Quick Navigation (links to key articles and discussions)
Method Basics
Article - [I]“Step 1: Identifying a Trend”[/I]
Article - [I]“Step 2: Finding Key S/R Areas”[/I]
Article - [I]“Step 3:Watching for Price Action at Key S/R Levels”[/I]
Article - [I]“Part 1: Retracement Techniques”[/I]
Post - [I]“The 5 Star Rating System”[/I]
Post - [I]“Pairs I trade”[/I]
Post - [I]“Trading Rules For Pinbar, Engulfing bar, Inside Bar, Morning/Evening Star, 2 Bar Patterns”[/I]
Price Action Candles
Video - [I]“How to Identify Market Structure and What a Pin Bar Is”[/I]
Video - [I]“Price Action Pin Bar Tutorial #2”[/I]
Price Action Patterns
Video - [I]“Price Action Flag Pattern Tutorial”[/I]
Post - [I]“Bearish Flag (Entry/SL Techniques)”[/I]
Post - [I]“Broadening Top”[/I]
Support/Resistance
Post - [I]“Noise On the Charts”[/I]
Post - [I]“What Time Frame To Apply EMA’s”[/I]
Trade Management
Post - [I]“Warning Signals DURING a Trade”[/I]
Post - [I]“Take profit techniques”[/I]
Post - [I]“How to Move Your Stoploss”[/I]
Money Management
Post - [I]“Fixed % Vs. Fixed $”[/I]
Post - [I]RR Calculation[/I]
Trader Psychology
Post - [I]“Reduce Emotional Drain From Trading”[/I]
Market Psychology
Video - [I]“Why Pin Bars Form”[/I]
Trading Plans/Journals
Member Contribution - [I]“Sample Trading Plan: Template #1”[/I]
Member Contribution - [I]“Sample Trading Plan: Template #2”[/I]
Notable Chart Analysis
Post - [I]“Pin Bar H3”[/I]
4-5 Star Chart Setups
Post - [I]“USDSEK - Double Bottom Retest + Inside Bar False Break - 4 Star”[/I]
Post - [I]“CADCHF - Rising Wedge Pattern - 4.5 Star”[/I]
Post - [I]“GBPCAD -Multiple Pin Bars - 4 Star”[/I]
3 Star Chart Setups
Post - [I]“NZDJPY - Resistance Turned Support Pin Bar - 3.5 Star”[/I]
Post - [I]“GBPCHF - 2 Bar Reversal - 3 Star”[/I]
Misc. Articles
Post - [I]“Why most Price Action Guru courses DO NOT work”[/I]
Post - [I]“What To Do When You Are Losing”[/I]
Post - [I]“Times When PA Trading and Retracements Don’t Work”[/I]
Post - [I]“The Affect Of News On Price”[/I]
Post - [I]“When Price Stalls Right Before TP”[/I]
Post - [I]“To Trade Or Not To Trade During News”[/I]
FXCM FAQs
Post - [I]“Removing 20 symbol limit”[/I]
Upcoming Articles:
Part 2 of Retracement Entry Techniques
Trading Inside Bars
Trade Management
Rules
I want to make sure this doesn’t become a run-away thread and lose its value as an educational tool in price action trading, so I want to lay out a few rules and try to focus on the most important aspects of price action. I will also try and create a standard set of terminology to use for the sake of keeping the thread as uniform and easy to read as possible. The rules of the thread will continue to develop and grow as things unfold here. To make it simple, if it isn’t in the approved list, then we won’t discuss it. If you think something should be added to the approved list, then please private message me about it and I will decide if it should be added.
