Table Of Content
Preface xiii CHAPTER 1 Price Action 1 Trend Bars and Doji Bars 7 Bar Basics: Signal Bars, Entry Bars, Setups, and Candle Patterns 11 Signal Bars: Reversal Bars 13 Signal Bars: Other Types 17 Outside Bars 36 The Importance of the Close of the Bar 42 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Inverse Charts 45 Second Entries 46 Late and Missed Entries 49 CHAPTER 2 Trendlines and Trend Channels 51 Trendlines 51 Micro Trendlines: Small, Steep Trendlines in Strong Trends 55 Horizontal Lines: Swing Points and Other Key Price Levels 61 Trend Channel Lines 63 Dueling Lines: Intersecting Trendline and Trend Channel Line 68 CHAPTER 3 Trends 71 Two Legs 75 Signs of Strength 76 Common Trend Patterns 81 Trend from the Open 82 Reversal Day 86 Trend Resumption Day 86 Trending Trading Range Days 88 Tight Channels and Spike and Channel Bull or Bear 91 Stairs: Broad Channel Trend 95 CHAPTER 4 Pullbacks 99 First Pullback Sequence: Bar, Minor Trendline, EMA, EMA Gap, Major Trendline 101 Double Top Bear Flags and Double Bottom Bull Flags 104 EMA and Gap EMA Pullbacks 108 2 HM: If Away from EMA for Two or More Hours, Then Fade EMA and First EMA Gap Bar 110 Trend Day 11:30 Stop Run Pullback to Trap You Out 112 Counting the Legs of a Trend 114 High/Low 1, 2, 3, and 4 118 Variations of High/Low 2 Setups 128 Three Push Pullbacks 132 CHAPTER 5 Trading Ranges 137 Tight Trading Ranges 138 Barb Wire 142 Middle of the Day, Middle of the Range 148 Big Up, Big Down 150 Trading Ranges Setting Up Trend Reversals 152 CHAPTER 6 Breakouts 155 Breakout Entries in Strong Trend 156 Breakout Pullbacks and Breakout Tests 158 CHAPTER 7 Magnets 165 Measured Moves Based on the First Pullback (AB = CD) 165 Measured Moves on Breakouts Based on Thin Areas and on Flags 167 Reversals Often End at Signal Bars from Prior Failed Reversals 171 Other Price Magnets 172 CHAPTER 8 Trend Reversals 175 Trendline Break 184 Trend Channel Line Failed Breakouts: Climaxes, Parabolas, and V Tops and Bottoms 187 Signs of Strength in the First Leg of a Reversal 188 Trends Reverse with a Test: Either an Undershoot or an Overshoot 190 Double Top and Bottom Pullbacks 202 Climax: Spike and Trading Range Reversals 207 Climax: Three Pushes and Wedges (Trend Channel Line Overshoots and Reversals) 210 Expanding Triangles 215 CHAPTER 9 Minor Reversals: Failures 221 Failed Signal and Entry Bars and One-Tick Failed Breakouts 222 Failed High/Low 2 226 Failed Higher High and Lower Low Breakouts 229 Failed Trendlines and Trend Channel Lines 234 Failed Reversals 239 Failed Final Flags: Tight Trading Range 243 Failed Final Flags: Huge Trend Bar 245 Failed Wedges 247 Failed Scalps: Five-Tick Failed Breakouts and Failure to Reach a Scalper''s Profit Target 251 CHAPTER 10 Day Trading 255 Selecting a Market 256 Time Frames and Chart Types 258 Globex, Pre-Market, Post-Market, and Overnight Market 267 Scalping, Swinging, Trading, and Investing 269 Always in the Market 273 Have at Least Two Reasons to Enter a Trade 275 Entering on Stops 277 Protective Stops and Getting Trapped In or Out of a Trade 281 CHAPTER 11 The First Hour 289 Patterns Related to the Premarket 291 Patterns Related to Yesterday 292 Trend Bar on Gap Open: First or Second Bar 302 Gap Openings: Reversals and Continuations 303 Trend from the Open or Trend from the First Bar 305 Third Bar of the Day and the 15-Minute Close 310 Strong Trend Bars in the First Hour Often Predict Strength Later in the Day in the Same Direction 311 Opening Patterns and Reversals 313 Double Bottom and Double Top Flags 317 Trading Range Breakouts 319 First Pullback 321 CHAPTER 12 Detailed Day Trading Examples 325 CHAPTER 13 Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Charts 331 Huge Volume Reversals 343 CHAPTER 14 Options 347 CHAPTER 15 Best Trades 353 Major Reversals 357 Minor Reversal Scalps during Trading Range Days 368 Pullbacks in a Strong Trend 369 Intraday Stocks 374 Trading Guidelines 381 Glossary 387 About the Author 395 Index 397
Synopsis
A completely original approach to trading using price bar charts In Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar, Al Brooks a technical analyst for Futures magazine and an independent trader demonstrates how the information gleaned from this method can significantly enhance trading returns, while minimizing downside risk., While complex strategies and systems may work for some traders, understanding price action is all you really need to succeed in this arena. Price action analysis is an effective approach to trading todays markets whether youre involved in stocks, futures, or options. It allows you to focus on the process of trading without being overwhelmed by a complicated collection of trading techniques. And while this method may appear elementary, it can significantly enhance returns as well as minimize downside risk. One way to apply price action analysis to your trading endeavors is with chart patterns. Nobody understands this better than author Al Brooks, a technical analyst for Futures magazine and an independent trader for more than twenty years. Brooks discovered ten years ago that reading price charts without indicators proved to be the most simple, reliable, and profitable way for him to trade. Mastering that discipline is what made him consistently successful in trading. Now, with Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar , Brooks shares his extensive experience on how to read price action. At the end of the day, anyone can look at a chart, whether it is a candle chart for E-mini S&P 500 futures trading or a bar chart for stock trading, and see very clear entry and exit points. But doing this in real time is much more difficult. Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar will help you become proficient in the practice of reading price action through the use of trendlines and trend channel lines, prior highs and lows, breakouts and failed breakouts, and other tools and show you how this approach can improve the overall risk-reward ratio of your trades. Written with the serious trader in mind, this reliable resource addresses the essential elements of this discipline, including the importance of understanding every bar on a price chart, why particular patterns are reliable setups for trades, and how to locate entry and exit points as markets are trading in real time. Brooks focuses on five-minute candle charts to illustrate basic principles, but discusses daily and weekly charts as well. Along the way, he also explores intraday swing trades on several stocks and details option purchases based on daily charts revealing how using price action alone can be the basis for this type of trading. Theres no easy way to trade, but if you learn to read price charts, find reliable patterns, and get a feel for the market and time frame that suits your situation, you can make money. While price action trading doesnt require sophisticated software or an abundance of indicators, this straightforward approach can still put you in a better position to profit in almost any market. Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar will show you how., While complex strategies and systems may work for some traders, understanding price action is all you really need to succeed in this arena. Price action analysis is an effective approach to trading today's markets--whether you're involved in stocks, futures, or options. It allows you to focus on the process of trading without being overwhelmed by a complicated collection of trading techniques. And while this method may appear elementary, it can significantly enhance returns as well as minimize downside risk. One way to apply price action analysis to your trading endeavors is with chart patterns. Nobody understands this better than author Al Brooks, a technical analyst for Futures magazine and an independent trader for more than twenty years. Brooks discovered ten years ago that reading price charts without indicators proved to be the most simple, reliable, and profitable way for him to trade. Mastering that discipline is what made him consistently successful in trading. Now, with Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar , Brooks shares his extensive experience on how to read price action. At the end of the day, anyone can look at a chart, whether it is a candle chart for E-mini S&P 500 futures trading or a bar chart for stock trading, and see very clear entry and exit points. But doing this in real time is much more difficult. Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar will help you become proficient in the practice of reading price action--through the use of trendlines and trend channel lines, prior highs and lows, breakouts and failed breakouts, and other tools--and show you how this approach can improve the overall risk-reward ratio of your trades. Written with the serious trader in mind, this reliable resource addresses the essential elements of this discipline, including the importance of understanding every bar on a price chart, why particular patterns are reliable setups for trades, and how to locate entry and exit points as markets are trading in real time. Brooks focuses on five-minute candle charts to illustrate basic principles, but discusses daily and weekly charts as well. Along the way, he also explores intraday swing trades on several stocks and details option purchases based on daily charts--revealing how using price action alone can be the basis for this type of trading. There's no easy way to trade, but if you learn to read price charts, find reliable patterns, and get a feel for the market and time frame that suits your situation, you can make money. While price action trading doesn't require sophisticated software or an abundance of indicators, this straightforward approach can still put you in a better position to profit in almost any market. Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar will show you how.
