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Hello AIMSters
This topic originally started as my journal and now acts as a resource to get Daily updates on the markets, strategy changes, upgrades plus the trades they we have taken. We might learn from our good and bad points on a daily basis. Charts will be often presented with analysis and information on the pictures of the chart taken from our trading platform as a snapshot.
Immy has been recording his good and bad trades in this journal over the last few years. Further to the examples in the Setup eBook you will find more examples of trades, updates, live examples etc. It is a growing thread and should continue to grow...
Below you will find a few things that should help you understand to trade using your favourite AIMS Stress Free Trading Strategy.
Everyone should have a Journal. Whether Expert or New to trading or AIMS Strategy.
All good traders have Set, WRITTEN Trading Plans. We can use all or some of the material in the The Setup eBook to formulate our plan. (awaiting Trading Plan Template)
How to Start Your Trading Day!
1. Establish the Trend direction - Take a quick Aerial look at the market. Zoom out of the woods a bit to see the forest. Check Daily, H1 and M15. But keep in mind that the trend that matters to us is The Trend of M5.
(Note: this is true if trading the M5/M1 strategy otherwise it would be different e.g. if you're trading H1/M15 then H1 is your main Trend etc) Moreover, if you're trading The Fruit or Seed strategy the trend will taken from the Current Time frame using Gator and eWave analysis.
The aerial look allows us to know where is the market in the grand scheme of things. e.g. if you see that market is going up strongly on Dailies, chances are that H1 time frame might produce plenty of long setups with lovely open gator situations that lasts 2-3 days. So when you see an open gator on h1 chances are that the setup longs on m1 are going to be strong ones and you should be looking to add on and let it run at least till the end of day.
2. Take Wave 3 and Wave 5 based on Quick 1 Sec eWave Analysis. Look for 1-2's using candles and/or AIMS levels. Learn to Read AIMS Box and you will know where is possible wave 1 and 2. Often this can be done by simply looking at the stepping up or down pattern on the AIMS boxes. When the markets create a range on your current time frame, try to catch the breakout in the direction of higher time frames. There is a higher probability of price breaking out in the direction of the higher time frame trends. Higher Probability Setups are actually "breakouts in the direction of higher time frame trends". The AIMS S1 Advanced Indicator with Double and Single arrows can be used for this ver effectively.
3. Always follow your Trade and Money Management plan. There should be no compromise here. Do not mess with risk management. Trading if summarized in on line would be this. "Risk Management". The main point is to let the market tell you when to get in and when to get out instead of getting out at will or just because you think you have made enough. And the answer to your question, "when does the market tell me to get in or get out" is this. Follow the Setup Strategy Entries and Exit Plan. Simple. Let it run and let it run and get out quick if its not going your way. (How quick is quick? your exit signal before the disaster stop loss usually set above/below AIMS level)
Never take bigger losers than initially planned and anticipated (never risk more than 1-2%) and always let the winners run as long as possible. (follow the green or red line) when its winning but listen to the market and exit when its time to exit (exit on opposite dot, or aims break) which means follow your trading plan. (You may follow the 5 candle trail if the market runs too far too quickly away from gator lines. We do not want to give back quick profits made without effort e.g. a 50 pip spike on m1, Take it thank you very much)
4. Do not let the previous trades clog your mind or stop you from trading. Trade what you see NOT what you think.
5. When the market stops moving stop trading. Understand the differences between Volatility, Momentum and Density of the market.
The M5/M1 Strategy is designed for Faster Moving Markets. The faster time frames have the potential for bigger gains within shorter time periods but there is a problem. That problem is the presence of enough trading volume to keep the chart moving nicely creating waves up and down. It is your job to establish if the markets are volatile or not. (If the average range (difference between high and low for that period of time) is less than your average winner it might be a good idea to wait until markets starts moving. )
It would not be appropriate to say that we "need" volatile markets for M5/M1 strategy to succeed. I should rather say, "In order to take advantage of fast moving markets i.e. moderately and highly volatile markets, we drop to lower time frames such as M5 or M1 or the M5/M1 combination, in doing so we are able to trade some best looking charts. When the Markets are DENSE http://www.itradeaims.net/forum/viewtop ... ity#p16534 and Volatile, when there are more ticks per candle the better is the picture, the better and more reliable is Elliott Wave count. We would need at least 20 ticks per candle for a chart to be worth trading. But 100 ticks per candle is a very healthy chart. In order to make sure you get this right we suggest that we trade during times of expected higher market activity. Those times obviously are:
1. Session Open Times Markets usually have greater activity during open times. Such as London Open, New York Open, (New York Banks usually open an hour before Equity Open) Asian Open is another Session time and more appropriate for yen, aussie and kiwi based combinations.
