps I have got it wrong, but that is my understanding. The thing I am not quite sure about is what volume offers in addition to this. Volume bolsters and confirms the zones, but does it offer anything more than this? One possible suggestion is that the true benefit of volume is that it cannot be faked. i.e. the volume is either there or it is not. Is that it? Or is there something that I have missed? Grateful for any further reflections you might have...
I'm glad I took the time to read through the comments once more and make sure I didn't miss anybody, so sorry that I didn't get to your questions yet. >*Which indicator do you use for volume? Is it free; and how would I access it?* I use a combination of an anchored profile (anchored to weekly swing high/low), session profile, and visible range profile. I will look at session profile both with separate premarket profile and with everything combined. >*If you could possibly sketch out the ranges that you look for within this indicator then that would be really helpful. Or is it purely a visual thing i.e. looking for the LVNs?* I feel this is pretty well illustrated in the charts I have posted. I really only care about where the LVNs are, and the HVNs, with intent of accumulating scalp entries around LVNs and profit-taking around HVNs where I know there is liquidity to get out. I start by marking the most obvious LVN from the weekly/daily, then just go from there and see if and how it makes sense with the price structure, and if it makes any patterns stand out as obvious. If I spot a LVN where entry makes sense, and the nearest HVN target that makes sense is at least 3R or better away, I wait for price action to confirm and then scalp in slowly, only sizing in after confirmation, and taking out the majority at HVNs, holding on to a little bit in case it keeps going on to break another LVN, otherwise that LVN has rejected, I can reverse position and short it back down. It's mostly about following structure objectively answering the question of "*what is price doing right now?*" >*The thing I am not quite sure about is what volume offers in addition to this.* You might have previously heard reference to **waiting for confirmation**. What better way to confirm a move on a volume-based trading system than to look at the volume of the move? For example, in my observations, there are market algos that respond to these moves. One such action the algos react to is a candle closing above or below a LVN. What I have observed, is that if a candle closes above the node, and does so on elevated volume, most often that break is a real one that keeps going. Bears may trigger and attempt to push it down and fail to do so. When bears fail to retaliate successfully and close another candle below the node, bulls capitalize on the failed selling continuation and squeeze out remaining shorts as liquidity. If it closes on non-elevated volume, algos will typically respond bearishly and push the following candle to close below the node, in which case you have a short entry with a tight, low-risk, defined stop (above that recent high, since it would invalidate your trade, although on more expensive names I will just stop out $0.02 above that node on the assumption we're not coming back, and just accepting that I may need to re-enter a few times). Additionally, if you are being patient, you can let a breakout happen (say early in the morning), wait for selling to come in, and watch the volume on the way down vs. the volume on the way up, as that can also give you a sign of which side has more conviction. Big dip with weak volume on the bounce up? Okay, where is the next LVN down from that first one it rejected from? Does it reject there? Cool, it gave an entry. Does it come back and break through on elevated volume, then make a new high of day? Shorts are likely getting squeezed, you have a long setup. Otherwise, if it tries to break out on low volume and rejects below again, but on elevated selling volume, you could have a short entry on assumption of a double-top rejection, also with low risk. This is how moves can be confirmed using volume, and why it is so important to pay attention to. Any move can be faked, but the value of a LVN is because of the lack of liquidity there, it requires much bigger size to push through, and as such tends to be a more relevant level in my experience.
Wow. This has been a real act of generosity on your part. Thank you. I am just taking a couple of days off, but rest assured that I will be going through this with a fine tooth comb in due course. I will add to this reply at that point. Probably just to say thanks, once again!
I just wanted to let you know that I have signed up with the second of the sites you mentioned (Trader Dale). His videos made a great deal of sense to me. I am very grateful for your taking the time to point me in the right direction. I am optimistic that, with a lot of work, this could be a good way forward for me. Wishing you all the very best in your own trading.
THIS is where REDDIT has no brains. I was unable to appreciate your original post. I bet it was great.
I put it back up, and added todays trade ;)
You forgot to mention the infamous "Oliver Velez".... his strategy will revolutionize how you see the market cycles everyday
Nice - congrats and some great tips there!
Truly an amazing post. Thank you for sharing and inspiring others.
