Article: Buffy's Tips

This article is a collection of useful information that I am commonly asked about in the B-Line chat room in Ensign.

E-mail Charts
When you are doing a playback on your own, feel free to e-mail me the chart using Ctrl-E in Ensign. Check the Other box and enter unicorn@ctel.net in the window to the right of Other. After you have typed your question in the Message text window, including the day you are playing back, click the send button. It will say when finished. Click on OK to close the e-mail window. Remember the only 'stupid' question is the unasked one.

Also playback uses your current computer clock so please make sure it is accurate. At www.dacharts.com under links "Trader's Tools" are links to good Internet clocks. I personally run the Dimension 4 clock in the morning and then close it so it is not conflicting with my eSignal data feed.

Sim-Broker
Use Sim-Broker will keep track of your trades by marking them on the chart. This feature can be opened two ways. Use the icon in the control tool bar - circle that is half blue and half red - or right mouse click and click on Sim-Broker in the pop-up menu. Whatever chart that is active when you open Sim-Broker is the chart that will be marked with your trades. If you are practicing with multiple contracts, Sim-Broker will also note your open position on the chart.

If you discover Sim-Broker is not working, it is usually because it is confused by having been left open in the demo workspace and "lost" the chart that it is trying to mark.. If you click the Reset Summary button and the Clear Log button, close the Sim-Broker window using the X in the top right corner and then reopen it with the chart in focus you want your trades logged on. Then, it should be working well.

If you wish to have a printout of your trades, just click on the printer icon with Sim-Broker window active. The file created for the day will be located in the \Ensign\Broker folder. If you do more than one playback in a day, it is overwritten with the last playback done when the Sim-Broker window is closed.

Please note there is no refresh available in playback. If you wish to change a chart from day session to all sessions, uncheck day session, save the workspace and then restart playback to fill in the bars for all sessions.

To simulate real-time trading where fills aren't so fast, you may want to increase the commission size in Sim-Broker to double what your commissions really are.

Direct Feedback for how well you trade
The following method was shared by Pam Danielson - Google- and I have recommended it to many traders. It forces you to focus on discipline and consistency versus points.

Trade with Sim-Broker marking the charts with your entries and exits. At the end of the day, print the chart out. Obtain a base number by going over the chart and seeing how many setups that followed your rules were presented that you were at the machine to take.

Now go over your trades. Give yourself one point for each setup that followed your rules that you took. Subtract a point for each setup that followed your rules that you didn't take. Subtract a point for each trade that you took that did not follow your rules. The closer the result is to your base number, the better you did regarding discipline and consistency.

Other ways of measuring your performance are discussed in the two Trading Plan discussions - http://dacharts.org/archives/Trading_Plan/

Trading Room Lingo
MOF - Money on Floor - First Study Window - 2X Window
     Long term Stochastic has just rolled over.
     Usually there is a spread between the %K and %D.
     It is the first touch of the opposite BB - Bollinger Band

SLING - in the first study window - 2X window
     Long term Stochastic is relatively flat.
     Short term Stochastic pulls away.
     While you are in the trade, the Short term Stochastic sling back to the Long term Stochastic

TMAR - Take the money and run

HH-LH-HL-LL - higher high, lower high, higher low, lower low

HD - Hidden Divergence - also called Reverse Divergence and Continuation Divergence. When I speak of HD I am referring to the MACD Histogram. You might want to read the following link on it: http://www.ensignsoftware.com/tips/tradingtips31.htm

RD - Regular Divergence - per the article - again referring to the MACD Histogram

Ribbons - these are the 4 colored lines in the bottom study window - Bline Window.
Their relationship to the Bline - the white/black line with the dots - is what makes the patterns for setups,

While all of the discussions at http://www.dacharts.com/discussions.php are well worth reading, the following ones may be referred to
     "Stops and Exits"
     "Steps to Success" part 1 and part 2
     "Seven Deadly Sins of Trading"

Article by Judy MacKeigan (Buffy)