2. Just After News.
Market Conditions: The best time to assess this is a session open. In most cases you will be able to assess the market within the first 30 min of the market open. If its good for trading go for the setups otherwise filter.
There are 6 kinds of Market Conditions
1. Strong Bull - High Volatility High Range Up Trend
2. Normal Bull - Normal Volatility Low Range Up Trend
3. High Volatility Range Bound/Sideways Market
5. Low Volatility Range Bound/Sideways Market
4. Normal Bear - Normal Volatility Low Range Down Trend
5. Strong Bear - High volatility High Range Down Trend
Entry Setup
Entries are based on our Three Rules. But we have broken our three simple rules to a flow chart that is easy to understand and apply. Orignially Grant came up with a flow chart so big thanks to him. Later Steve (Snorm) coded some of the questions into our latest entry alert (AIMS Entry Alert v5.1). Below is the step by step procedure on how we "create" our Entry Setup.
AIMS Entry Alert Flow Chart 2.2 (Updated 22 Sep 2014) Printer Friendly Version
Previous Flow Chart
Link to The Topic
New Trade Management Plan (Recommended)
Step 1. Initial Disaster SL 10
Step 2. Move Stop Loss behind trigger candle.
Step 3. Move Stop Loss to -4 at +5 profit.
Step 4. Move Stop Loss according to either Trailing AIMS levels or Trail behind Candles after 5 consecutive red/green candles
Notes/Explanation of The Trade Management Steps
Step 1: Disaster SL is for disaster such as market triggers your order and immediately turns around without letting you move your SL above/below trigger candle
Step 2: Move Stop Loss 1 pip + spread above (Sell Order) or Below (Buy Order) the candle that triggered the order. If candle is too small and requires less than -4 SL then leave at -4. i.e. entry level less 4 pips i.e. subtract 4 off entry price for long/buy orders or add 4 to entry level for sell/short orders
Step 3: Once -4 move is achieve don't focus too much on moving stop loss simply try to stay in the now and observe how the market progresses. Enjoy the process and do not focus on results. Remember we want to let our winners run so that our average winners are twice as big as our average losers. But in order to achieve that you don't have to do anything special. Simply follow this plan and this goal will be achieve automatically. In the picture below you will see that our winners were not a fixed number but by following our trade management plan we were able to keep our winners twice as big as our losers. Some are very big winners are very small but losers are always less than 7 pips. This is the magic.
Step 4: It is now time to bank our profits. But we must keep in mind that our job is to follow our plan and exit on the best possible spot. Maximising profits is your job. Watch the candles and how market responds. If you see market moves too far too fast away from green line and giving you more than twice or 3 times profit than the initial risk you may go for it and take profit, pay yourself or you may chose to tighten your stop loss by tailing candles. If the market spikes 50 pips in one candle it would be wise to bank the 50 pips or take half or more than half and let the rest run for even more profit if it does continue in that direction. We do not want to give back 50 pips
Best Advice: Follow the trade management plan to the letter and always make sure you get stopped out as opposed to hitting the Close Button.
Old Trade Managemetn Plan
Stop Loss at the time of PO:
SL on opposite Side of AIMS Level or 15 Pips EU/EJ
Exiting with a Loss:
Always Exit on close of red line. Making sure entries are always near green/red line. or if too tight box than SL hit on the opposite side e.g. Box
Profit Taking:
a. Before Divergence = Red Line
b. After Divergence = green Line
c. After Angulation = Trailing Candles
d. Optional: Significant Target Levels.
Maximize Your Return on Investment
When you get the hang of it then focus on adding on to your winning trades. It is the best way to maximize your return on investment.
The Idea is to trade Conservative when Trend is not confirmed and be Very Aggressive during Trending Moving markets. "Nothing happens until something moves".
I add on to get most out of trending markets. My favourite Add-on is immediately after S1 on a S2 entry within minimum 5 pips gap between entries.
Wise Words
"The Act of Focusing Your Consciousness is an Act of Creation. Consciousness Creates. Focus on Creating Profits"
"Everything is Energy and Energy Follows the Path of Least Resistance. The Market is Energy and so Are You"
"Is the Universe a Friendly Place? There are two Basic Emotions 1. Love 2. Fear. Choose Love and Make Your Universe Friendly - Love the Markets"
"Profitability is a Function of Good Trading, Not Just Good Trades - Trading is a Process"
"Successful Strategies Maximize Opportunity, they Do Not Eliminate Uncertainty - You do not need to know the future to be successful in trading"
"There are only two ways to lose money - Inaccurate analysis or inaccurate implementation of analysis
If you know what you do, and do what you know, you'll be a winner"
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80% of Trading Success Depends on Your Mind. Its all in the mind.
I Read this Everyday before I trade. Thanks MR. Douglas.