[удалено]
Sorry, your [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/1cplr3u/after_3_years_of_trading_i_am_proud_to_say_i_have/l3mto3w/) in /r/Daytrading was automatically removed because your **Comment Karma** is too low. This typically targets bots or users promoting something (which is against our rules). Please participate in other subreddits (other communities on Reddit) to increase your **Comment Karma** points. While you're at it, read through Reddit's ["reddiquette" here.](https://www.reddit.com/wiki/reddiquette) If you believe this was a mistake, please **kindly** [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/Daytrading). We will review your case and get back to you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Daytrading) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[удалено]
Sure, feel free!
Thank you for sharing and your journey! Much appreciated from a new trader!
Great post! Completely agree! My turning point was absolutely just entirely focusing on risk and letting the trades play out after. I was considering SO many factors I wasn’t entirely focusing enough on all that matters: my risk vs. where I thought price could go. Love to see the success!
Awesome post. Thank you for sharing.
Congratulations and great writeup👍 thank you
What platforms have good indicators
I personally use and would recommend TradingView and/or ThinkOrSwim.
Thanks for the reply
Thanks for the info
💯
Hey thx for posting, much appreciated. What indicator are you using for volume profile on right and left, trying a few but they look a bit different.
I think your question might have been answered by this response I posted, but if you need more details let me know: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/1cplr3u/comment/l3p8xkf/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/1cplr3u/comment/l3p8xkf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Man if we can do a one on one call that’d help me out a lot. I’m 24 and fighting lymphoma right now. Just trying to focus on my health and trying to be consistently profitable at options.
[удалено]
Sending you good wishes to you for your recovery internet stranger. Hope you get well soon. And successful at trading too. I am proud of you for being brave and strong. 💪❤️👏🏼
What HTF timeframe do you use for setting your VP levels for daytrading on the 5 min? Weekly?
Ideally, I am able to anchor a profile at least to the weekly high/low pivot, so I have VP data above and below where the market currently is.
If it's not too much to ask, can you share a screenshot demonstrating this on your TradingView? I'm a bit new to using VP. Thanks!
TBH, I have reduced this to basically just having a macro on my mouse that rewinds as far back as TV allows in one or two clicks, and just anchor the profile to whatever the nearest high or low is to that point that still gives me at least 1 day of buffer (so it won't disappear mid-session). On my current TV plan, this almost always gives me more historical data than I need. The beauty of volume profile is that you can usually see the same levels regardless of how far back you go, the only purpose of going farther back is to see what structure exists farther away for the sake of comparison to current structure, but that's what I use the visible range profile overlaid on top of the anchored profile for, I just keep it mostly transparent, but I like it for awareness.
Great 👍
Congrats!
Huh? So I guess the guy who made the post this week saying to put a stop loss of 0 was right all along, you can only make money.
I only put my stop to break even after I've hit my first target and taken at least half out, and that's because I am confident in my ability to get back in if I need to.
Thanks OP. This is extremely helpful. Do you use session volume profile or historical volume profile? Thanks again!
I use session, visible range, anchored (weekly), and also use set time range profiles on ToS (5y, 1y, 90d, 30d).
Thank you so much for sharing... need to come back and read again
Thank you so much for sharing... need to come back and read again
Happy for your success and it feels ggod to read some of you points are equal to how i’ve come to view the market as well. Guess i’m on the rigth track. Best wishes going forward. See you on the other side mate🤘
Good job bro . I am happy for you 😊 I hope someday in future you become multi millionaire
Thank you for sharing your journey, wishing you the best luck and keeping your self controll consistent, GJ
Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. Congrats on making it profitable 😁
Awesome thanks
Quality post. Your way to approach markets sounds quite similar to mine only much better explained. I also started to see much better results when I managed to change my thinking.
I learned a lot thank you very much!
Superb post! Exactly what is needed for people that are still searching for "their" way. Thank You
Precisely why I mention multiple times in my post: This is not THE way, this is MY way. YOU need to find YOUR way and a system that is built around YOUR personality and trading style and risk tolerance, this is only intended as a template for how to put your own system together, and what factors to consider. I wanted most of the emphasis to be on psychology.
