Praised Prominent Zone (PPZ Thread)
Hello Traders,
I have decided to open my own thread to talk charts and market along side all you good people.. to share, to interact, to learn and to humbly guide/educate. I will not be introducing a particular system but I will show a comprehensive yet simple approach of looking at the Currency Market in hunt for high probable setups.
(This thread more or less should be under interactive trading section but since I do not have the minimum 4V I have posted in this section, hopefully it will be moved)
About me.. please refer to my profile if you find it necessary.
A little about my trading views. I should begin by saying versatility is vital for Traders, since we deal with constant changing environment. I do not believe a successful Trader can be a one Pony show. This makes me a none "sole/narrow" system believer. However, core of my trading style is based on a common philosophy but not strict and square. I describe my style as a significant Zones hunter.. whatever, whenever and however it takes to discern such meaningful level/zones. I call such areas as "Praised Prominent Zone" (PPZ), so have chosen the threads name. My long term trading style is basically warped around such mind set. Ok, why Praised and Prominent?.. well, firstly I got to observe something in chart that grabs my attention to start at anything, which could lead to Praising it down the road.. could be a strong swing, a impulse move, a consolidation/reversal break away pattern etc, and by itself for most part or at times does not sum to a lot.. so it has to be fit with a significant level as well to make it a Prominent Zone. So with what said already, first I got to have a attention-grabber, that would be my "Praise", then see if it overlays to a significant level/area, and that would be my "Prominent". The combination of two explicit's strength.. and one without other displays higher degree of uncertainty. As a chart observer one can find a lot of areas to Praise, and observe some as Prominent. A prominent zone will not work on it's own as well unless something praise-able pops up withing that zone!!.. the last statement might catches you off guard but based on my experience it is a true fact, and as thread ages you will see my point of view in this regard. Now all in all, to be elite and consistent, the connecting of the two introduced elements will bring the eventual long lasting profitability to ones career IMHO.
I know this approach is not anything new to any experienced trader but at the same token I know at times it could easily get overlooked even by the bests. Making entries more often from a high probable area will do a trader a lot of good.. therefore to be zoomed-in at it, as a group in one corner, could only do us all a good thing and this could be the main objective of this thread.
PZ Definitions..
Praised zone: a attention-grabber.. a fib plot will define this zone clearly, 38.2% to 61.8%
Prominent zone: important level established by multiple reactions in the past, AKA touch/bounce. A 20-30 pips horizontal box plot defines this zone.
Technically.. these zones could be gauged differently by every individual Trader with mass of tools and techniques to use from. I use whatever that could prove me with sufficient enough clues to spot a PPZ setup. At the same time, I do not jump the gun when I pick what I wanted to see on the chart, rather I treat it as just a clue to place it under my radar.. then to, discipline a trade setup around it for a precise entry trigger point. (Following paragraphs will explain)
Ok here we go..
Setup Techniques.. I use combination of PA patterns, TL and Fib levels to find my PPZ or and PZ setups. So, you will witness the fib levels on my charts more often than not but its not the only object of setup evaluation.. as matter of fact it serves more as a purpose of level clarity and retrace measurement. I plot TL to simply define Mid-term and Long-term overall PA direction. Basically at the heart of what I do, I look for at least a intermediate Trend and pull the trigger from Pullbacks with some last minute fine tuning.
So, the main tools would be nothing sexy but highly effective such as.. PA patterns.. Fib levels.. Trend Line (TL)..
Long-term TL.. Orange color
Mid-term TL.. Gray color
Details.. I trade the 1hr tf and analyze mostly from same tf and above.. so it makes me and this thread a Swing/Mid-term trading style. I Look for minimum 1:2 Risk/Reward potential. Stop Loss: sets below/above last recent HH/LL (measures to about 45 pips in avg). Profit Taking: twice of the risk and not smaller than 80pips. I take trades with PPZ and PZ setups.. all depends on market conditions which I adjust and adapt to. I keep 6 major pairs under my watch. (eu-ej-gu-au-cu-cj)
Last minute confirmations.. after PPZ is reco-d and fib clearly defines the levels.. we need the next two confirmations.. 1) The first bold candle resumes back inside the fib level and closes beyond it, would mark the entry point.. 2) The distance between entry to SL which is beyond the HL/LH, would define the risk total. Setup must have at least 1:1 RR potential in order to be qualified.(measurement is from entry point to fib 0.0 line.)
Order placements.. Entry & SL: hourly High/Low closed candle + 3pips buffer + spread.
Trade Management (exit).. is selective and too vast to put a lid on. However, for threads sake I have set that up in a firm manner with profit taking to be 2 times the risk or greater than 80 pips. Experienced traders obviously can and could get crafty which obviously would lead to mixed results. I personally could and do get crafty but for most part I stay with firm structure as I appointed above. my tip would be.. reco the setup.. set your orders (trig point, sl ,tp) and let it be.. in another words "stay out of the barrel".
Stats.. this is just to give you an idea so don't hold me down to the teeth for it. Between the six majors, averages about 60-70 triggers per quarter (about 10-12 from each pair), and depending on your PPZ skill win rate could get up to 70%+ (which is the main purpose of this thread to sharpen the skill of this domain).. but don't worry if you only hit half the time, you'll still make solid profit since RR is 1:2.. a dismal 35% will get you breakeven.. 60% hit your golden.. it just requires patience and diligence. Average loss is about 45 pips and a minimum win about 80 pips. Long term trading style is best to kept record on quarterly basis if not yearly.
MM.. Well that's up to you depending on your experience, confidence and agendas.. I would recommend your risk per trade to not exceed over 5% per trade ever, 2-3% is comfortable. eg, on a 10k account bet half lot to be conservative if your not hyper trading. I also recommend to go with fix quarterly lot size from beginning to end of the period.
To summarize:
Its comes down to how well connecting the two PZ's.. that is, Praised Zone to Prominent Zone in order to have a solid high probable PPZ setup. A solo Praised Zone setups are also good to go only if its backed with a solid established strong Trend.
What you could expect from me overall and hopefully from other active contributors?.. more action than talk. Chart explanations of before and after thoughts/views.. overall & daily sentiments on each pair and last but not least, forward live trading. (live trading is optional for contributors and overall comfort about everything else)
By the way, I have a full visual live explorer account linked to this thread as well, which serves a personal benefit for account keeping and public benefit to witness actual trade display and etc,.
Ok now.. your experience, thoughts, inputs, feedback, sentiments, overall sharing, are all highly encouraged and welcomed.. your activity is what will make this thread a great corner to interact along side each other.
I know surly I am not the only guy nor the first guy ever who has talk this at FF.. I am humble and honored to be just another contributor and I will continue my efforts around as along as I see interests.
I got one set in stone hard rule.. Respect your fellow Traders regardless. Thanks in advance
Ok.. let the journey begin and have lots of fun people.
Regards,
Micheal P
Disclaimer.. Market trading and especially Fx trading is risky.. everything in this thread is said and done serves as just advice and recommendation and results of any loss or damages is at your own risk and responsibility nor the OP or any active contributor to be held accountable. Thx
I have attached 3 charts pic for clarity purposes to start things off.