Robert H

We are booked for Saturday, May 19! Here are the details: Time: 3:00 PM Location: Tap and Barrel (Olympic Village) 1 Athletes Way, Vancouver, BC V5Y 0C2 Reservation is under: Robert H Depending on the weather, they may open up the patio and give us the option of sitting outside. Knowing Vancouver, my hopes aren't too high lol. Any questions, please e-mail me directly.

Can I use my Das Demo default.dsk file with Das trader Pro? Yes. However, there might be a few anomalies. I remember a few of my windows (Positions, Account, etc.) reverted to black backgrounds. The rest of the layout stayed intact.

If your goal is for DAS to automatically send a marketable limit order--in the same way that Andrew would press his hotkey when the price reaches a certain level--create a hotkey or hot button with this script: Share=Pos;ROUTE=STOP;StopType=Limit;StopPrice=AvgCost-0.10;StopPrice=Round2; Price=Bid-.05;TIF=DAY+;SELL=Send That is equivalent to you pressing the 'SELL ALL AT BID - 0.05' hotkey when the market price goes 0.10 below your average. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but you may or may not get filled at a favourable price depending on the price action. This is true for both the stop limit order (above) and a manual press of the hotkey.

Thanks, Jimmy. The only guaranteed way to not get shaken out by sudden spikes/drops is to not use a hard stop; this is why Andrew and others use a mental stop loss. For highly liquid stocks, it is very rare that the price drops suddenly for no reason. And if they do, there should be enough volume for your limit price to be filled on the way down. The second best way is to use the Stop Limit Order I described above. It ensures that you are only stopped out if you are filled at a certain price below the stop price (i.,e a penny or nickel). It is a threshold you are defining by saying "if the price hits A, get me out only if the price is B or better. Don't just sell at the market price." For example, you buy a stock at $10. You send a Stop Limit Order with Trigger Price at $9.90 and Price of $9.85. If the price momentarily drops $1 on some sort of fat-finger order, you will only stop out if you were able to get filled at $9.85. It could be the case that other traders got filled with Stop Market orders, and your $9.85 threshold wasn't met on the sudden decline. If the price suddenly comes back to $10 (again, it has to happen so quick/violently that your $9.85 is skipped), you are still in the position. If the drop was real and price continues declining, unfortunately you are still in the position. Now this is a double edged sword because depending on the time/sales, order flow, L2, other market participants, etc. you may actually end up getting filled at 9.85 on the $1 drop. If the price recovers to $10, you're no longer in the position. However, if the price continues to decline, you have averted disaster. There is just no way to determine whether the momentary spike is a real drop, or some sort of shake out. It also highly depends on what other limit orders are out there and the sequence of fills in the time/sales. Therefore, there is no order type that can predict the future. I know that mitigate doesn't your scenario entirely, but this is just the way market works and how uncertain it can be. I'd be interested in hearing others' opinion on this matter.

Can you provide a clear example of the scenario you are trying to protect against?

Jimmy, I believe you're looking for a Stop Limit Order. Please see . A Stop Limit order becomes a limit order once the trigger price is hit. The limit order is then filled at the specified limit price or better. This is useful for when prices are moving very fast with momentum. Using a Stop Market order may cause you to be filled at a price much lower than the Trigger Price. Conversely, a Stop Limit order is not guaranteed to be filled if the price drops quickly below your limit price. This may leave you stuck in the position. For example, I am long 100 shares of FB with an average cost of $160. The current price is $166. I want to protect my profit and exit if the price falls below $163. However, I am only willing to exit if I am filled at $162.75 or better. Once FB reaches $163, a sell limit order will be sent to exit the position at $162.75 or higher. This script can be used in a hotkey or Montage hot button: Share=Pos;ROUTE=STOP;StopType=Limit;StopPrice=AvgCost-0.10;StopPrice=Round2; Price=StopPrice-0.01;TIF=DAY+;SELL=Send The order will only fill if the price is 0.01 below your stop price. If the price moved so fast that you were unable to get filled at 0.11 below average cost, it won't get filled. Note that 0.10 is a rather tight stop for most stocks.