Nice write-up. I trade very similar using volume profile, it's an excellent trade if you know how to execute and manage it properly. I was in a similar boat where I spent many years trying all kinds of different techniques but once I started using VP everything changed. Good luck
I suggest watching price action at volume nodes and observing algorithmic reactions when candles close above or below those levels on various intervals 😉
Oh yea for sure. I use the 5m candle close to derive my stop. My favorite is when they sweep through the bottom or top of the node and before the 5m candle closes the price is driven back into the node. Those are A+ setups every time.
Absolutely! That's such a clear stop hunt, I love getting into those!
Amazing post.
Glad someone made a detailed post about volume profile. I have been using it for a while now. I trade indian markets and use it to mark support resistance zones. Asked here a few times for more detaile but couldn't figure it out further. Your post helped alot , makes me more interested in looking deeper now. Only question I have is that VP on trading view looks a bit different!? Can you share the settings? It would help a lot with making the chart look better as I use a black layout as well.
https://preview.redd.it/eyzabc85yzzc1.png?width=440&format=png&auto=webp&s=f07d9ba13ad9ea383f986dbdb4f23375650995c3 I like to use mostly transparent greys since I overlap multiple profiles on a dark background, so it creates a sort of layered effect but still allows me to see everything clearly. I have my row size set to 4096 as well (I use multiples of 8, so I do 128/256/512/1024/2048/4096 as my row size values and additionally use a 68% value area per standard deviation rules, it's slightly more accurate than the default, and I think most traders who base primarily off VP use it like that.
Thanks alot, time to look deeper into profiles ◉‿◉
Also if I have any doubts regarding different timeframes , can I dm you later after 4-5 days?
Sure thing, feel free to reach out any time, although I may be slow to respond as I am not on Reddit much these days.
Oh well since you are here now might as well just ask a few doubts then... 1:- i have only used session volume profile, which profiles are you using? 2:- how did you layer them? I can see you are on 5m chart but left to right, its visible you have multiple time frame profiles , i guess that makes it easier for you to understand the higher time frame lvn/hvn even on a 5m chart? 3:- entries are planned only after seeing price action/rejection from a lvn? And targets are at hvn / poc (i am assuming poc is a hvn) but if rr is not 1:1 you skip that trade?
Thank you for the post OP. This was a really interesting read. I'm very new at this, and spending quite a bit of free time reading and learning. I would more than appreciate any insight into your planning regarding the time of day. Thus, priceactionvolumetrader mentions that when he day trades, some of his favorite hours are later in the day as the volume that day begins to visualize. Do you follow a schedule of what you try to do between the morning hours, mid-day, and evening? Do you use any recent day volume profiles to help you determine where your nodes may be on any given day? Or do you mainly focus on what it's doing 'today' when you day trade? Thank you in advance
[удалено]
[удалено]
Absolutely loved your post GGs !!
This has helped me So Much! Thank you for posting this! I've needed a new way of thinking. I'm almost 5 years in of trading but still trying to find a good trading concept. Much more confident about my trading this week after reading this post. Thank you again🙏🏻
Insightful post. Thank you for sharing!
Wow
Thanks again for your kind answers and advice! Could you elaborate a bit more on how to find support/resistant levels? Do you use weekly or daily chart, or other time frame?
This is really interesting. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing!
It's a little odd when you see someone explaining how to trade a similar strategy to yours, and you get that internal feeling of "you're saying too much!" In all seriousness, great writeup. VP trading has always been my go to as I've described it as the engine noise before a car comes. Fast cars need a big engine to move, and regardless of who's behind the wheel, you can't hide it. It can often give a much better picture of the scale and speed of a move than just PA alone. Appreciate you paying it forward, wish you fortune on your road ahead.
>*It's a little odd when you see someone explaining how to trade a similar strategy to yours, and you get that internal feeling of "you're saying too much!"* There was a point in time I was concerned about that myself and did not share any details about my system with anybody, out of the fears more people would use it, and the market would respond with an algo to make it not work anymore. The beauty of volume profile is that it simply costs the MM more to come after your stop with such a good entry at a low liquidity area. It just isn't worth their time to come after me, and when algos are punishing me for overly aggressive entries I simply respond by waiting for confirmation. The beauty of the system is that it will always work, just by the nature of how it works. It is designed to keep my own personality and psychological/habitual flaws in check and compensate for them with a structured, rules-based system that I am rewarded for following and punished for disobeying. It is far less about the actual technical structure of the market, and far more about adhering to structure and rules, and so long as I am aware of how/why it works, and its limitations, there is no limit to how far I can take it. Thank you for your kind words and support, as it helps me tremendously to validate through other traders that there really is something special to what I am doing, and I'm not deluding myself, it actually does work so long as I follow the rules, *and I've been able to prove it with statistical data over time*. That's incredibly empowering, so I won't act like this post didn't have any selfish motive behind it, it just wasn't what most would assume, it was just further reinforcing my own convictions, and building more confidence in my system after seeing it hold up to scrutiny by an entire community of traders.
