Day Trading Strategy for Crude Oil and Dollar Index Futures

**All of the materials in the Beg, Int and Advanced Courses all have SLIDES you can download**


**Today @ 11am EST we will do Beginner’s Training**

Canadian News = Crude Oil news (the largest exporter of Crude oil is Canada)

We remind ourselves that Friday’s can be hit or miss

- We have the election on super Tuesday, next Tuesday Nov 2 2010

- End of the month, Holiday here in the US on Sunday

- This week has be a tough week for trading early in the morning, most of the best moves have come after 1045am

- Friday’s tend to end early b/c of the weekend approaching, so this posses a small threat today

- Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst

830am est

- We had GDP news @ 830am

- The dollar index is trading inside the range from yesterday, very slow speed, and relatively low ATR

- We’re going to wait to see if the dollar will give us some direction when it tests the highs and the lows of today’s trading range.

- Crude Oil futures are trading in a tight and consolidating range this morning

o We’ve seen these tight ranges on crude often this week, and it took some time for the price to really break free.

- Crude oil futures are in the middle of the wedge, so we need to wait for the highs/lows to be tested

o Sell the highs, buy the lows

- Gold futures are in a very similar situation to crude oil this morning

o Trading slowly in a sideways wedge pattern, and we have trend lines as support which are keeping us from selling the highs right now

930am est

- We have the US OPEN, 945 news and 1000am news, so we’re waiting until 10:05 to begin trading again

- Hopefully this news will spark some action in the markets

- While we wait its important we watch things like

o Speed

o Market personality

o Average true range

o We need to keep ourselves FOCUSED through this news event and come out the other end with a plan of attack.

Day Trading Strategy to Identify Opportunities for YOUR Trading Goals

- How do you find YOUR best pattern?


o Lots of options

 Breakout trades
 Reversal traders
 Scalping trades
 Swing trades
 Crude, Gold, Russell, ES

o Experience and a larger account we can trade almost anything, but remember that doesn’t mean I should trade everything!

o What are the characteristics of the BEST pattern?

 Lots of room to run (profit potential)

• Nothing above me for a long
• Nothing below me for a short trade
• Breakout trade
• Or a reversal trade with a wide range to work with

 Moving market, lots of speed, High ATR

• Dollar moving
• Pace of tape increasing with speed
• Average true range is rising

 Perfect structure

• Reason I use range charts

- Time and Sales, what does the GREY background mean?

o Sellers at the lows

o Buyers at the Highs

o Log into your advanced course and open the time and sales window properties document to see how to make it look like this.

- Importing indicators
- Need new templates: traderoom_fast & trademanagementchart
- Auto levels indicator

o Font Size

- Chart templates
- Make font smaller, changing chart properties
- Pace of tape, load the template

Trend Line Break on Gold and E-mini Russell Futures

Friday morning @ 11am est here in the trade room we will be doing ‘beginner’s basics’ so everything you need to know about everything beginner.

Bring your friends and bring your questions on Friday morning

- Using indicators
- Trend lines
- Trade management strategies
- Looking for simple price patterns


815am est

- Dollar index futures are moving this morning

o Broken the up-trend line and headed back down
o Wider trading range than yesterday
o Outside day
o Decent speed on the pace of tape
o ATR is rising, not falling like it was on Wednesday

- We see downside potential on the dollar as it comes down to the 77.245 previous low of day

- Expect to see markets rising today with this downside opportunity on the dollar index.

900am est

- Gold futures trading at the highs of the bearish channel

o We can buy the breakout above this channel
o Or we can sell the highs of this channel

930am est

- The markets we’re trading continue to lack speed, follow-through and any real conviction to where the direction of the day will be

- We’ve tried 3 times this morning and all three trades have been scratches, we get a little profit, but then the momentum shifts against us, almost as if the market lacks the ‘effort’ or the ‘energy’ to push the price up or down.

- The e-mini Russell continues to trade in a very distinctive sideways range, and its been like this for almost 3 weeks now!

The Computer I Use For Day Trading Gold, Crude Oil, Euro and Other Futures Markets

One of the most important tools you need to be a day trader is a computer.  Dont spend thousands of dollars on some fancy machine that wont help you make more money.

I've listed the most important information on day trading computers right here.

Members can log into the advanced course and find the exact computer specifications that I am using right now, as well as my mouse, keyboard, etc.

Hope it helps!  see you in the live trade room!

The WRONG Way to Day Trade Gold and Crude Oil Futures

830am est


- We begin our day looking at the dollar index

o Narrow trading range compared to Tuesday

o Trading above the range from Tuesday, we call this an outside trading day

o Looks like it may be flattening from the bullish trend we saw Monday and Tuesday

o Average true range is still falling, now giving us reason to believe the dollar will be reversing its direction and headed back down later this month.

o Slow speed on the tape tells us to wait for the dollar to break the highs and the lows in order for us to take the BEST opportunities to trade today.

- Crude Oil futures are trading right in the middle of the wedge pattern on the slower timeframe 34-range chart

o Middle of the wedge is NOT where we want to be trading, so we now know exactly where we need to wait for today

- Remember we have news @ 1030 for crude oil this morning, so expect a different personality into the news today

- We can see sideways choppy price action on the 4-range (fast timeframe) which further confirms our concerns for crude oil at this time until after the news

850am est

- Gold futures trading in a very important wedge pattern with major trend lines as support and resistance

o When major trend lines are the levels we need to expect these levels to hold, so play the highs and lows inside the wedge first, then look for the breakout.

- We also see a bearish channel, which will also come into play, but AFTER we deal with the wedge.

o If we were NOT inside the wedge right now I would trade the channel first, but we are inside the wedge, so the wedge comes first.

- We’re at the lows of the wedge, so I want to look for buying opportunities until we fully breakout to the bottom.

915am est

- We need to wait for the US market to OPEN and look for patterns after 935am est.

- The Euro futures are trading at the lows of the channel and the lows of the wedge so we need to look for buying opportunities.

1030am est

- Made a mental mistake at 1024am est

- Looking for a short trade on crude oil, and I failed to recognize two things

o News @ 1030

o Momentum was oversold ( I want to avoid trading SHORT with oversold momentum

o Being that close to the news anything could have happened.

