I've been discussing this idea for quite a while now. The idea that there is GREAT VALUE in studying your charts post-session to identify the price sequences which offered the best trading conditions. And then… the structural features which might help you identify similar trading conditions next time they occur.
Just last week in our newsletter I shared the following social media post:
This is not just something we do for fun.
The exercise has clear and obvious benefits.
One of them being – when I see these patterns set up again they give me CONFIDENCE in the subsequent trend.
The image above gives one of these patterns.
Tuesday's trading gave us another…
Let's start with the 15 minute higher timeframe at the time of session open.
Not all trading conditions are equal. There will be times when the markets provide conditions that best suit our strategy. At these times we need to be focused. We need to know what we want to see to confirm these favourable conditions. And we need to be confident and ready to act decisively when they appear.
And there will be times when the market provides conditions that are less suited to our strategy. At these times we need to step back a little. Be happy to pass on anything that is not screaming out to be traded. If we miss opportunity, so be it. Let it go. And wait for something more favourable.
Post-session study lets you identify those sequences which best suit your style of trading. And to identify the structural features or patterns which might suggest a repeat of these conditions, should they set up again in the future.
For my own personal trading, I perform better in directional markets with nice smooth stable trends. The overnight volatility contraction is one pattern that has me primed and ready for potentially good trading conditions from the open. A pattern which provided me with confidence to TRUST the trend, should it develop from the open.
Are you aware of the conditions which you find most favourable? And the structural features or patterns which might help you identify these conditions again in the future?
If not, you have work to do. Study the charts for those areas where you see that "price moves best". And make sure that next time the market offers similar conditions, you're ready and focused, with the confidence necessary to attack that market opportunity.
Happy trading,
Lance Beggs