Why would you want to trade futures in the afternoon when the morning is said to have the best opportunities? Because still more opportunities exist in the afternoon. Perhaps you were busy in the morning or sought to recover from a couple of trades that didn’t go so well. Revenge trading or any type of emotionally driven trading is discouraged. Rather, sticking to objective rules ensures that one can more easily measure the success of an approach over a given period.
The ABC Method was designed for afternoon trading. Multiple entry opportunities can be found in the afternoon before market close. However, some days there are simply no signals. Trending days tend to trigger ABC entry opportunities. That’s because the ABC is a breakout method. If price exceeds the prior period’s high and low via two closing candles, then expect a signal in the new period. That means only periods B and C yield entry opportunities. period A merely establishes the high and low for a possible entry in period B.
It’s important to remember the first two periods are 2.5 hours in duration. The A period begins at market open, 9:30 a.m. If this sounds like too much work, you may consider the ATO 2 method which includes the ABC Indicator. Another option is the 8-Week Mentorship Program. With the latter, all courses and software are included with Lifetime licenses.
If you want to see these signals live, sign up in one of the forms on the DayTradeToWin website. Every few weeks, an invitation is sent so that new people can compare their live charts with John Paul’s to see his methods are for real.
One of the best ways to control your risk is to know your maximum stop loss, your profit target, and apply them via a preconfigured setting. This way, in the heat of the moment, you’re doing less work, so that should reduce the chance of clicking the wrong button or entering the wrong value. ATM Strategies are such a way to preconfigure the amount.
Always trading with a stop loss is wise. If you don’t have one, you could be in for a wild ride. It doesn’t take much experience to see how price can suddenly move against one’s desires.
Another important thing is to use a trading strategy you feel comfortable with. The Trade Scalper from DayTradeToWin is discussed in this video. You can get a sense of how the method worked with possible winning and losing trades.
After the Trade Scalper signal review, the presenter discusses how to set up ATM Strategies within NinjaTrader 8. The process involves going to the custom area of the drop-down menu and then specifying a profit target and stop loss value. Both of these values are in ticks, not points, so please keep that in mind. You may configure several strategies according to your trading method recommendations and experience trading the markets. Using a format such as P4S8 for “profit target of 4 ticks” and “stop loss of 8 ticks” may be wise. Such a format also allows the ATM Strategy list to be sorted in a way that makes for faster access.
Even though ATM Strategies semi-automate order placement, you may still manually manipulate orders according to your own preferences.
Finding a day trading course or indicator that can trade the E-mini S&P 500 ES, Euro, Nasdaq, Dow, and Micro E-mini S&P 500 is not so easy. Day trading websites are a dime a dozen and it seems that many of these websites are put to together in an amateur way. No disrespect intended – it is just that the way the pages are designed and the information is presented, sometimes it’s difficult to assess what you’re getting. The way DayTradeToWin approaches day trading is with simplicity in mind, and that includes the main DayTradeToWin.com website. There, you can get a sense that four trading methods are basically offered: Atlas Line, Trade Scalper, ATO 2, and 8-Week Mentorship.
The focus of the video above is of DayTradeToWin’s Atlas Line. As you can see, there are a few aspects to the indicator that are important: the dashed line, the main Long and Short signals, the bounce Long and Short signals, and long and short Pullback (P) and Strength (s) signals. How interesting it is to see how all of these signals work together to form one complete strategy! The approach is aided by the free ATR (Average True Range) which serves to provide the profit target and stop loss amounts.
Is it possible to consistently win in the markets? That’s the goal of every trader. It’s best to take trading one day at a time rather than overwhelm yourself with what-ifs. By all means, measure cumulative wins and losses over a good period of time: two weeks, one month, three months, six months, etc. and see how successful you’ve been. Sure, you could have an amazing month next month, but if the performance is not so good, do you want to keep trading? Does it make financial sense? Sure, past performance does not indicate future results, and the way that phrase is commonly worded, the meaning can go either way.
Clear, objective thinking and following the rules of the method will be the best way to assess the viability of that method. Does it work better than other systems you’ve used? Those that you’ve developed? Did you at least make back your money that you spent on the system? Did you learn one or more things? Even with losses, day trading can teach us a lot about ourselves – how well prepared we are, how we perform under pressure, what it’s like to potentially make money or have such potential in a relatively short period of time, to reach heights, to reach lows, and pull ourselves up with renewed insight.