Identify the Lowest Risk Day Trading Opportunities for Any Market

- Highest percentage trades = most confidence so find YOUR trade!


o Define the type of market

 Trending market?

• Trade with the trend; need to know where my BIG PICTURE Highs/Lows are
• Then make sure we are NOT buying into the highs, or selling into the lows
• I can trade against the trend, but I need to break the trend line that supports the trend.

 Wedge pattern? (consolidating market)

• The highest percentage option is to buy the lows and sell the highs (trade inside the wedge
• The other option is the breakout of the wedges

o Find additional support below the wedge for short breakout
o Find additional resistance to trade the breakout long

 Channel Pattern (trend market)

• I can buy the lows and sell the highs trading INSIDE the channel

• If we want to trade a breakout, look for additional resistance for the long trade and additional support for the short trade.

 Narrow sideways range (no trend)

• There isn’t enough room to sell the highs or buy the lows

• Look at the MAJOR levels around you above and below and use those major levels to sell the highs and buy the lows

 Wide sideways range (no trend)

• Assuming there is enough room for a trade to work we can buy the lows and sell the highs
• Every time the market tests highs/lows we have 2 options

o Failure/reversal
o Breakout

- What does Low volume do for your trading?

o How do I determine a low volume day?

 Slow speed of the tape

• I look for RED and very low (< 100) on the pace of tape indicator

 It wont tell you a low/high volume DAY, we don’t care about that, we focus on whether its high/low right NOW.

- Correlation between the DAX and the Dollar (DX)

o Negative correlation
o If the dollar is rising the dax will be falling

 DAX = early morning euro market
 Trades from 3am – 1130am EST

- Saving your workspace and creating a back-up

o Once you have your charts set up, save the workspace (file/workspaces/save)
o Create a backup copy:

 My documents/ NT / Workspaces
 Copy the workspace file
 Paste that file somewhere OUTSIDE of the My documents/ NT
 Create a folder on my desktop for these.

- Do I ever increase my stop loss ever?

o Don’t want to ‘curve-fit’ my trading for today’s market
o Trade Management: where do I place my stop?

 Scalpers use the same trade management every time (standard)
 Day trader I will use the levels the market gives me

• Swing highs/lows
• Trigger Lines
• 2-tops/bottoms

o Trailing stop on Fast Track Method

 More on this in training tomorrow

- News ‘chatter’ is when the news wire begins speaking about something going on

- Is it important to watch the Pace of Tape VALUE?

o Most import factor for the POT is whether its rising or falling
o The actual indicator value is still important because it tells us Red/Yellow/Green
o Faster speed = more consistency in our trading
o So yes, the color (disposition) of the POT is also very important.

- How do we stay in business without charging monthly fees?

o We make our money in the markets
o Unlike other educators who makes all the money on sales.

- Advanced membership includes

o Live trade room LIFETIME
o Charts, NT
o Market data
o Everything you see ME using

Sideways Market Trading Strategy for Dollar Index, Crude, Gold, Euro & Russell

830am est


- Gold futures trading at the new lows of the day as the dollar pushes new highs
- We have slow speed of the tape on the gold futures
- We have low average true range
- We have what appears to be a very indecisive market this morning.

o 13-range shows us at the lows of the wedge, so im looking to buy the lows

o The issue is that we don’t see any consistency with the speed increasing or the big buyers to confirm our entry.

1100AM est

- We’ve finally been able to get some moves in the market
- Crude oil gave us a nice wave pattern long at 82.50 and we took $250usd out of it

o Now the crude oil futures are slowing down and looking more challenging

 Red, decreasing POT

 Average true range is dropping off the daily highs

 We also know we are at the highs of the trading range from earlier this week, so expect this market to slow down and look for clues for the future direction

• Sell the highs with a reversal pattern (2-step)

• Buy the breakout, however, the dollar is still resting on support, and that means breakouts LONG will be higher risk.

- We also grabbed a bunch of money out of gold, could have made a LOT more today, but the market kept chopping around, 10 ticks up 20 ticks down, 30 ticks up 10 ticks down

1130am est

- The dollar ATR keeps dropping
- We didn’t see any added volume after the 1130 euro close
- We continue to see the markets trade sideways off the highs of the morning
- Lets wrap things up!

Avoiding First Trade Losses

- Why do early morning trades fail?

o Not enough yet
o No news events have sparked the interest of traders
o Your emotions do the trading
o The dollar is still sitting sideways
o Start with the dollar index:

 Look at ATR

• If the ATR is rising, this is going to be a good day

 Look at the trading range

• Above/below the HOD/LOD from yesterday this going to be a good day!

 Add my price alert indicator to the highs/lows of the dollar
 Then wait patiently for the dollar to break new highs or new lows
 The rest of the markets will wake up and begin to move.

- What qualifies a breakout trade entry?

o Review the entry rules

- Trader Tax: what if I never withdraw?

Flat Dollar Index Makes Trading Crude, Euro and Gold Futures More Difficult

830am est


- The dollar index is trying to find its bearings this morning after a rollercoaster ride on Friday evening.

- Lets compare the trading range for today to the previous range

o Clearly we’re a lot more narrow than we were last Friday, but we cant trust this comparison
o Inside day (trading inside the trading range from Friday)
o Very narrow trading range
o Average true is falling (ouch!)
o 3 strikes and we’re waiting patiently this morning!
o Things will be slow and choppy, and narrow and more challenging with the dollar trading like this.

 We’d rather see:

• Rising ATR
• Price ABOVE/BELOW the range from Friday
• Wide trading range, something wider than we saw last week.

o Add a price alert indicator to the highs and the lows of the trading.

 This will tell me when things change.

900am est

- Crude oil futures are trading sideways in a wide wedge pattern

o Shows narrowing price action as the day goes on
o Sell the highs of the wedge
o Buy the lows of the wedge
o Avoid the middle

1030am est

- The dollar index has been slow and sluggish, causing us to lose confidence and direction for the markets we’re trading.

- Its important that we avoid the higher risk entries when the dollar looks like this, so we must remain patient.

- The euro futures are trading in a wedge pattern, so we sell the highs and buy the lows, avoid the middle of the range.

o The dollar and the euro are closely correlated, so when the dollar moves the euro will move, but if it doesn’t move, we need to be carful.