Topics Discussed Here
[ol]
[li]Price Action Candles
[/li][li]Price Action Patterns
[/li][li]Finding Key Support/Resistance Areas
[/li][li]Volume Analysis
[/li][li]Managing Risk/Reward
[/li][li]Stop Loss, Entry, Profit Techniques
[/li][li]Trade Management(Pyramiding Into/Out of Trades or Holding Flat)
[/li][li]Money Management Methods(Fixed $ and % Risk)
[/li][li]Trader Psychology
[/li][li]Market Psychology
[/li][li]
[/li][/ol]
Things we DO use:
Price Action Candles(in no specific order):
*Pin Bar
*Hammer
*Inside Bar
*Engulfing Bar
*Two Bar Reversal
*Morning Star/Evening Star
Price Action Patterns(in no specific order):
*1-2-3 Reversal
*Bull/Bear Flags
*Ascending/Descending Triangles
*Ascending/Descending Channels
*Double Tops/Bottoms
*Triple Tops/Bottoms
*Bull/Bear Rectangles
*Rising/Falling Wedges
*Pennants
What Matters(S/R key areas) (in order of importance):
*Horizontal S/R
*Diagonal S/R (same as a trend line)
*Channels
*Fibonacci (50% and up)
*EMAs(8, 21)
Things we DON’T use:
[ol]
[li]News - we only keep our eye on major news events to track potential trade risks
[/li][li]Indicators(other than specific EMAs) as they don’t provide any extra benefit to trading price
[/li][li]Any price action candles and patterns not listed here
[/li][li]Pivot Points
[/li][li]Fibonacci levels below %50
[/li][li]
[/li][/ol]
Other thread/method requirements
Trade Requirements:
[ol]
[li]A valid price action signal must have formed, this provides the entry signal
[/li][li]These price action signals must have formed at key S/R level(s)
[/li][li]The trade must provide at minimum 1:1 RR, preferably 1:2 or higher
[/li][li]The signal must not have formed in a choppy or noisy area of price
[/li][li]At a minimum the candle must be the size of the previous candle, or fairly close
[/li][/ol]
Chart Requirements:
[ol]
[li]Candlestick charts only
[/li][li]Must be New York close
[/li][li]Can only show thread approved PA candles, S/R tools and volume.
[/li][li]
[/li][/ol]
Trade Quality Measurement(The 5 star system): As long as the trade requirements are met, the setup is now “tradable”. Not all trades that fall within the core requirements are of considered high quality though. I tend to filter out trades I deem as lower quality, and I may increase or decrease the amount of money I risk on a trade depending on its quality. It’s important to have a system of rating the quality of your trade. Here we will utilize a 5 star system. A 1 star trade merely falls into the core requirements but may have other poor qualities increasing the risk of the trade. A 5 star trade is one of highest quality, is a perfectly formed price action signal with great RR and very little resistance along the way. Although most trades will fall in the 1-3 star range. Remember that measuring the quality of a trade can be very subjective, so if you don’t agree with someones rating of a setup, you can respectfully ask them to expound on why they gave their setup a certain rating.
Personal Trade Filters:
After I find a trade that meets my core requirements I then run it through my personal list of filters that are apart of my trading method. For you as a trader, your filters may include no counter trend trades, no inside bars, or avoiding NFP. You may also filter out trades that are too low in quality(I.E. 1-3 stars). There are many filters a person can use to make sure they are taking the highest quality trades with the best edge. Here we will teach you about all of the dynamics of a trade and then you can make an educated decision on how you want to filter your trades.
Timeframes: 30 minutes and up
Approved Currency Pairs: Price action occurs on all financial instruments such as currency, precious metals, indices and stocks. I am not picky on what currencies I watch as they almost all produce good price action. I don’t try and get to know the currency or the news behind the currencies, I just want to be watching for price action signals at key PA levels. Finding price action generally takes less than a minute on any candlestick chart.
Trade Posting Requirements: You are allowed and encouraged to post questions, join discussions, answer questions and post trade screenshots. When posting information about a trade you “must” have a chart showing the trade being discussed with stoploss, entry and take profit clearly labeled. You must also post your opinion of the quality of the trade using the 5 star rating method. This is for your benefit because it will help you begin viewing your trades as unique and of different quality. Others will also benefit from this because they can ask you why you are rating your trades a certain quality. This will help create healthy educational discussions about trade setups. You must also provide at a minimum, a simple list of pros and cons of the trade you are posting. Remember though, the more detailed your analysis is of the trade you are posting the better. Not only will writing the commentary help you learn, but thousands of others will also read your post and learn from it.