I expanded on The Process of Executing a Good Trade in this post. it takes a lot of practice to plan a trade in real-time (especially in the first 30 minutes of the market). At least a month and hundreds of attempts until you develop a process that works for you. Once you get good at planning and managing the trade, you will be able to do it faster and faster each time. Like muscle memory of sorts. Here is what works for me: Prerequisites 1. Stock is in play 2. Support and resistance identified in pre-market 3. Pre-market volume and price action is tradable 4. Know the float category (low, mid, high) and how many shares you plan to take While watching the stock 1. Spread is manageable 2. ATR/price swings accounted for (i.e, see how much the stock ticks. Is it going up/down in 0.01 to 0.05 increments, or 0.50 to $1) 3. Price action is clean and not choppy; related to above 4. Volume is good and not dying 5. Who is control: buyers or sellers? 6. What is the strategy/pattern that is setting up here? 7. Is the price getting extended? Finding an entry 1. Is the entry favourable (new 1-min or 5-min high), or will it be a chase 2. Did the stock pullback yet? If not, to which level will it test and will I survive that? 3. What's the target? Is it realistic? 4. Finding a reasonable stop at a technical level 5. Calculating the risk-to-reward 6. Executing the order; with conviction--no hesitation Managing the Trade 1. Is the live price action still clean? 2. Are we making higher-highs and higher-lows, or vice versa? 3. Are there are levels or tops/bottoms that I missed before entering that have now become a factor (i.e, a moving average on the 1-minute chart) 4. Is the market providing new information that validates or invalidates my original criteria? Is the Level 2 bullish, bearish or neutral? 5. Is it a good time to add more (if you scaled in initially), or should you take some profit off the table? 6. If scaling out, how much and at what levels? 7. Is the price action conducive to my original stop/target? 8. Is control between buyers and selling shifting? 9. Given the above, does it make sense to stay in the trade or exit at break-even, before stop, or before target? I know that is a lot to process in a short amount of time, but those thoughts go through my head during a trade. For others, it may be much simpler or even more complex.

Make sure 'include in scale' is unchecked for every study except Price.

David, it takes a lot of practice to plan a trade in real-time (especially in the first 30 minutes of the market open). At least a month and hundreds of attempts until you develop a process that works for you. Once you get good at planning and managing the trade, you will be able to do it faster and faster each time. Like muscle memory of sorts. Here is what works for me: Prerequisites 1. Stock is in play 2. Support and resistance identified in pre-market 3. Pre-market volume and price action is tradable 4. Know the float category (low, mid, high) and how many sharesI plan to take While watching the stock 1. Spread is manageable 2. ATR/price swings accounted for (i.e, see how much the stock ticks. Is it going up/down in 0.01 to 0.05 increments, or 0.50 to $1) 3. Price action is clean and not choppy; related to above 4. Volume is good and not dying 5. Who is in control: buyers or sellers? 6. What is the strategy/pattern that is setting up here? 7. Is the price getting extended? Finding an entry 1. Is the entry favourable (new 1-min or 5-min high), or will it be a chase 2. Did the stock pullback yet? If not, to which level could it test and will I survive that? 3. What's the target? Is it realistic? 4. Finding a reasonable stop at a technical level 5. Calculating the risk-to-reward 6. Executing the order with conviction--no hesitation Managing the Trade 1. Is the live price action still clean? 2. Are we making higher-highs and higher-lows, or vice versa? 3. Are there are levels or tops/bottoms that I missed before entering that have now become a factor (i.e, a moving average on the 1-minute chart) 4. Is the market providing new information that validates or invalidates my original criteria? 5. Is the Level 2 bullish, bearish or neutral? 6. Is it a good time to add more (if I scaled in initially), or should I take some profit off the table? 7. If scaling out, how much and at what levels? 8. Is the price action conducive to my original stop/target? 9. Is control between buyers and selling shifting? 10. Given the above, does it make sense to stay in the trade or exit at break-even, before stop, or before target? I know that is a lot to process in a short amount of time, but those thoughts go through my head before and during a trade. For others, it may be much simpler or even more complex. Best of luck.

Take a look here. You can also adjust the Y-axis margin which can impact the unit scaling.