1045am est

- Dollar index futures testing the daily highs, still in the middle of the trading range
- Looking for shorts if we break new highs on the dollar index
- Euro short, crude oil short, gold short, Russell is also an option

1115am est

- The dollar broke highs after testing

- Took the euro futures short on the dollar breakout upside

o Not much moving on the Euro
o Frustrated, just missed the big move on crude oil and gold
o Lets check them again

- Crude and gold off the highs, I missed the short, so looking to get long on the bounce off the PHOD on crude oil.

Gold and Crude Oil use the Dollar Index to avoid big losses on Options Expiration Friday

845am est


- Dollar index futures are screaming at us to be careful early this morning.

o Narrowing price action on the 21range chart
o Narrowing average true range from earlier this week
o ATR


- Dollar index futures are screaming at us to be careful early this morning.

o Narrowing price action on the 21range chart

o Narrowing average true range from earlier this week

o We are in the middle of the wedge pattern on the 21-range, so we know we need to be careful.

o The best way to trade this will be to wait for the dollar to test the highs/lows and ideally we want the dollar to breakout above/below the wedge.

930am EST

- These markets aren’t getting any better, lets wait and see what happens as the day moves forward.

o The dollar hasn’t moved an inch all morning
o Average true range across ALL markets is dropping
o Feels like everyone took off for the weekend a little early
o We never give up on a day, so lets be patient.


o We are in the middle of the wedge pattern on the 21-range, so we know we need to be careful.

o The best way to trade this will be to wait for the dollar to test the highs/lows and ideally we want the dollar to breakout above/below the wedge.

930am EST

- These markets aren’t getting any better, lets wait and see what happens as the day moves forward.

o The dollar hasn’t moved an inch all morning
o Average true range across ALL markets is dropping
o Feels like everyone took off for the weekend a little early
o We never give up on a day, so lets be patient.

Momentum Divergence Strategy using Swing-High and Swing-Low

Questions:

- Using momentum swing highs/lows comparing to price swing highs/lows (divergence)

- New Divergence indicator, add that to the FT Method

- Where can you find the trading worksheet

o Daily Worksheet is in the download section

- When do you use the 4/8 rather than the 5/10 trade management for scalpers

o When I see narrower trading ranges

 Low ATR
 Slow speed
 If I SEE the market is not moving well that day (personality)

- Would it be best to avoid wave trades when the dollar isn’t moving

o Yes!

- Why don’t I trade ES and NQ

o ES is too sideways and sluggish (too liquid)

o NQ/YM is too cheap ($5/tick) which is similar to trading with a spread, and its not the most efficient way of trading.

- Average True Range

o Are we rising or are we falling?

- Do I use market internals?

- Does the Pace of Tape over-ride the Momentum indicator?

o Pace of tape indicator measures the speed of the orders coming into the market
o Speed is THE most important factor
o Excessive speed will FORCE momentum to curl for you.

- Mixed buyers and sellers, so how do I get the confidence I need to trade?

o Look for compensating factors

 Long trade, look for additional levels of support
 Look for momentum to confirm on multiple timeframes

o You may NOT want to take the trade

- Broker references:

o sales@schooloftrade.com for broker references

- Which method should I use with 1 contract?

o Fast Track!!! Specializes in small accounts with only 1 contract.

- Once NT 7.0 is released finally I get to retire!

o 100% auto trader coming out with NT 7.0

- I provide you with the data and the charts for NT charts
- How to practice the ‘trap entry’

o Market replay

Dollar Index Pops while Gold, Crude Oil, Euro and Mini Russell Drops

800am est


- The dollar index gives us reason to be concerned early this morning

o Average true range is the lowest its been all week
o We’re trading at the lows of the trading range from yesterday (outside day, could turn inside)
o Very narrow trading range, and a downtrend to work with.

830am est

- Crude oil futures are at the highs of the wedge, in the middle of the sideways range, and at the highs of the channel.

- Im looking to sell these of the wedge, with a final target of 81.00 or the bottom of the wedge.

- This market is sideways, so I can buy the lows and sell the highs at any price level I see fit.

1000am est

- The dollar index has very narrow trading ranges, and is back and forth inside the range from yesterday, so this tells us to expect similar moves on other markets.

- We open our euro chart and we see a narrow wedge pattern and considering where the DOLLAR is today, we should focus on buying the lows and selling the highs

- Looking for breakouts on the euro will be higher risk simply b/c of the dollar.

- We need to make our money inside the trading range of the euro.

1030am est

- Natural gas news is out
- We see dollar speed increase on the Pace of Tape Indicator
- Gold at the highs, looking for a short
- Crude oil is at the lows, looking for a breakout short
- Russell and Euro are also setting up for much of the same

1100am est

- The markets are moving FAST

- ATR is rising, the dollar is rising, and we are looking good for a short entry on anything that’s moving right now.

- Gold short, crude oil short, euro short, all dropping for us now.

Dollar Index helps us day trade Crude Oil and Gold Futures with ease

825am est


- We begin our day looking at the dollar index futures trying to get a clue as for where the market is headed today

- We noticed the following

o Inside day
o Short-term downtrend
o Very narrow trading range
o Downside and upside potential (go either way)

- This tells me to use extra caution today. An inside day with narrow trading ranges, and we also confirmed lower average true range in gold and crude oil futures, which confirms our concerns.

830am est

- No news @ 830am est today, next alarm is at 915am est for the US Open

- We’re looking at crude oil futures and we see the following:

o Trading in the middle of the bullish channel (either short or long)

o Trading just below the sideways range from above us, and we define a new sideways range below this trading range.

o We are trading sideways from 79.84 up to 81.28 and we will trade inside this range selling the highs and buying the lows until we successfully breakout of this trading range.

900am est

- Gold futures are down from the all-time highs and trading in a very narrow sideways range

- At the lows of the broad range, so we look best to the long side above 1347.4\

- We have a lot of immediate support around the lows on gold, but if wed can break below 1324.5 we have lots of room to drop, so be patient for all the swing traders and people looking for longer term positions.

1115am est

- We’ve had an incredible day in the room today, everyone making money

- Now we see the crude oil futures are trading at the highs of the day with trend lines overhead making resistance for a possible long trade.

- The long side will be higher risk structurally, but looking at the dollar with the downside potential we need to keep our eyes open for a break of those trend lines and a long entry going with the fundamental move on the dollar.

