My preference for triggering entry is via a lower timeframe pattern breakout, such as shown in many examples throughout the YTC blog archives. For examples you might want to refer to the free ebook, “The LOST Files – 150 Lost YTC Blog Posts” for the following posts:
- Chart Patterns at the Micro Level
- The Fractal Nature of Price
- Micro Trigger Patterns – 123 Bottom
- YTC PAT Readers: Is a Single Bar Pullback Sufficient For Entry?
And if you want more information, the patterns I use for lower timeframe entry are outlined in the YTC Price Action Trader.
However there are other ways to trigger entry.
One that you may find you like is the concept of using micro-trendline breaks to enter the trade. Again, I'd recommend this on a lower timeframe, although the concept could apply to the trading timeframe if you use that for trade entry.
As with all good price action concepts, it applies across all markets and timeframes (provided sufficient liquidity to ensure smooth price flow).
Let's look at what I mean through some chart examples. We'll consider only the case of a pullback entry into a trending market. Once you understand this idea you should be able to adjust it to any other environment and trade setup.
We'll start with a pullback within a bearish trend, with a bias for continuation lower.
Let's look at an example. I'll use CL on very low timeframes, simply because that's what I trade. But again, the concept can be applied to all markets and all timeframes.
And while the example will demonstrate a down-trending environment (in order for comparison with the diagrams above), the same concept applies for setups within any other type of environment. Simply adjust the lower timeframe patterns to suit!
Lance Beggs