JNPR Opening Range Breakdown/Moving Average Trend – May 2, 2018 JNPR filled the gap this morning after gaining $2 overnight. I missed the 5-min and 15-min ORBs but noticed that it was still making lower highs and lower lows with little support. At 9:50 AM I saw it lose the 50 SMA and decided to take a stab. My stop would be above the MA, at 26.25, and a target at 25.75. With an entry of 26.15, my reward-to-risk was 3.5. At 10 AM or so, I thought that a reversal was pending since it failed to make a new low on a doji. I took some profit on the next candle and thereafter. Once the stock broke the 30-minute opening range, the bottom began to fall out. I patiently took profit at the levels I found from the daily chart and was all out once it reversed back to the PCL. As Brendon stated above, keeping the last bit of shares until break-even can be a good habit to develop. It really paid off to let this winner run for over 3 hours!

Great post, Abiel! Also note that it failed to make a new low two times which was a sign that bears were getting exhausted.

Ron, I consider break-even a loss since I track my P&L before commissions on individual trades. Anything over break-even is a win in my books (even $1).

I've e-mailed everyone regarding T-shirt sizes. Mike R, please contact me. I wasn't able to find your contact info. Thanks.

Still haven't decided on a venue. Thinking of Cactus Club/Joey's type establishment. We're open to any suggestions.

ARNC Opening Range Breakdown, VWAP Chop, VWAP False Breakout, Moving Average Trend - April 30, 2018 I overtraded ARNC today and went 2/4. It was put on SSR after gapping down over the weekend. The Bears took the stock down at the Open, but it pulled back to VWAP and went sideways for about an hour. After it lost VWAP, the bleeding continued well into the afternoon. 1st Trade - ORB After the initial dump at the open, I waited for a momentary pullback to VWAP as this is a pretty a common occurrence on ORBs. The spike came at 9:35 AM and I watched to see if it would make a new 1-min low and 5-min low at the same time. My stop would be above VWAP, and my target at 19.27. I caught an entry at 19.86 for a reward-to-risk of 2. I scaled out on the way down with the last bit covered at VWAP. Brian P took the same trade, but had a much better entry in the first few minutes (I probably sold my shares to him for the cover). 2nd/3rd Trade - VWAP False Break Outs After it looked to have rejected VWAP, I went short again. Unfortunately I was stopped out. At this point I believe Andrew had just got out of his long position on ARNC. Immediately after stopping out, I went long hoping to get to the 20 EMA, but again was stopped out below VWAP. Both of these trades were very low reward-to-risk, 0.7 and 1.6, respectively. It was clearly chopping up and down and I was better off not trading it until it found some direction. These weren't the best trades and I ended up giving back 2/3rds of my winnings in just 10 minutes! 4th Trade - VWAP False Break Out/Moving Average Trend Trade I am really proud of this trade because I didn't let the two prior losses deter me. As Mark Douglas says, 'every moment in the market is unique.' I saw that it was clearly losing the VWAP and that volume was coming in. I went short at 19.45 with a stop above VWAP and a target at the low of the day. The reward-to-risk was in the neighbourhood of 2.5. I covered most around the 19 level but let some ride for nearly 3 hours and covered the last bit at 18. It reversed to 18.40 afterward so that whole-dollar level ended up being strong support.

INTC Opening Range Breakdown - April 27, 2018 INTC quickly lost the VWAP at the open and looked incredibly weak. At 9:35 AM, I went short at 55. My stop was 0.10 above VWAP at 55.25. The profit target was the MA below at 54.50 and the 54.35 level below that. The reward-to-risk was around 2.0. About 5-10 seconds after my entry, Andrew called the same trade. I knew that the odds were in my favour! INTC quickly dropped 0.50 to the MA (where Andrew covered all), and continued down to 54.20. I held the last bit in hopes of surviving the pullback, but it spiked to VWAP and I was all out. The stock continued lower to the PCL before bouncing around.