- Our best option (assuming the dollar doesn’t drop) is to look short to sell the highs

o Sell below 81.65 with profit targets of 50, 35, soft 10, and hard trend line as final target going down

o To buy the breakout we need entry above 82.10, but with the trend line overhead im looking around 82.15 for the entry

 Profit targets will be 30, 70, and a final hard target at the highs of the channel and the big round number of 83.00

Day Traders Don’t Trust Pivots or Fibonacci Levels: Here’s Why.

- Why don’t we use fib numbers? Or pivots?


o I only trust price levels that have been proven as important s/r levels
o Anything that requires a calculation
o Once the level is tested and the level holds I am then going to use it in the future.
o All of this is done without doing anything with the AUTO-LEVELS indicator.

- How do I make my charts look like JJ’s?

o Confidence is built when YOU take your trades on your own merit
o I provide the charts and the market data to power those charts
o You OWN the indicators
o And we provide 24/7 tech support to help you get them setup.
o support@schooloftrade.com (cc: JJ)
o 800-381-2084

- How do I read the time and sales?

o Reading the tape
o Section #3 in the intermediate course has the info on your time and sales.

- Do we have to wait for a swing high /low for a qualified entry?

o Yes, always use a new swing-high/low when entering a trade.
o What if the swing high is on the red auto-level line?

- Do you think this afternoon will produce winning trades?

o Watch the webinar titled: 8-phases of the Emini’s

o Be very careful about getting into the market TOO EARLY in the afternoon session
o When is lunch over? When is the afternoon session beginning?

 Speed of the market
 Is the dollar flat? Expect everything else to be flat.
 230pm EST is when the volume SHOULD be returning from lunch
 No guarantee, the afternoon session can be hit or miss.

- 10:10 on Crude Oil Fast Track Long

- What did Mom warn me about as a kid?

- Don’t buy the highs/ sell the lows
- Don’t fiddle with the middle
- Never trust a price level that has not been proven

Live Crude Oil Trade Calls

Crude Oil Futures:

1115am est


- We’ve had an incredible day in the room today, everyone making money

- Now we see the crude oil futures are trading at the highs of the day with trend lines overhead making resistance for a possible long trade.

- The long side will be higher risk structurally, but looking at the dollar with the downside potential we need to keep our eyes open for a break of those trend lines and a long entry going with the fundamental move on the dollar.

- Our best option (assuming the dollar doesn’t drop) is to look short to sell the highs

o Sell below 81.65 with profit targets of 50, 35, soft 10, and hard trend line as final target going down

o To buy the breakout we need entry above 82.10, but with the trend line overhead im looking around 82.15 for the entry

§ Profit targets will be 30, 70, and a final hard target at the highs of the channel and the big round number of 83.00



Day Trading Crude Oil Futures



Day Trading Gold & Crude Oil With Narrow Sideways Trading Ranges

815am est


- We’re watching the dollar index and we see the following

o Outside trading day (above)
o Wide trading range (good)
o Up-trend (expect to see trending markets)
o Upside potential to previous highs (short side potential on the markets we trade)

- The e-mini Russell trading sideways in the same trading range from last week, so we’ll look at that later after 935am est

- The Euro is testing new lows, so lets begin there…

- The euro currency futures are trapped in the sideways trading range from last week and we need to wait patiently for this market to either

o Test the highs / lows to trade inside the range
o Wait for the breakout and look to buy/sell the breakout

- We notice on the 13-range chart of the euro currency futures that we are trading at the lows of the bullish channel pattern

- Trading at the lows = buy the lows so we’re looking for a reversal pattern above 3900 to enter long buying these lows.

- We also know the dollar index has room to run to the upside, which means the euro most likely has room to run to the downside

- With that said we can also trade the break of the lows on the euro short below 3823, but im not afraid to buy the lows of 23 looking for the low of day to hold/bounce.

- Looking at the mini Russell futures and we see this market continues to trade in the middle of the sideways range, which we call the ‘chop zone’, and this area requires us to use a specific trading strategy

- Chop zone:

900am est

- Im trying to wait for the euro to trigger our first entry for the day, meanwhile our crude and gold markets are passing me by, so im going to look at gold and crude now for another entry

- Gold has just finished testing new lows, which means im looking for a buying opportunity on gold.

- Crude oil is in the same situation, we just saw the big drop, now im looking for the big jump back up.

1030am est

- The dollar pulls off the highs and the markets we trade are seeing a dramatic change in their personality.

- No longer are we making new highs and lows, we’re having a hard time seeing conviction in price movement.

1125am est

- We see the markets slowing down

- The dollar pace of tape is trading very slowly which means the other markets we trade will be higher risk going into the end of the morning session.

- With the dollar pushing to the new highs, im looking for the gold to make new lows

- We have some important things to consider on this gold trade:

o Average true is falling
o European close @ 1130am est, this will possibly bring the bigger volume and the move im waiting for.
o The market is completely flat

 Sideways flat trigger lines on the charts
 I see all of my trigger lines are the same price

o Center of the smaller range, and when we zoom out we are in the center of the larger range

o Adding all of this up, the ONLY thing that would cause me to get into a trade right now would be excessive speed and large orders, confirmed by the dollar.
- Lets review these markets for the rest of the day

- Gold futures trading sideways just off the lows of the day and directly after the big drop down off the highs from late last week.

- We have two options on the gold:

o I can buy the breakout above 44.4 looking for profit targets at 46.0, 52.5, and the final target of 57.5 at the highs of the trading range.

o We can also sell short below 1338.0 with targets of 36.4, 33.2, and then all the way down to the big level of support at 26.0 for the final ¼.

- Crude oil futures are trading at the lows after the big move down, so im looking to buy these lows

- Entry long will be with a 2-step long entry above 82.23 with profit targets of 32, 44, soft 72, and a hard 95 for the final target at the big round number.

- If we do break the lows below 81.26 im looking to buy the previous low of day at 81.00 looking to capitalize on the bounce off these multiple lows (LOD and PLOD)

- EURO Futures got a bumpy start but took off to the downside testing new lows after the 830am announcement from china this morning that made the dollar rise.

- I want to buy these lows, and specifically I want to get in long above the previous low of day above 1.3823.

- Profit targets will be the trend line overhead, 70, and then big round number of 1.3900 for the final ¼ of your position.