You May Want to Download, Print and Laminate and then Display for Daily Reading prior to Trading.
I read this and my trading Related Affirmations and Visualizations on a Daily Basis. I find them very helpful and keeps me on track.
I would like to recommend that you Pick up a copy of "Trading in the Zone" by Mark Douglas. The best book ever written on trading psychology. If you would like to understand the following Five Fundamental Truths and 7 Principle of Consistent Success then you must read the book.
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Importance of Trading Plan.
We, all humans are very forgetful and get distracted easily from time to time. If we want to achieve something we must see it in our mind and then pursue it in our body.
It is important to sit down one evening or afternoon and reflect upon what we want in life. What do you want to do in the next 5 years, 3 years and 1 year time. Where do you see youreslf?
Decide where would you like to be in your trading career in 5 years time. Make this Vision and when you write the vision it will become your vision statement. See yourself as if you are 5 years in the future from now. Achieve what you want to achieve in your mind and then establish and really feel the emotion of it.
Get out of this mind exercise and develop a strategy, a set of goals and objectives based on that vision. Let that be your mission statemetn. And then break down the goals and objectives into yearly, monthly and weekly/daily gaols. let the goals be achievable and believable for you.
But because we keep forgetting you must do something to keep you on the track. To keep you focused on your mission and consistently pursue your goals and objectives you must put them in writing. Yes, Write them, print them and keep on your trading desk so that you can read this document regularly on Daily, Weekly and monthly basis.
Make sure you mark your progress and have a quarterly review of hte goals. Check if the goals were too optimistic or pessimistic. Are the goals too easy or too hard. Make necessary adjustment.
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New Additional Entry Criteria for Pink and Green Dots
Edited: 30/03/2014 Pink and Green Dots, Dots that Break AIMS Level. According to the flow chart, we wait for a fresh aims level but there are 2 more ways we can trade such dots.
1. PO above/below 2nd AIMS Level to the left. Trade a level to the left if price breaks out and closes out of the aims level but there is another aims level to the left available which is not too far and entering on that level would still NOT require more than 10 pips SL (for m1, for other time frames we would look at what's the most appropriate maximum stop loss level for that time frame and/or pair).
2. Market Orders: If the Candle that broke aims and has dot (pink for shorts and green for longs) closed below and price is still near the levels where we would make our entries, e.g. if price is still around price had it closed inside box and we would put our PO 1pip below (shorts) or 1 pip above plus spread (Longs).
Example 1
AIMS level 1.39273 for this pink dot was already too close to the next (2nd) aims level 1.39260 to the left so even if it was a red dot we would have put our PO below 1.39260. So here we may put our PO below the second aims level to the left after we have pink dot. In this example we see red and blue dot. Which means we would have had a Sell Order then cancelled by Blue dot and we would put a buy order which would then be cancelled by this current pink dot and we would have hit a nice short trade. Current pink dot rules would have not allowed a trade here.
Example 2.
Here we have a pink dot which broke aims level but closed inside the box. We see that current aims level 1.39218 is only 2 pips away from second aims level to the left 1.39191. So we can easily put PO below 1.39191 and our SL level would still be within the limits.
http://content.screencast.com/users/iTr ... 0_1137.png
Example 3.
Example 4.
Example 5.
Example 6.
Example 7 - H1 and Above, here we can use a few more tricks.
Example 8. H1 and Above
Edit: 7/7/14 -
How to Split your screen effectively for M1/M5 Trading.
I've learnt that if you split your screen into such a proportion that you see 100-140 candles on M1 chart and view about 20-30 candles on m5 then you can fit a small h1 below the m5. a bit like Dave's chart. it works very well. The m1 choart would then become the zommed in blown out picture of the m5 chart comprising of 20-30 and then the h1 will simply give you an over all view of the terrain. So H1 is like aerial view, M5 view of the street and M1 view inside the house showing all rooms and all inhabitants of the house moving around in live action. Think about it if you take image from above, the world seems still.... but if you come down you'd see there is so much action on the streets.
Check on this next picture to understand it further.
and later the wave 5 of m5 that turned into a new 3.
Understanding The Leverage - Understanding the AIMS Boxes
Stay in the Now | Opportunity is NOW|HERE
AIMS - The art of Trading markets successfully (Herbert)
Simplify Simplify Simplify - Thoreau
"Want What the Market Wants" - with an Attitude of Gratitude - Bill WillAIMS
Trade Small - Trade Often
Do not stop doing the things that made you successful in the first place
Always Remember the Success Equation: Consistency = Patience + Discipline
How to Get Support?
Note: This entire forum is our Support Mechanism.
1. Ask a Question in Your Journal (Start a Journal NOW) . 2. Go to Q&A Forum Please Click Here for Q&A Help and Support