Want to review the performance of a day trading system from DayTradeToWin? The fastest way is to watch this new video where John Paul shares about five Trade Scalper signals along with real-time trading. The Trade Scalper software is easy to use and is enjoyed by beginner and advanced traders alike. No optimization is needed – once applied, trading signals will begin to appear again and again according to the rules of the method.
Those rules are fully explained via the included live training, training video, and digital course. Scalping tends to be quick trading, so it’s important that you fully learn how to use the software, at least, so that you can promptly submit the most appropriate type of order for the observed conditions.
For the live trade in the video, the profit target goal was 1.25 points, which is 5 ticks. It is said that 1 point = 4 ticks, hence the 1.25 equaling 5 ticks. Each E-mini S&P 500 tick is worth $12.50. If an order consists of 5 contracts, that means 5 ticks * $12.50 * 5, which equals $312.50. This is why you see the trade approach this dollar amount (the set profit target).
Please know that it is not necessary to begin trading with 5 contracts. In fact, this requires a fair amount of money set aside in a brokerage account. Rather, a trader should read all trading disclaimers and upon proceeding forward, begin the process of practicing with a real-time data feed and simulated account. After some time, moving forward with the Micro E-mini presents a safer option as compared to potential losses incurred when trading the regular E-mini’s greater (10x) tick valuation.
When scalping, the objective is to successfully win at multiple junctures throughout the day with each attempt furnishing several ticks of profit. Note that different markets, or trading instruments as they’re sometimes called, vary in tick valuations. For example, Crude Oil is “less per tick” compared to the E-mini. Sometimes, if the valulations are too low in consideration of broker fees and overall win rate for that market, you may prefer to trade others with a greater tick valuation and recognizable patterns of movement.
Here’s the latest DayTradeToWin video in which many trading signals are reviewed. First, we start with the Atlas Line trading software. As demonstrated about 2:00 into the video, the signal did not work out. That’s just a part of trading. Sometimes, additional signals the same day will set you back on the path to profit. Other times, you’ll hope to make profit the next day or thereafter. The idea is to have consistent wins over a specific period of time, which could be 30 days or longer.
If you had the ATO 2 and the Atlas Line or the Trade Scalper and Atlas Line, you could say to yourself, “I am only going to take signals from either system (or both systems) when both signals agree on the anticipated direction and the signals occur around the same time.” If you do just that, as demonstrated in the video, there can be great results. However, such results cannot be guaranteed – “can” means “possibly,” which is not as definite as “will.” The market will do what the market wants to do. Again, it’s a matter of cumulative wins outsizing cumulative losses per period of observation.
Adding a third method to the chart to get a third opinion can also be helpful. That’s what happens here when the Trade Scalper is added. Notice how there are multiple Short signals for all three systems that “follow” the price movement down? That was a great area of opportunity for winners. The following Strength (S) and Pullback (P) signals represent additional opportunities from the Atlas Line, however, some of those signals did not work out. Do you notice any additional signals from the ATO 2 or Atlas Line around that time? No. Well, that’s exactly demonstrating why it’s important to use multiple systems!
We have found four recent chart images to share with you! This first chart contains the ATO 2 and Atlas Line software from DayTradeToWin. When multiple systems confirm the same direction, we say, “All the better!” Such a confirmation occurs at two separate moments on this chart. The first is when the ATO 2 Short signal “agrees” with the prior Atlas Line Short signal. If you were skeptical about that first short trade, the ATO 2 Short served as additional confirmation that price was expected to move further South. And that’s exactly what happened!
Next, we have an even clearer indication of confirmation. The Short signals are practically on top of one another. Keep in mind, this happened while both indicators use entirely different rules for drawing the entry signals. The dashed arrows were added later on in an image editor in order to illustrate the approximate point of profit target for these trades, depending on the desired risk level. The ATR (Average True Range) is used as the primary tool for discerning the risk (profit target vs. stop loss, pretty much).
The next two charts spell things our directly on the charts themselves. The addition, here, is the Roadmap, a powerful tool that’s typically offered only in DayTradeToWin’s 8-Week Mentorship Program. The Roadmap is recognized by the Zone lines. These Zones are barriers where price may bounce or quickly pass through depending on certain factors.