- If we cant break the highs I can also sell short below 3757 with profit target of 20, 05 (big round number) and final down to 80 for the final target at the double-bottoms (yellow lines)

Dynamic vs. Static Support/Resistance

- Dynamic vs. Static Support and Resistance


o Dynamic = always moving, always re-calculating

 Moving averages
 Trigger lines
 Developing value area
 HOD/LOD

o Static = always the same, does not change

 Prev HOD/LOD
 Double-tops and bottoms
 Auto-levels indicator s/r
 Big round numbers

o How do I make money?

 Pay close attention to those dynamic levels of S/R

• Looking for a long trade, be sure to keep an eye on the overhead resistance from trigger lines, because they are getting closer and closer to your entry point as the price moves higher.


- Average true range (ATR)

o Is it rising or is it falling?

o Check every 30mins

- Following the market’s personality

o Check these every 30 mins throughout the trading day

 ATR: is it rising or falling?
 Speed: is it faster or slower than the last time I checked?
 Volume: are we seeing a high volume day or a low volume day?

- Looking for multiple confirmation

o If we have a scalp trade setting up, we also use slower timeframe to confirm this faster timeframe trade.

- Friday was a very whippy trading day:

o Use a slower timeframe

o With the slower timeframe comes wider strops and targets

o Wider stops and targets will help you avoid the choppy back and forth ‘noise’ for the scalpers we saw on Friday.

- Dollar index:

o No required to enter or avoid a trade
o Highly recommended that we take it into consideration

 Dollar makes new highs, im looking for the next short entry on the market im trading
 Dollar is trading flat = I want to be extra careful when taking a trade inside a sideways range.

250 Ticks Trading Gold, Review Patterns For Later Today

Gold Futures:

1130am est

- Lets review these markets for the rest of the day

- Gold futures trading sideways just off the lows of the day and directly after the big drop down off the highs from late last week.

- We have two options on the gold:

o I can buy the breakout above 44.4 looking for profit targets at 46.0, 52.5, and the final target of 57.5 at the highs of the trading range.

o We can also sell short below 1338.0 with targets of 36.4, 33.2, and then all the way down to the big level of support at 26.0 for the final ¼.



Day Trading Gold Futures
























Crude Oil Futures:

- Crude oil futures are trading at the lows after the big move down, so im looking to buy these lows

- Entry long will be with a 2-step long entry above 82.23 with profit targets of 32, 44, soft 72, and a hard 95 for the final target at the big round number.

- If we do break the lows below 81.26 im looking to buy the previous low of day at 81.00 looking to capitalize on the bounce off these multiple lows (LOD and PLOD)



Day Trading crude oil futures schooloftrade
























Euro Futures:

- EURO Futures got a bumpy start but took off to the downside testing new lows after the 830am announcement from china this morning that made the dollar rise.

- I want to buy these lows, and specifically I want to get in long above the previous low of day above 1.3823.

- Profit targets will be the trend line overhead, 70, and then big round number of 1.3900 for the final ¼ of your position.

- If we cant break the highs I can also sell short below 3757 with profit target of 20, 05 (big round number) and final down to 80 for the final target at the double-bottoms (yellow lines)




Day Trading euro futures



Crude and Dollar Correlation Works with Mini Russell Futures

We begin our day with the news, so check your news at schooloftrade.com/news


Then we notice we have crude oil contract rollover this morning from our 11-10 to the current 12-10 contract.

Contract rollover

-We look to see when volume is greater on the 12-10 contract and today we roll forward.
-Make sure you save your workspace once you’ve completed the rollover.
-And make sure you re-set your auto levels indicator to use the correct support and resistance levels.

845am EST

- Lets begin our day with the dollar index futures to give us some direction ahead.
- We see the dollar moving up off the lows from last week and we notice the following

o Wide trading range (good)

o Outside day (good)

o Head and shoulders candlestick pattern which signals a potential reversal, so looking good for future movement from the dollar!

955am est

- The dollar rests on support trend line which is holding us the rest of this market today

- Very slow and sluggish even for a Monday morning in the markets we trade most

- Crude oil futures are trading sideways at 82.00, and we have to wait to see where the market wants to go next

- Gold futures have overhead resistance, and with dollar support it’s causing a sloppy and sluggish open to the gold this morning.

- The euro moved off its lows from last week on the dollar drop, and now we look for a breakout trade on the euro

o 13-range has a nice wave entry long 3930

Euro Currency Futures Day Trading Strategy Selling the Breakout

- We being our trading with the dollar index


o We are trading outside of the trading range from yesterday

o We have a down-trend

o Relatively wide trading range

o These are all good signs that the market is going to be giving us something to work with today.

o I want to set the highs and the lows with the ‘price alert’ indicator to make me aware of when we break new highs/lows.

845am est

- We’re watching some rather choppy price action with fed chairman Bernanke speaking.
- We took our first trade on gold futures, it was a fast track winner and a day trade winner.

- Now we’re looking for the reversal off the lows on gold, and we’re having a hard time getting around the overhead resistance levels

o These medium timeframes are always changing, they are DYNAMIC levels of support and resistance.

Looking back at today’s price action, what could I do to better anticipate this?

- Remember what the time and sales window looked like (very inconsistent, buyers, then sellers)
- What did the 4r momentum look like?
- What did the first few moves of the day look like?
- Today was OPEX, so that had a key
- Important speakers this morning @ 815am, that had an impact.

Day trading strategy for CHOP ZONE Sideways Low Volume Flat Markets

- Chop Zone Trading


o Is the center 1/3 of the sideways range

 Define the range with double-tops and double-bottoms
 Auto-levels indicator does all of this for me!

o speed analysis in the chop zone
o divergence
o how we make money with chop zone

- So why can we buy/sell the breakouts, but you say we don’t sell the lows? We don’t buy the highs?

- What is the Fast Track?

o The goal Is simple:

 Teach you patience

 Teach you the patterns

 Teach you the rules

 Teach you to handle losses

 No trade management means easy trading

 Use limit orders for your entry, so no missing trades!