CASA VWAP Reversal - April 26, 2018 Here's a trade where I went against my intuition and missed a huge run. CASA sold off heavily in the first 15 minutes. Then it failed to make a new 5-minute low on a double bottom. I went long at 23.85 with a stop at the loss of the consolidation area on the 1-minute chart at 23.70. My target was the 9 EMA on 5-minute chart and VWAP above that for a reward-to-risk of 2.1. Five minutes after having entered the trade I got cold feet. There was a 20-30 second lull in volume which caused me to chicken out and sell at break-even. Almost immediately after the stock shot up past 2 MA's and VWAP to 24.55. I watched the epic short squeeze from the sidelines like a 3rd string quarterback on Super Bowl night :(

ACAD Bear Flag/Chase - April 25, 2018 ACAD showed up on the Turbo Break Down scanner after plunging $3 upon losing the VWAP. The volume was incredible and dragged the VWAP down with it. Considering the time of day (2 PM EST), there must have been a fresh catalyst for the drop. I pulled up the daily chart and saw a level at 15.70. Without further thinking, I shorted at 16.35. My stop was a break of the prior consolidation at 17. The reward-to-risk was a meager 1.0. Shortly after I entered, the stock pulled back and consolidated. I stubbornly held my ground despite the risk of a looming reversal. Luckily, it broke 10 minutes after and I began covering quite aggressively. It continued to plunge as low as 14.50 where I was able to take some more profit. My final exit was when it closed back above the 9 EMA. Looking back on this trade, I realize my entry was terrible. This resulted in me having to survive the pullback and much unnecessary stress. A good entry would have been on the previous candle when it made a new 5-min low. Another great entry would have been 5 minutes after it consolidated on a new 5-min low. Despite being a winner, I'm not too proud of this trade.

MU Bear Flag/Reverse ABCD - April 23, 2018 MU was a great short today but I missed the initial 5-minute ORB. At around 9:45 AM, I watched it pullback and consolidate. I focused on the 1-minute chart to see if it would make a new low at around 49.5. The stock still looked very weak and the market was also selling off. My target would be the next level down at 49, with a stop at 49.70 (high of previous candle). Reward-to-risk was around 2.5. I entered on the new 1-minute low and MU began to plunge. I locked in some profit at 49.25 and covered more at the 49 target. My final portion was covered on the next bullish candle before break-even.

Save the date: May 19th, 2018! We'll finalize time and location and get back to everyone who has registered so far (9 + Andrew)

Greg, which version of DAS are you on? Go to Help > About. I think the DuplicateWindow feature was only added as of 5.2.0.15. You can update to the latest version by going to Tools > Auto Upgrade. Make sure to backup your settings via Tools > Backup Settings.

DRNA VWAP Trend Trade – April 20, 2018 DRNA showed up on the High of the Day Bull Flag Scanner during lunch hour. Andrew and others took the trade long as it popped up $3 on some sort of catalyst. I noticed that the momentum was dying at around 1 PM and checked the float. It was 52m shares, which is far from low. At around 1:30 PM, I saw it lose the VWAP and the 20 EMA in a single candle. The stock looked incredibly weak on rising volume. I went short at 12.91 with a stop loss just above VWAP at 13.20. My target was the 50 SMA which was below $12 at the time. The reward-to-risk was greater than 3. Given the time of day and low volume, I ended up scaling out much sooner than the profit target (cautious of a random reversal). I survived the pullback and continued to cover until the 50 MA closed in. This was one of the most stress-free trades I've ever taken as it slowly bled $1 over a 30 minute period.

Jimmy, this is a very common problem that many of us face. At least once a week I find myself freezing like a deer in the headlights. It usually happens in the first 20 minutes when prices fluctuate wildly. There is just not enough time to manually enter a hard stop loss. I'd say I stick to my mental stop losses 90% of the time. But the 10% of the time where I don't, the outcome is usually very ugly. I am trying to correct this bad habit through repetition. Hopefully it becomes muscle reflex given enough time. I believe the root cause is fear. We are afraid of being wrong--of losing money--so we convince ourselves that the price will come back. As Andrew mentions in his book, it is better to take the small loss than letting things spiral out of control. Commissions are cheap; you can always get back in. Regarding slippage: usually the amount is a few pennies. Isn't this more favourable than stopping out 0.25 or 0.50 beyond your original stop loss?

The lock only greys out the trading buttons (and prevents hotkey orders). You can still change account, share size, etc.