OK folks!
I have received tons of requests for this, so rather than reply to each and every one, I have decided to post it here for all to read. I DO have indicators on my chart, but I don't use them for entry or exit. They are just for weak confirmation. My advice is take what I have written and adjust it for yourself. Think about what you should do and why.
This is just a first draft. Again I stress that the only way to teach someone to trade is person to person, with the trading platform up live.
So Angler, have fun with this. To all, this is my Xmas gift to the forum. As with all trading methods, it is a work in progress.
To Skunny, thanks for continuing this in a more FF-friendly fashion. Once traders realize that PA with S/R is all you really need, they are on the way to consistent profits.
I will continue to develop the .doc file complete with examples (Look at any 30M chart covering 5 days and you will see some). Some of those who received this earlier had great suggestions which will be incorporated in the final document, but my work here is done.
My objective was to get student traders give up the idea that some vendor claiming 1000's of pips has an indicator that will make you rich (the holy grail). The fact is each and every one of you have the holy grail within, and you can not buy it. All you need to do is THINK and exercise discipline.
So yes, using "Holy Grail" in the thread title did have a purpose - to grab your attention and push you in th direction of considering trading off of PA only and realizing that most system vendors are rat bastards looking to fleece you out of your money (after many tries, I have no experience with system vendor that trades profitably, and I would really like to meet at least one).
Happy Holidays to all and best wishes for the new year. Cast off the chains of lagging indicators and be profitable. Be ever so grateful for this forum and those who run it (Merlin?) for providing a vehicle to stimulate thought. I can not overemphasize the benefits realized from reading posts at FF and thinking about them.
On my chart I have MACD, 50EMA (close), 100EMA (close), and PSAR (default parameters on MT4). I use these indicators only as weak guides. I do not use them for entry or exit.
Daily chart
First, I determine the trend and bias on the daily chart. If you can’t see a trend on the daily chart, then pick another pair. Bias is up if the 50EMA is above the 100EMA. I like to see up bias along with an uptrend. If trend matches bias on the daily chart, go to the 30M chart. I only trade in the direction of the trend on the daily chart.
30M Chart
All trades are taken off the 30M chart. I look for S/R levels. S/R levels are determined from trend lines and swing points (stop and reverse levels). The more times an S/R level is hit and price reverses from it, the stronger it is. So, if the daily trend is up, I look for a strong resistance level with more than one hit (preferably separated by 8 hours) and reverse over the course of 2-3 days. I place a buy order above that level regardless of where the 30M EMA's or PSAR are, what the MACD says, or whether there is any divergence or not. If these other indicators confirm, then I feel a slightly more confident in the trade. If not, I don't worry. I also look for S/R from stop & reverse levels that are close to S/R from trend lines. If price breaks both in a move, I will not place a TP, but instead close the trade near the end of London. I use a 30-pip SL, and I target 20 pips for all trades except the AUD/USD and USD/CAD. For these I use 10 pips. I typically place orders after 00:00GMT (5:00PM EST) so that I can catch moves during the London session. My stop orders are spread +2 pips from the S/R level. Only enter the market using stop orders. My logic is this: if there is a resistance point in a long term uptrend, who is going to break that resistance? Stronger traders, that's who. Where do all the self-proclaimed gurus tell you to place stop loss orders? Beyond S/R levels. Think that large traders will run those stops? Yes, they will. More often than not (>90%) you will get the 20 pips.
I have received tons of requests for this, so rather than reply to each and every one, I have decided to post it here for all to read. I DO have indicators on my chart, but I don't use them for entry or exit. They are just for weak confirmation. My advice is take what I have written and adjust it for yourself. Think about what you should do and why.
This is just a first draft. Again I stress that the only way to teach someone to trade is person to person, with the trading platform up live.
So Angler, have fun with this. To all, this is my Xmas gift to the forum. As with all trading methods, it is a work in progress.
To Skunny, thanks for continuing this in a more FF-friendly fashion. Once traders realize that PA with S/R is all you really need, they are on the way to consistent profits.
I will continue to develop the .doc file complete with examples (Look at any 30M chart covering 5 days and you will see some). Some of those who received this earlier had great suggestions which will be incorporated in the final document, but my work here is done.
My objective was to get student traders give up the idea that some vendor claiming 1000's of pips has an indicator that will make you rich (the holy grail). The fact is each and every one of you have the holy grail within, and you can not buy it. All you need to do is THINK and exercise discipline.
So yes, using "Holy Grail" in the thread title did have a purpose - to grab your attention and push you in th direction of considering trading off of PA only and realizing that most system vendors are rat bastards looking to fleece you out of your money (after many tries, I have no experience with system vendor that trades profitably, and I would really like to meet at least one).
Happy Holidays to all and best wishes for the new year. Cast off the chains of lagging indicators and be profitable. Be ever so grateful for this forum and those who run it (Merlin?) for providing a vehicle to stimulate thought. I can not overemphasize the benefits realized from reading posts at FF and thinking about them.
On my chart I have MACD, 50EMA (close), 100EMA (close), and PSAR (default parameters on MT4). I use these indicators only as weak guides. I do not use them for entry or exit.
Daily chart
First, I determine the trend and bias on the daily chart. If you can’t see a trend on the daily chart, then pick another pair. Bias is up if the 50EMA is above the 100EMA. I like to see up bias along with an uptrend. If trend matches bias on the daily chart, go to the 30M chart. I only trade in the direction of the trend on the daily chart.
30M Chart
All trades are taken off the 30M chart. I look for S/R levels. S/R levels are determined from trend lines and swing points (stop and reverse levels). The more times an S/R level is hit and price reverses from it, the stronger it is. So, if the daily trend is up, I look for a strong resistance level with more than one hit (preferably separated by 8 hours) and reverse over the course of 2-3 days. I place a buy order above that level regardless of where the 30M EMA's or PSAR are, what the MACD says, or whether there is any divergence or not. If these other indicators confirm, then I feel a slightly more confident in the trade. If not, I don't worry. I also look for S/R from stop & reverse levels that are close to S/R from trend lines. If price breaks both in a move, I will not place a TP, but instead close the trade near the end of London. I use a 30-pip SL, and I target 20 pips for all trades except the AUD/USD and USD/CAD. For these I use 10 pips. I typically place orders after 00:00GMT (5:00PM EST) so that I can catch moves during the London session. My stop orders are spread +2 pips from the S/R level. Only enter the market using stop orders. My logic is this: if there is a resistance point in a long term uptrend, who is going to break that resistance? Stronger traders, that's who. Where do all the self-proclaimed gurus tell you to place stop loss orders? Beyond S/R levels. Think that large traders will run those stops? Yes, they will. More often than not (>90%) you will get the 20 pips.
Chance favors the prepared
) but also for giving us the support to continue looking into ourselves, the greatest lesson of all this. It's good to see someone genuine. It is also easy to see how someone could botch this method up for ages thinking it was 'The Secret' to riches, 
Great Job. This comes to me on the same day as another piece of guidance of similar quality. Both have shown me I'm on the correct path, not just in trading but in life as well.