 1:1 risk/reward ratio which is perfect for a new trader who we assume has a smaller account and more likely to make mistakes

- What is your entry trigger?

o Fast track = I use a standing limit order

o Day Trader = identify a level of interest and then wait for the break above/below that level to trigger the trade.

o Swing Trader = identify a level of interest and then wait for the break above/below that level to trigger the trade.

gold trading in a clear channel pattern

notice the use of trend lines

Crude Oil and Gold Futures Day Trading Sideways Markets Strategy

Our morning routine begins with the following:


• Check the news for today

• Now lets begin looking at the markets today

• I use multiple timeframes

o Slower timeframe shows me the bigger picture

 Weekly highs and lows

 Major levels of support/resistance

 I can find the best locations to trade
 Use my auto-levels to project those important s/r levels to my other timeframes

o Faster timeframe is where I use the important levels from the slower timeframe to know where to enter the market and where to exit

 Gets me less risk per trade
 Much more precise fills
 More trading opportunities this way

830am est

- I always begin my day with the dollar index
- Looking for a few things on the dollar

o Trading range

 Narrow trading range at new lows

o Relationship to yesterday’s trading range

 Narrower than yesterday
 New lows (outside day)
 Then came back into the range from yesterday (inside day)

o Any trend?

 Trend is flat
 Flat trigger line
 Double-top
 Consolidating into the low of the prev day

o Important support and resistance

 Mark the highs
 Mark the lows
 Wait for the breakout to signal when the market should be on the move
 Inside this narrow trading range the dollar will keep the rest of the markets moving sideways.

900am est

- We had news at 830am, jobless claims came out worse than expected, but the market didn’t show much reaction to this, leaving the markets still looking very weak.

- We took our first trade on gold futures for a fast track winner, scalp winner, day trade winner

- We notice that gold is settling into the trend lines on the 21 range chart, so we are clearly trading inside this wedge until the market breaks the highs/lows

o Buy the lows of the wedge
o Sell the highs of the wedge
o Don’t be afraid to play the breakout!

915am est

- The markets have gone to sleep on us, even after seeing the dollar index break its highs and then come back down into its trading range below.

- Crude oil has its inventory report @ 11am today, which is a day late and 30 minutes later than normal, so we are expecting the crude oil market to be a little different today. Use caution until after 11am est and the news released.

1100AM est

- We’ve seen the crude market move back up to the highs ahead of the news release, and then trade sideways at these highs after the news.

- Average true range on crude has made a nice rebound from previous lows, so we know that CRUDE OIL will give us more opportunities

- Current price action is choppy, and we need to wait for a better time to trade.

Start day trading without losses on gold, crude oil and Emini Russell futures

- How do I start my day without a losing trade?

o Every day I started with a big hole to dig out of.

o I was spending hours on market prep, getting 100% prepared for the day ahead, and then I would ignore that and take the first move the market gives me!

- When you’re looking for entry, and you say ‘looking for big sellers’ what do you mean?

o Watching my filtered time and sales window
o Looking for large orders below the point of entry

 2 reasons for this

• Large sell orders will protect my short entry

• Large sell orders at these lows will spark the rest of the market to jump in short as well, so I get the benefit of the drop.

- Why do we miss our pending orders sometimes?

o If you use a limit order you have a price guarantee, but no FILL guarantee

- Different colors on the time and sales window

o Check out the advanced course for the tape properties at the top of download section.

Emini Russell finishes profitable day trading strategy and gold futures tests all time highs

Going through our morning routine…
1. Check your news for the day ahead
2. Look at your charts, slow timeframe first, faster timeframe second
3. Start with the dollar index
4. Then move to other markets that are moving this morning

a. Crude oil
b. Gold
c. Russell @ 930am
d. Euro
e. Aussie
f. British pound

830am EST

- Dollar index futures are trading at the lows of the weekly range and we see the following:

o At the weekly lows of the range
o Very narrow trading range
o Sideways trading (flat trigger line)
o Outside day, that is sitting on the lows from yesterday, so it may become an inside day
o At the top of the price channel, so looking for the dollar to drop down into the channel from the top

835am est

- News is out at 830am est and did very little to jump start the market this morning.

- The dollar told us to be a little patient this morning while the dollar heats up and the rest of the markets decide where to go from here.

- Crude oil futures spiked last night on global comments that affected the dollar

845am est

- Crude oil futures are trading in a sideways range with a wedge pattern

- We are trading at the highs of the wedge, so looking for a short trade opportunity selling the highs

- We can see the best trades will come above 83.00 because there is nice wide open space for trades to run.

- Beware trading into trend lines, we have trend lines above and below us, so check the slower timeframes before you enter your trades today.

- 21 range chart shows a much cleaner wedge pattern with a clear entry short below 82.58 with targets down to the lows of the wedge.

- We also can trade the breakout long above 83.02 with profit targets all the way up to 84.00

915am est

- The markets are surprisingly quiet considering the dollar just broke the highs of its trading range, sending the crude oil moving down for our first winner of the day.

- We’re waiting to see where crude oil goes next, and finishing our morning prep on gold.

- Gold futures are trading sideways and appear to be exhausted after a big move UP from last night.

- Sideways trading at the highs gives us two options:

o I can sell the highs on a slower timeframe looking for the bigger move down

o I can scalp buying the lows of the range and selling the highs of the range while this market goes sideways.

1030am est

- Gold futures are back at new all-time highs, which means the breakout trade long will be higher risk (we don’t buy the highs, we sell the highs)

- Looking for a reversal trade short I have two options

o More aggressive entry below 67.5 will take your entry as close to the highs as possible, which is good

o The more conservative entry short below 65.6 is going to have more potential because it clears the messy chop at these highs and get into a trade with plenty of room to run for me.

o Targets will be 63.5, 62.3, 60.5 soft, and final hard target of 57.8 at the lows of the day’s trading range.

- Crude oil futures are trading sideways at the highs from last night and we have two options for our day trades

o Buy the breakout above 83.10 with targets of 25, 345, and 95

o I can sell the highs with a reversal short below 82.42 with targets 35, 15 (trend line), and then 65 for the final ¼ target.

- E-mini Russell broke out above the highs from last night
- You can see this trade call here:
- We took the breakout above the 700.00, took our profit and now looking for new opportunities.

o We can continue to the upside with a breakout trade entry long above 703.5 with targets of 705.0 (AB=CD Pattern) and final target is the top of the channel at around 709.0 for the final ½ of your position

o We can also look to take advantage of this sluggish market at the highs and sell short below 700.0 with targets of 98.3, 97.0, soft 93.2, and final hard 688.0 which is the trend line support.

