Trading Style (and a bit of history) Pt2.

To continue where I left off in Pt.1 ,Tim Morge's work with medianlines for the first time showed me a tool and technique that really opened my eyes. Prior I used to toy with lots of different indicators such as moving averages, stochastics, macd, divergence/convergence etc. All of these have merit in a particular context, but I didn't know what the context was, because I had no plan. I had no idea what I wanted to achieve other than profits. But what was an adequate profit based on a specific setup? How do I know when to get out? Quite frankly I was lost. To quote Yogi Berra:'Be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you may never get there...' That just about hits it on the nail.
Interestingly enough the one tool that I always felt most comfortable with before learning about medianlines was the good old trendline which I still consider of enormous importance. If you look closely what medianlines are made of, it's basically all trendlines. They are just used a bit differently or in a more unconventional way.
As I studied the work on medianlines, it gave me a great tool to work with and today I view it as one of the anchors in my trading. But at the time I had no idea about the overall picture. What is the state of a particular issue? Is it trending, up or down, going sideways? Is there a long term trend? Or maybe a trend on a shorter timeframe while the issue trades sideways on a longer timeframe? All questions that I either never asked or got a decent answer for.
As I was applying what I learned about medianlines, I had mixed results. I had some great trades and some that failed miserably. Not that I expect every trade to work out, but I just felt that something was missing. I was looking for confirmation. I didn't want to trade medianlines 'naked'. I needed to find areas of confluence. The first tool that came to mind was the application of Fibonacci numbers in trading. You can find a lot of information on Fibbonacci retracements in trading on the web. There've been a number of great traders using Fibonacci retracements who came up with some unique concepts.
That's where Jim Kane came into my trading life. Looking back I call myself very lucky to have stumbled upon Jim's work which is such an incredible body of work that includes completely new concepts, new facts, new numbers and it most importantly covers all aspects of trading. I was searching for some good work on Fibonacci retracements and found so much more.
I am by no means an accomplished trader at this point, but with the help of Jim's work I now have a very solid framework to work with that has proven itself over and over again to the point of astonishement and most importantly one that I can trust 100%.

Trading Style (and a bit of history) Pt.1

My approach to trading had always been one of technical nature. That's how I trade and I don't know a better way. There are lots of tools available in technical analysis and a very high percentage is useless to me. I do think that technical trading is very subjective and completely dependent on how the tools are perceived and used. I find people using certain tools with great success which are completely useless to me and vice versa. It's like looking at the stars and depicting the great wagon or other constellations. The stars and the universe don't know anythign about these patterns. It is all in the eye of the beholder.
That's how I perceive technical trading. I would actually call it 'pattern trading'. You look for patterns that frequently repeat in certain situations and you hone in on them. Eventually pattern recognition becomes automatic. Someone, I forgot the name, likened it to the waves in the ocean...
The tools I have learned to work best for me can be better understood by checking out the two links in my previous post.
When I first started to learn to trade with medianlines I had previously gone through a long period of trying out various tools and methods. At some point I started trading a small live account thinking that I was ready for trading (or the trading world was ready for me) and quickly realized that I was totally lost on all bases. I had no trading plan in any form or fashion. I did not know how to apply tools consistently or what to trust nor did I trust myself. There was not much of a money management plan in place. Quite frankly I was completely clueless. Stumbling upon Tim Morge's work with medianlines was like an epiphany. For the first time I had a tool to work with that felt right and made so much sense. It was also the first time that I got to see a truly professional and seasoned trader at work. I studied Tim's work, took a couple of seminars with him and knew that going forth this was going to be an essential ingredient in my trading plan. What I didn't have yet were many other things...(to be continued)