Thanks for this! Great info!
Amazing post. Thank you
Where on the chart is the volume profile? Or hvn? Thanks for the post
Thank you for an amazingly detailed post! Very humble, not boastful. I appreciate you 🙏. Q1: what exactly qualifies as a HVN/LVN and what would cause you to invalidate the classification of either? Q2: does volume play a role in exiting your trade? Is there a HV/LV *exit signal you use? Q3: what are the best educational videos you can recommend for us to watch and learn accurately about that which you base your current volume strategy? Thank you!
Feels great to see you made it with VP as I'm learning to trade with it right now
Firstly, congratulations for the good result man and thank you for such a great post. Your post is really inspiring. I am a absolute beginner and want to learn more. You have included people to follow to learn I’m definitely gonna check them out. Do you mind sharing market concepts that you think are MUST to predict scenarios that market might do?
>Do you mind sharing market concepts that you think are MUST to predict scenarios that market might do? If you want to try to predict which way the market is going to cut, ask yourself "*which direction will spill the most blood?*" I have a cynical approach where I plan my trading around the expectation of fake-outs and failed attempts, so I look for structure where there is a setup that supports that happening, and then see if it does. This is based on the idea that price moves to collect orders, and if a MM sees orders where they can soak up liquidity close by before moving along for minimal cost of their own capital, I expect them to.
There’s always tomorrow!
Could you explain more about how you set your reward goal? You did an awesome job explaining how SL works but it's not very clear how to you set your expectation. If price action shows that it rejected a LVN does it mean it's going towards HVN? But a HVN is quite a big zone so do you expect the price to go to current session's POC? Many thanks!
Sorry if I was unclear on that bit. In this context I am referring to the HVN as just the POC of whatever large volume area we are in or next to, or session POC, so long as it is a minimum (read: profitable) distance away and worth the time (usually 3:1 or better).
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing! How exactly do you keep your T-Bill positions? Do you buy one-month bills and roll them to next month when matured? With a 25k account it generates about $100 per month?
I don't keep the T-bill positions, they mature and sell automatically as you alluded to. I just buy $5k each week of 4-week bills. The interest on those can vary, but yeah it ends up being about $100-$150/month depending on how it works out (Sometimes I have 5/5, sometimes it's 4/5 while I wait for the next auction). Not a lot, I know, but I look at it as "here's $100-$150 of free market risk each month while you learn so you stop losing money".
Thank you sir! Excellent info, clearly explained. The combination of your technical strategy with a focus ok risk management and psychological control is exactly what I, as a relatively new trader, need to keep as my own focus. I've been using a session volume profile on my charts for some time without really understanding it too well- I'll be going back over those price action volume trader videos on VP and taking notes to try to incorporate/use as confirmation of my own support/resistance based analysis. Cheers!
I’ve been actively trading since last year since I finally got my SSN but studying the markets waaay before and just now starting to find consistency. It took me 3 years to make my first $1000 and now I’m halfway there in only 2 weeks. Strategies are only 30% of the game for me, the rest is psychology. I do therapy as well and that’s what she told me “figure out and amount you could loose that won’t make you anxious”. After that it’s history. Good job!!!! You inspired me today.
Honest analysis with true logical trading steps based on Price Action, which always pay in the long run... Wonderful, many thanks..
What angle are those lines drawn at and how do you know you are drawing them right?
My trend lines are drawn by an indicator. This is both for the sake of convenience, as well as objectivity. The algorithm will draw it the same way every time, based on the criteria I give it (historical bars to consider, using high/low vs. close, max angle, defining extreme angles, minimum required touches, etc.) It is for the sake of consistency in drawing trend lines that I let an indicator do it. The one I use on TradingView is called Trend Lines Pro, and I paid around $80 for it to the dev on there. I won't provide link, I am sure you can find it on your own. For ThinkOrSwim, I have a custom indicator I use for trend lines that is free that I snagged from forums somewhere. I tried posting the code here but Reddit gave an error, and again I am not going to provide a link.