- Euro futures broke below the sideways range and now looking to buy the lows of this range above 42.

- Profit should be taken at the trend line for the first target, 65, and final hard target of 90 all the way to the highs of the range.

Price Reversals, Pullbacks & Retracement Day Trading Strategy

- Qualifying pullbacks/retracements


o Buying pullbacks/selling reversals are the most efficient way of earning income

 Selling as the price is rising, gets me the best fill and im short above the highs which is the best location

 I will also use overhead resistance levels to support my trade short.

o Ways I can add more potential to this winning trade:

 Short trade

• Use overhead resistance levels
• Trigger line as overhead resistance
• Speed analysis
• Look for divergence for reversal

 When to avoid a pullback/retracement

• Stutter step, the other side of the market grabs hold of price
• Watch out for trades that do NOT have enough room to run
• Flat trigger lines are public enemy numero uno!

- Time and sales window properties

o At the top of the advanced course download section

- Joe’s dual workspaces

o To make things easier to follow, I focus on 2 markets at a time, and I have 2 workspaces that focus on 2 separate markets

o I load BOTH workspaces, and then toggle back and forth between the two.

- How do we see 100 lot orders getting filled, when day traders have a hard time with slippage?

- How many markets do I follow

o Favorites: crude oil, gold, euro, Russell, aussie, e-mini ES,
o Our method works on ANYTHING that moves
o ES = TOOO MUCH LIQUIDITY, that’s the why the moves don’t run very well
o TF = has just enough liquidity so the margins are lower and the trades MOVE!!!
o I want a balance between volatility and liquidity

 Too much volatility is too risky
 Not enough volatility there’s nothing moving!
 Too much liquidity and the market goes sluggish and sloppy
 Not enough liquidity and we cant get low margins or any confidence to enter the trades

Day Trading: Gold Futures Break All Time Highs

Gold Futures:

1030am est

- Gold futures are back at new all-time highs, which means the breakout trade long will be higher risk (we don’t buy the highs, we sell the highs)

- Looking for a reversal trade short I have two options

o More aggressive entry below 67.5 will take your entry as close to the highs as possible, which is good

o The more conservative entry short below 65.6 is going to have more potential because it clears the messy chop at these highs and get into a trade with plenty of room to run for me.

o Targets will be 63.5, 62.3, 60.5 soft, and final hard target of 57.8 at the lows of the day’s trading range.



Gold Break out Opportunity

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Crude Oil Futures:
 
- Crude oil futures are trading sideways at the highs from last night and we have two options for our day trades

o Buy the breakout above 83.10 with targets of 25, 345, and 95

o I can sell the highs with a reversal short below 82.42 with targets 35, 15 (trend line), and then 65 for the final ¼ target.
 



Day Trading Crude Oil























E-Mini Russell Futures:

- E-mini Russell broke out above the highs from last night

- You can see this Live Russell Trade Call:

- We took the breakout above the 700.00, took our profit and now looking for new opportunities.

o We can continue to the upside with a breakout trade entry long above 703.5 with targets of 705.0 (AB=CD Pattern) and final target is the top of the channel at around 709.0 for the final ½ of your position

o We can also look to take advantage of this sluggish market at the highs and sell short below 700.0 with targets of 98.3, 97.0, soft 93.2, and final hard 688.0 which is the trend line support.
 



Russell Day Trading

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Russell Break-Out Trade 34 Range
























Euro Futures:

- Euro futures broke below the sideways range and now looking to buy the lows of this range above 42.

- Profit should be taken at the trend line for the first target, 65, and final hard target of 90 all the way to the highs of the range.



Euro Day Trading
























Follow along with us, follow this link and join our live day trading futures trade room.

Crude Oil Trend Lines On 34 Range Chart

Here's a great example of what our slower timeframe looks like with our basic trend lines.  This uses the auto levels indicator.

Wedge Pattern Divergence Day trading crude oil futures

FYI to our members!


I’ve added the “divergence rules” to our entry rules cheat sheet.

Available for download in the advanced course section at the top. “Entry Rules Cheat Sheet”

820am est

- Dollar index futures have 3 key components to look at today

o Wide trading range
o Outside day, turned back into an inside day
o Strong up-trend

- All of this tells us that we ‘should’ see some decent moves today
- Be careful if the dollar goes sideways inside the trading range from yesterday (77.860 – 77.270)
- Also look out for support from the top of the channel (yellow line)

845am est

- Crude oil futures are trading well off the highs from late last week and we have a nice wedge pattern to work with this morning.

- We are in the middle of the wedge, so I cant really trade with too much confidence right now, so I need to wait for the highs or the lows to be tested in order to trade with the lowest risk.

o Sell the highs of the wedge
o Buy the lows of the wedge
o Sell/buy the breakout of the wedge

900am est

- Gold futures are trading in a tight sideways range, in the middle of the wedge pattern
- The range is so narrow that trading on gold today will be a little more challenging.

1000am est

- The euro futures sitting on the lows of the trading range and the lows of the wedge pattern and im looking at a very slow and sluggish market.

- We want to buy these lows around 1.3800 to take advantage of the highest percentage opportunities.
- We have 2 options for trading the euro at these lows

o I can buy the lows using a 2-step reversal pattern with entry long above 3847
o Profit targets will be 58, 68, soft 3895, and hard final target of 3940 which is the trend line as resistance.

o We can also sell short if we can break the support levels from the wedge and the lows of the day with entry below 3768, and profit targets of 55, 25, soft 3705, and final hard target of 3680 which is the group of yellow support levels on my auto levels indicator.

- We also see the crude oil futures are at the lows of the wedge, and we have a buying opportunity at these lows.

o Entry long will be above 81.74 with profit targets of 90, 05 (trend line), soft 28, and hard final target of 64 for the final ¼.

o If we break down below the wedge, looking for entry short below 80.88, with profit targets of 75, 60, soft 40, and final hard target of 60.05 if we can push these lower lows.

1100AM est

- We never got the crude oil futures to break the low of day at 80.88, but instead we had a reversal at the lows of 81.00 and we took the 2-step reversal long entry into the lows of the wedge.