Back to the Atlas Line and ATO 2 – the same sort of thing happens as in the chart above – the ATO 2 and Atlas Line signals occur almost at the same time and price soon travels in the anticipated direction. Later, plenty of Strength signals occur. These are optional trades that are typically for smaller amounts. They’re almost like scalping.
Let’s take a look at just one trading method, the Trade Scalper from DayTradeToWin, and see how many signals it can produce within a couple hours. I don’t know about you, but I see about eight different signals and most of them were winners. I see a Long signal followed by upward (bullish) price activity again and again. The Trade Scalper is favorite among traders because of how short in duration each trade is (less time = less exposure = less risk) and regular action. It’s important to like the style of trading that you do, because if it’s not enjoyable, do you want to be doing it every day?
Fortunately, the general feedback and reviews shared on the DayTradeToWin website has many great things to say about all the trading methods and John Paul. The methods are highly rated with the posts going back years. In the trading industry, it can be challenging to distinguish quality from junk. One way to get a sense of quality is to go back in time, whether on the website, YouTube, etc. and look at the performance. DayTradeToWin offers many years of testimonials.
So, like the thumbnail of the video says, how does one trade rule-based strategies? By following the rules. Are you going to be taught all the rules in this video for the trading system(s) shown? No, of course not. That’s because you have to purchase the trading system in order to learn the rules. This is merely a demonstration with emphasis that it’s important to follow rules rather than going off-course, using your imagination, guessing, or stretching recommendations.
There are so many ways begin day trading. Just looking at the video recommendations when writing this present soptions regarding the mental game of trading as a whole, how to research trading, how to use relative volume to predict home run trades, and various steps to perform a specific strategy. Are any of these methods going to be valuable? Possibly, in terms of some self-understanding. However, the nature of such things is that sometimes a paid method is a paid method for a reason – it’s exclusive because it’s worthwhile. If someone can make money selling it and trading at the same time, why not? However, a lot of paid courses are junk. Many in the industry say this – rather than teaching exact rules, the course will show you demonstration after demonstration, providing little in the way of rules.
Rest assured, DayTradeToWin has all of the rules clearly defined. If you’re not successful, it’s just because the market isn’t aligning itself with the rules. This can be a good thing, as there is no need to blame the self. That’s the great thing about objective trading – no need to have emotions take charge. If you did everything correctly and it works or it doesn’t, you did everything correctly in either case.
The main purpose of the video above is to go over multiple Atlas Line signals. If you see a number of winning signals, that may provide a positive impression the method works consistently. It will be up to you to apply the rules that you learn. There are no guarantees in trading, only probabilities, and estimating on those probabilities is a most curious and risky endeavor! We wish you well. However, trading using a specific stop loss and profit target ruleset is one way to control risk.
If you, ahead of time, configure many stop losses and profit targets within NinjaTrader’s ATM Strategy area, then you can select the most appropriate given current circumstances. These stop losses and profit targets are not set in stone – you can modify them on the fly once your initial order has been filled. The easiest way to do this is by enabling NinjaTrader’s chart trader feature then dragging and dropping the profit target and stop loss to their desired values. Are there any caveats? Yes, doing so places you in the “back of the line,” so to speak. Your profit target or stop loss may not get hit when expected, so be careful.
With the DayTradeToWin trading methods, the ATR (Average True Range) is always used to determine the profit target and stop with the exception of some chart types where their use doesn’t make sense (i.e. range charts). The ATR is configured with a period value of four. Why four? Because that means the last four bars are used to determine the value. If greater than four, the calculation is based on older data. If the value is less than four, less data is used that may only give a picture of recent activity, which may be really dramatic or slow (thus limiting potentials).
When day trading, looking at small text on your charts is no fun. This can happen if your display resolution is too high and your physical screen too small. Finding the right balance is important. Displays have become cheaper, but not so cheap if you want one of real quality – expect to pay over $450 for a decent monitor for gaming or graphic design. This is why some traders who use multiple monitors will have a large screen with a relatively lower resolution (easy to read text) or multiple monitors increasing the amount of visual data available at a given time. One can buy various fittings and structural grips to position trading monitors at ideal locations.