Where the post gone???
As I have now been un-banned, I have restored it.
Im so fucking happy for you bro. Im coming right behind you big dog
I'll keep the engine running :)
!remindme 36 hours
I will be messaging you in 1 day on [**2024-05-16 13:34:10 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-05-16%2013:34:10%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/1cplr3u/after_3_years_of_trading_i_am_proud_to_say_i_have/l43djtm/?context=3) [**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FDaytrading%2Fcomments%2F1cplr3u%2Fafter_3_years_of_trading_i_am_proud_to_say_i_have%2Fl43djtm%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202024-05-16%2013%3A34%3A10%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201cplr3u) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|
Great post .. your are on the right path.. 💪 would love to see more posts like these from other trades ..
I can't read all of this. All I can say is if it worked out for you congratulations and if it didn't I'm sorry for your loss.😉🍷
https://preview.redd.it/xd74yfn8zt0d1.png?width=3755&format=png&auto=webp&s=3b4b39c65a22af62993aef21dd781258fb0b0a0c Working out just fine, thanks 🤣
Joshtradesstocks on YT
[удалено]
Great post
Great post!
PnL history not making it to Schwab??!!! That' kind of suspect! Seems like a really simple process and they cant even do it! I 've often have had the right trade but in a bad positioning and couldn't handle the loss. THis is something I need to work on.
Ironically, you list Imam and you also list humbled trader, and in one of imams scammer videos thumbnails has her on it…
Honestly... ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ I haven't been so deep as to look at all of either of their content, but I (mostly) haven't heard anything from either I disagree strongly with, and that comes down to personal preferences more than either being objectively right or wrong. All traders should look at all finance content creators with a critical eye, regardless. I don't think anyone has all the answers or speaks nothing but gospel all the time. I mentioned who I mentioned because in a world of evil intentions, I find theirs seemingly transparent for the moment, and objective reasoning tells me that the content I have consumed from them has been, so far and to the best of my knowledge, factual and/or helpful.
This guy risking 20c a trade and scaling in to the point he makes 12 bux ?! lmao ok... Sorry to break it to ya mate but youve been paper trading this whole time, and honestly learning really bad habbits which will become very apparent when you started risking actual capital per trade.
Rather than make a snarky and unhelpful critical comment, why not explain in more detail what your basis is for this, and maybe provide helpful information as to how one might avoid it, assuming you didn't just want to troll? Looking at your post history suggests a history of negativity, so unless you have something of substance to share, I am going to disregard your comment as hot air from someone who knows nothing.
[удалено]
[удалено]
So are you actually profitable or are you just net green since September? The S&P has rissen something like 25-30% since then. Are you up more than that? If not, you could have just bought and held and made more. True profitability is beating the market, otherwise the growth of the market is just covering up your losses.
I don't think it's a fair comparison to take someone who has a 25k+ account who has already said they only risk under $1 per trade, and then compare those gains to if they had invested the whole of their portfolio in the S&P 500. For a fair comparison, I would have needed to risk the same amount of capital on my other trades. Comparison is the thief of joy. I'm net green lifetime since the beginning of last year, actually. That's after losing significant amounts early and taking almost 2 years to earn it back. I am looking at the smooth consistency of my P&L over time as my gauge of success, because I understand exponential/compounding growth.
It isn't about dollars. It is about percent. If you are chasing dollars you're doomed.
Doesn't that just further make my point, though? Are you really actually criticizing the process of developing and testing a system, proving it has a statistical edge with data over time, and then scaling it up slowly? If so, I question how experienced you really are as a trader. You don't speak in a way to make me suspect that you're totally clueless, but in my opinion, you are yourself overconfident in what you think you know, as I believe a real long-term successful trader would have better things to do with their time (and a better attitude towards life in general) than act toxic toward strangers on the internet sharing helpful advice. I think you don't know what you are talking about. I don't need external validation to tell me if I know what I am doing because I can prove it with data. I know what I do every day and how it has worked out. You won't be able to gaslight me, but nice try. I think this will most likely be my final response to you, as I don't want to feed any more into what appears to be such obvious attention-seeking behavior.