- Buy the lows of the wedge is the main goal with this trade
- Entry long was also a fast track trade above 81.34
- We took +5/+10 and then managed a runner all the way to the highs of 81.68 for the final target

- Along the way we noticed lots of support in the market, we placed our stop correctly, and we used the divergence on our trade management chart and our 4-range chart to tell us when to hold the trade or when to fold the trade.

- We earned over 50 ticks simply buying the lows and waiting for the highs to be tested for the final target.

1115am est

- The euro continues to trade sideways and very slow

- Most likely due to the slow dollar, which is caused by traders waiting for the FED Meeting Minutes at 2pm EST today.

- We can see a reversal pattern selling the highs of this trading range, with entry short below 3825 and very tight profit targets at 16, 3805, and the lows of the range at 3795

- We don’t have much room for this reversal, so take your money and run!

Looking For Break Out Pattern On Euro

Euro Futures:

1000am est

- The euro futures sitting on the lows of the trading range and the lows of the wedge pattern and im looking at a very slow and sluggish market.

- We want to buy these lows around 1.3800 to take advantage of the highest percentage opportunities.

- We have 2 options for trading the euro at these lows

o I can buy the lows using a 2-step reversal pattern with entry long above 3847

o Profit targets will be 58, 68, soft 3895, and hard final target of 3940 which is the trend line as resistance.

o We can also sell short if we can break the support levels from the wedge and the lows of the day with entry below 3768, and profit targets of 55, 25, soft 3705, and final hard target of 3680 which is the group of yellow support levels on my auto levels indicator.



Euro Day Trading Wedge Pattern

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




Euro Futures Up-Date:

1115am est


- The euro continues to trade sideways and very slow

- Most likely due to the slow dollar, which is caused by traders waiting for the FED Meeting Minutes at 2pm EST today.

- We can see a reversal pattern selling the highs of this trading range, with entry short below 3825 and very tight profit targets at 16, 3805, and the lows of the range at 3795

- We don’t have much room for this reversal , so take your money and run! 
 



Euro Trading Sideways Range

  
 
 




















Crude Oil Futures:
 
- We also see the crude oil futures are at the lows of the wedge, and we have a buying opportunity at these lows.


o Entry long will be above 81.74 with profit targets of 90, 05 (trend line), soft 28, and hard final target of 64 for the final ¼.

o If we break down below the wedge, looking for entry short below 80.88, with profit targets of 75, 60, soft 40, and final hard target of 60.05 if we can push these lower lows.



Crude Oil Day Trading























Crude oil Futures Up-Date


1100AM est


- We never got the crude oil futures to break the low of day at 80.88, but instead we had a reversal at the lows of 81.00 and we took the 2-step reversal long entry into the lows of the wedge.

- Buy the lows of the wedge is the main goal with this trade

- Entry long was also a fast track trade above 81.34

- We took +5/+10 and then managed a runner all the way to the highs of 81.68 for the final target

- Along the way we noticed lots of support in the market, we placed our stop correctly, and we used the divergence on our trade management chart and our 4-range chart to tell us when to hold the trade or when to fold the trade.

- We earned over 50 ticks simply buying the lows and waiting for the highs to be tested for the final target.



Crude oil reversal pattern



Gold and Crude Oil Futures wedge pattern day trading strategy

Today is a holiday with the bond markets closed, so it’s a little tough to know what to expect. We usually see decent volume, but the volume is definitely going to be lower than usual. Low volume days require a little more patience, and waiting for the best time to trade.

- Increasing speed
- Perfect momentum
- Lots of big money on the time and sales window.

845am EST

- I’m watching the dollar index first today

o Size of the trading range
o Define “inside day” or “outside day”
o Define the trend

 Slope of the trigger line

o Identify the sideways trading range

Reviewing today’s dollar we see three red flags to cause us to used caution:

- Narrow trading range
- Outside day, turned inside
- No trend / sideways market

915am EST

- Crude oil futures trading sideways off the highs from last week and in the middle of the larger trading range
- We don’t have much of a bias because we’re trading right in the middle
- Looking to buy the lows (support)
- Looking to sell the highs (resistance)


1025am est

- Gold futures trading at the highs of the wedge pattern, so we have two options for trading opportunities:

o I can trade the breakout above 52.6 with profit targets of 54.0, 57.0, 58.5, and then 62.0 for the hard final target.

o I can sell the highs of the wedge with entry short below 49.7, and profit targets of 48.5, 47.5, 45.5 soft, and then all the way down to the major support at 42.8 for the hard target.

- Gold update: we noticed support at 1348.6 is just below our potential entry, so this becomes higher risk with less than 12 ticks of room for this trade room for this trade to run.

1100am EST

- Crude oil futures are trading flat in the middle of the trade range from this morning, and we don’t have many options at this time, besides the breakout below 82.00, the big round number.

- Entry short below 82.00 with profit targets of 85, 75, soft 81.45, and then all the way down to the hard final target of 80.85 (trend line on the 13range chart)

- Gold futures after the big winner short from 49.7 we are looking to buy these new lows with a 2-step reversal pattern above 49.7

- Profit targets of 50.8 P HOD, trend line as the 2nd target around 1352.0, soft 54.0, and hard final target of 58.5 1/4

Fast Track Day Trading Method Review from SchoolOfTrade.com

- FAST Track Entry rules


o What to watch and when

 Do I have enough room?
 Momentum looking perfect?
 Speed of the tape increasing?
 Big money to support my trade around my point of entry
 New trader stay patient for the best patterns, and avoid the marginal patterns

- AVERAGE TRUE RANGE

o Watch the video on the blog for the basics
o Check the advanced course for the SPECIFICS
o Open your 2-3 min chart
o Load the template “james 2-min range”

- What am I watching when I take a trade?

o Check the blog:
o I use my entry rules

 They are listen in order of importance

- What would my stops be on the 13range trades?

o Scalping = my stops are always 6-10 ticks
o Day trading I will use the market’s S/R to tell me where
o I always need to make sure my risk/reward ratio is less than 1.5:1

 Looking for 20 ticks of profit, I need to have less than a 10 tick stop

o Where can you find more information on this in the adv course?

- Correlation between dollar AND RUSELL?

o Yes there is, but the russel is a range-bound market just like the ES, and that means we will have a hard time seeing the market really move.

- Trade management chart, macd indicator at bottom