4 Hour Strategy (MACD)

Todays EUR was a very good example of using a short term strategy while waiting for the 4H to line up.

I was watching the swings also expecting price to turn need the 365 MA but it never did but while watching I also did two short scalps that made 20 pips each shorting during the 15M pullbacks as price movement was trending very nicely.

Also when price was hitting the 365 current day's range was only 90pips - the current average daily range is 120 pips - this was hinting me that to make up for that 30 pips price had to reverse the current down trend then run all the way to the top and move another 30 pips - which seemed very unlikely so I felt confident shorting near the 365 and taking a quick scalp profit.

Hi. The 21ema was also broken and that made me look if there was some sort of supp lower down and then I saw that Supp line. Therefore I was waiting for a pullback to the TL and not the 21ema(as it pulled back to 21ema as well)

Hi Philip~

I was anticipating that 1h tc move too, but didn't enter because of news (eur retail sales). My question is, should I just ignore the news because it's a non- us news and just respect the tc??
Just wondering how you have done it.
And always thank you for your great work!!
I'm learning and learning day by day.
I'll post too when I get confident enough.

The answer is in the backtesting. When doing backtesting to see if the system works you dont take news into account. So that means that for the system to work it means that it must supports news. Therefore I only stay away from interest rates and NFP news. I will use the news as to how far it will take the price depending on the severity of the news

So, yes, the news is factored into the system signals. This is partly due to anticipation on the part of traders and some of the news has probably leaked out anyhow, its already in the price. Handy huh?

How bout this for the UsdCad. Still 1hr to go before this candle closes but look very tempting. 1hrs TF is in ZB with a very strong bearish engulfing candle

Would someone mind clarifying the NFP announcement due shortly...
At the moment, I stay out of ANY trades where Nonfarm xxxxx news is due. BUT am I right on this? Todays announcement is the NF productivity. Now, I know to stay clear of last weeks Nonfarm employment change announcement. Does the same apply to the productivity announcement - does it have the same potential to run and jump stops??

2:30pm USD http://www.forexfactory.com/images/m...mpact_high.gif Nonfarm Productivity q/q (p)

The Friday NFP and US interests rates, the rest by implication are factored in. Those two are the mad volatile ones.

Hi, please, send to me too. thank you

EURO;The price has been supported on the weekly charts for some two years, for the most part on the 21ema. That sits right now at around 1.5200. In theory the price could fall that far. In practise with sideways days as well, the ema will most likely catch up to the price someways higher than that.

I sent instructions on how to take config files from one platform to another.What is it you want?

Ok, Ira, good luck.

Yes. Thank you again.

No.Only the NFP in FIRST friday of each month.

mike

Thanks napeharm and mike1349 for your answers...

kylekim:

No, I don't mind at all. But, more pips or more money? As far as the probability goes, because both of these methods are discretionary (not 100% black and white although the 5min is more systematical) so I limit myself to only taking the best set-ups or high probability entries. Such as on the 4hr when the price action is around the 21 or on the 5min when price has come back into the zone with the ADX screaming at me to do this or that. The money management and risk aspect of things is the same no matter what the timeframe because your account balance at the open of either trade is the same.

For me, I only follow the EURUSD and the USDJPY on the 4hr method to limit myself to only look for the clear set-ups and to avoid trade hunting by watching too many pairs. On the 5min method, these two pairs plus the USDGBP and the EURJPY. I have a 2 pip spread with all of the majors with ODL so this 'works' for me.

For about the past two months I have really been centered with th 5min method because of the simplicity of it all. It only takes me a few moments to see the set-up at any given time. With the 4hr method this can take me a lot longer. Sometimes I have let the charts just play out without even touching the mouse button. For me it's a matter of being in tune with the 4hr chart to make sure that I can see the rhythm, where the 5min in more 'black and white'. I added an ADX filter that has worked really well. I look for one trade a day from about 6am to noon CST USA and that's it. I look for the best, or what I feel is the best, set-up with these 4 pairs and just go with it. About 2 weeks ago things started coming together and I have put together a string of 12 winners in a row. My target is 5 pips on the first entry and no worse than b/e on the second. I have a lot of leave coming up in June and for the majority of that time I will be in front of the PC not only to take my one trade for the day but to also watch a re-entry pattern that I have been looking at for a possible 2 to 3 trade per NY morning session. This is important because I can't monitor the charts from work and if one of my goals is to do this for income there is really only one way to figure out if it's possible. But, I'll be back 'in touch' with the 4hr method sometime in June.

Sorry to ramble, but back to your original question. I think my best ending month with the 4hr method was about 1200 pips or so, this included closing out an 866 pips run. There's no way that I'll ever put in 1000 pip month on the 5min method if I'm only looking for 5pips per trade per day. But, I go in 'heavy' on the 5min method where one pip can be worth $20 or $30, etc. but my risk per trade or % risk of my account is the same as it is on the 4hr method. On the 4hr method I usually go in with 3 positions and take profit along the way. But, because I am so selective with the 4hr, it can take 3 or 4 days for a trade to set-up whereas on the 5min there is always 1 set-up every day. So in terms of which method makes more pips per month, it's the 4hr. In terms of money it's about the same.

Hope some of this helps...

Palmer; What makes you single USDJPY for 4 hr, does it make the good set ups you are looking for or is it more stable than the rest?.........less volatile than the GBP i daresay.

A number of experts for MT4 which trail stoploss according to different algorithms. May be useful when you can't be at your computer for some period (for example, Trailing by MA - in our case EMA21). Somebody may also find something interesting in the algorithms themselves if not using experts. Hope that can be useful.

Thanks Yorik your a rock.

napeharm:

For some reason, those are simply the two pairs I started looking at from the beginning and pretty much just stuck with them. It might have had something to do with the euro, swissie and cable being too closely correlated with each other and I wanted two pairs that I felt would move independently of each other.....