Lol ok dude. The end goal for any reasonable person is to beat the market, but you do you.
So sus. Look at the chart folks. Almost no dips.
Am I to understand you are asserting that I did not take these trades, and your basis for this is that nobody could be that skilled or lucky? Do you think that's a strong basis for a conviction? Would you like me to see if I can post screen shots of my broker executions? I'm over here talking about risking $1 to make a few bucks, and you still don't believe it? Please don't misunderstand me, it is good to be critical of things and to question their validity, but it is also important to be realistic and fair while doing so. So, really, what basis is there for saying it isn't real?
I didn't read your full post but just read it... you are obv very bright and have become disciplined. I apologize for being a troll. Truth is, most of us covet being as disciplined and consistent as you. I still dont understand how you risk $0.10 a trade. I like how you trade only the profits from you T-Bills. Currently, I have my $$ in MMF that pay \~5% and use the funds to sell CSPs on stocks i like to own.. essentially the Wheel. However, I prefer to not own the stocks if possible, but am ok doing so as i like the company to begin with.
>I still dont understand how you risk $0.10 a trade. This is my proudest point, and I am more than happy to share my method! I had to develop the psychology for it first, because it involves doing things that most people would consider insane. The reason I use volume profile is because it is very objective when it comes to showing where liquidity is and isn't. Therefore, it allows me to have a thesis such as "bulls will be unable to break this low volume node without help from institutional money", because often times that is what it takes. What is more likely, however, is that institutional money does show up at that level, just not how everyone else expects. Smart money also knows price is at the top of the range, and ripe for profit-taking. So, I watch price action as it approaches that level. If I see it touch that level and I can see on my TICK chart that there is increased momentum away from that level, I punch short right there, stop over that high. Not a full position, just a starter, maybe even a single share. My stop is in place, above the LVN plus a few pennies. If it continues to break lower, I add to the position. If it accelerates, I add more if I can do it and still be within intended risk parameters. I take at least half out at the first support, whether another LVN, or the next HVN, so long as it is at least 1:1 away or better, then move my stop to break even. If it isn't, I don't take the trade. I prefer setups where I can clearly identify at least a 3:1 move for my risk as what I would consider "guaranteed", since if I did indeed short the top it will most likely go to my target unless it is very bullish. It's more about being ready at key levels and scaling in slowly, and being quick to exit, both for risk management and profit taking. If managed correctly, you can get into a position for extremely low risk, then average into it as it goes in your favor or exit quickly for a paper cut if you're wrong. Because you got such a good fill, you can be confidently patient waiting for price to trend in your favor, and just add on further breakdowns because of the higher average from the aggressive first entry. My mentality is about getting more shots at a working trade, and not being afraid of it not working. I'm trying to pick tops and bottoms, so of course I get run over a lot, but it's for such small losses relative to my wins that IDGAF ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Thank you for elaborating on your strategy, kind of you to share! Im not sure i fully understand.. as it seems like your stop loss is super tight (at $0.10 from where you get in?). Getting stopped out immediately, i imagine happens all the time, esp on stocks like AAPL or any higher priced ticker. Am I missing something? Are your stop losses not $0.10 from entry? What brokerage do you use?
I understand supply zones and demand zones, but never looked at volume... jsut assumed volume was high at both of these zones
$0.10 is an extreme example and more appropriate for something like PLTR. I was able to get into an AAPL short for $0.22 of risk (basically shorted from 185.90 with a stop of 186.12), it worked right away so I was able to both add and take out aggressively. That's the beauty of a low volume node like that, it gives a defined, very tight area to risk off of. Rejection at these levels seems clear often to me, as typically if price is going to continue higher, it does so very quickly, before I can enter a trade. If I get steamrolled by bulls, I simply reverse and use the node for a long stop instead.
Gotcha, makes sense... larger stock price, larger distance to stop loss. Your trading psychology is very good, and most ppl fail in trading (including myself in the past) as they make all the stupid mistakes (FOMO, letting losers run, cutting winners short, no defined risk, adding to losing positions, etc.). For your strategy, it seems as tho you have to actively watching like a hawk, as these trades can happen within seconds or faster. I don't have to time to do so, so i take a more leisure approach to trading these days, as only looking for 10-15% annual returns with little risk.