But what if you don’t want to do all that? What if just two charts was good enough but you want to see both charts at the same time? Split one chart in two! Yes, by right-clicking the NinjaTrader chart, going to Data Series, and making necessary changes, multiple instruments and/or time frames can be viewed within the same charting window. This may be possible on other trading platforms, but the focus of this video is demonstrating signals in NinjaTrader 8.
Multiple trading systems “saying the same thing” is a good sign according to John Paul of DayTradeToWin. Rather than getting one indicator’s opinion, looking for agreement in direction and timing may yield greater confidence and results, though there are no guarantees.
So, how were these trading systems created, anyway? A reworking of what John Paul learned many years ago from colleagues in the trading industry as well as his own trial and error, testing, and revising. Floor trading is no longer a thing, but some of the techniques from that period are still applicable in today’s markets. To figure this stuff out on your own, you may spend a lot of time and money. Ultimately, will your system be profitable? Would it be better to go with something tried and true?
If you want to scalp, you’re going to be in and out of the market many times per day. It’s important to follow the rules to limit exposure for each Trade Scalper trade. If you prefer to risk less per trade, scalping may be the way to go. If you like, fewer, larger trades, the Atlas Line may be preferred.
There’s a reason why we love to trade using price action for over 10 years. It’s based on price candles primarily; sourced from reality rather than an abstraction that is a pretend authority. After all, you’re trading the price of the instrument, right? Well, if you center your trading around price itself, that seems to make sense.
All of the software provided by DayTradeToWin is based on price action. For example, the Atlas Line software’s line is based upon recent price activity. It grows in the same direction throughout the day, never changing it’s angle. This is one reason one can think of as the Atlas Line as “looking forward.” Price is going to do what it wants during the day and if it happens to close twice above or below the plotted Atlas Line, well, that’s an Atlas Line signal.
Will you always be able to enter a trade at the signaled entry price? It’s not possible. NinjaTrader attempts to replicate the experience of real-world fills, but trading with real money will always vary a bit from simulated/paper trading. Nevertheless, it’s important to practice with real-time data until you feel comfortable. At some later point, consider graduating to the Micro E-mini (MES) and the E-mini S&P 500. Throughout your journey, NinjaTrader provides an account performance feature that generates trading reports.
Some traders prefer to scalp, which means many quick trades but less risk per position due to shorter trade duration. If you want to see DayTradeToWin’s approach to scalp trading, go to the 1:00 mark and you’ll see what happens. Per trade, the Trade Scalper goes for a minimum of three ticks, but may be more than a point if conditions allow. In this video, you can see four winning signals.
These occurred around the market open. Typically, market open is a quirky time to trade. Many regular at-home traders will stay out for at least the first 20 minutes. This allows for a stabilization period in which a more consistent direction may be established.
For a long time, the DayTradeToWin website and YouTube has been populated with new trading videos showing various trading methods and performance. The Atlas Line, ATO 2, Trade Scalper, and Roadmap have appeared most often recently. There are only so many ways to demonstrate performance – many videos throughout the years is one such way.
In this new video, you’ll see the Atlas Line produce a short signal followed by a couple of Trade Scalper signals. Are both methods included together? No, they’re sold separately unless you participate in the eight-week Mentorship Program.
Most of the focus, here, is the Atlas Line. You’ll see more of it in the second half. Strength signals cause John Paul to place a trade. They can be recognized by the small “S” characters above or below the candles. The ATR (Average True Range) indicates the Long trade should have a profit target of about three points. Five contracts are used for this trade. This amounts to a trade worth $750 before any commissions or fees. Please consider all trading as simulated.
How was this dollar amount computed? For the E-mini, the smallest price can move is a tick. Each tick is worth $12.50. What’s a point? Four ticks. Therefore, a three-point profit target using a multiplier of five contracts equals $750. Keep in mind, not everyone has the money to trade with five contracts. DayTradeToWin encourages practice in simulated mode for some time. Then, you may want to consider graduating to the Micro E-mini (MES in NinjaTrader). After that, the E-mini can be traded with the $12.50 tick value as described previously.
Eliminating guesswork by relying on a trustworthy trading system is what DayTradeToWin aims to provide.
