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Alexeywolf

A classic setup for finding trading opportunitiesHi traders and investors! In a recent post, I talked about a classic setup. You can find the post below in the related ideas section. I decided to elaborate on it a bit more because this setup frequently appears across different assets, and certain elements of this setup are common in various trading methodologies. In this article, I used a bar chart because bars take up less space, making it easier to see other elements of the chart. Take a look at the chart. The seller's move from the 52,550 level updated the previous local high. The bar with the highest volume in this entire buyer's movement is the bar from September 18. The 50% level of the entire buyer's movement lies within this bar (!). Next, we see the seller's movement, and on October 3, a test is formed within the key buyer's bar, at the level of 59,828.11. The price didn't reach the 50% level (59,524). The key seller's bar in this movement (the bar with the highest volume) is the bar from October 1. The 50% level of the entire seller's movement is within this bar (!). Next, we see the buyer's movement, and on October 5, a test is formed within the key seller's bar, at the level of 62,484.85. The price didn't reach the 50% level (63,163.06). Then we see the buyer's attack on the test level of 62,484.85 and the 50% level of the seller's movement (63,163.06), followed by the seller returning the price below the test level, accumulating volume for a downward move. After that, the local minimum of 59,828.11 was updated. Then, the seller attacks the test level of 59,828.11 and the 50% level of the buyer's movement (59,524), and the buyer returns the price above the test level, gathering volume for an upward move. What happens next... we will soon see. This is how the buyer's attack on the 50% level of the seller's movement looked on the 4-hour time frame. No differences whatsoever. Although, maybe I didn’t look hard enough. The key bar of the seller's movement intersects the 50% movement. First, there’s a test below the 50% level (test level 62,975), then an attack on the test level and the 50% level. Hope you found it interesting. Good luck with your trading and investments!
Education
by AlexeyWolf
2
Two Roads to Profit. A Comparison of ICT/SMC and Advanced VSAHello traders and investors! When we start engaging in trading and investing, we get acquainted with various methods of forecasting price movements. Gradually, if we have enough persistence, strength, and patience, we choose our own path to profitable trades. Among the most popular approaches, we can highlight the use of various oscillators and channels, Dow Theory, Elliott Waves, Fibonacci levels, supply and demand, Volume Spread Analysis (VSA), market auction theory, and the Inner Circle Trader/Smart Money Concept (ICT/SMC). Many traders combine elements from different approaches into their trading system. I personally prefer a concept I call Advanced VSA. It’s a comprehensive set of tools that combines ideas from VSA, Dow Theory, and Supply and Demand analysis. The name "Advanced VSA" perfectly captures the essence of the method, as it is fundamentally based on analyzing volume and price spread. Recently, the ICT/SMC concept has been gaining more and more popularity. Today, I want to explore the similarities and differences between ICT/SMC and Advanced VSA. If there are any inaccuracies in my explanation of ICT/SMC basics, feel free to correct me in the comments. Perhaps after reading this article, you’ll be able to decide which approach resonates more with you and which one you believe will help you in your trading. I hope this will be helpful. Let’s dive in! Basic Differences Before diving into the technical details, let's first clarify the key differences between these concepts. Who Controls Price Movements The ICT/SMC concept assumes that price movements are controlled by large players, such as market makers, who direct prices in the desired direction. This is similar to a model where one "center of power" determines the market's direction. In contrast, Advanced VSA is based on the idea that two forces influence price — the Buyer and the Seller. All analysis revolves around the interaction between these two sides, creating a more balanced model where both forces are equally important. Traded Volume The ICT/SMC concept does not use traded volume as a part of its analysis. In Advanced VSA, volume is an important factor. It is considered an integral part of the data that helps to understand market processes and the actions of participants. Now let’s move on to a detailed comparison of the elements of these concepts. What They Have in Common Both concepts teach traders to identify price ranges on the chart where a large player (Market Maker in ICT/SMC) or a Buyer (in Advanced VSA) shows interest in buying, and ranges where the Market Maker or Seller is interested in selling. When the price returns to these ranges, traders can execute buys or sells. We can call these price ranges contextual areas for buying and selling. Neither concept relies on technical indicators. Instead, they focus on the following key terms for identifying the trade direction and the trade entry point: Trend Trend break/half-trend Trend confirmation Accumulation/Distribution/Sideways movement/Flat Contextual areas for buying and selling The first four terms help determine the direction of the trade, while the fifth helps identify the entry point and the likely target of the trade. Both methods suggest using higher timeframes to find contextual areas and lower timeframes to find entry points within those areas. What Are the Differences The differences between the concepts lie in the interpretation of key terms. For the first four terms (trend, trend break, trend confirmation, accumulation/distribution/Sideways movement), the distinctions are minor and relate mostly to specific interpretations. However, the main differences arise in the rules for identifying contextual areas of interest (buyer, seller, or market maker). Let's look at these differences in more detail. Difference 1: Use of Volume In ICT/SMC, contextual areas of interest are determined solely based on price action and candlestick patterns, without taking traded volume into account. In contrast, Advanced VSA sees volume as an integral part of the analysis. contextual areas of interest are identified by both traded volume and price behavior (candlestick patterns). If there was interest from a buyer, seller in a specific price range, leading to a price change, it's logical to assume that the volume traded in that range should be higher than in previous periods over a similar timeframe. To illustrate the importance of using all available data for analysis, consider an analogy with choosing the best time for a seaside vacation. If the decision is based only on water and air temperature, while ignoring factors like wind or rainfall, the choice may be misguided. For example, choosing April for its comfortable temperature might result in encountering constant rain and high waves. Thus, in Advanced VSA, volume plays a crucial role, whereas it is absent in ICT/SMC. Difference 2: Types of Contextual Areas of Interest In ICT/SMC, the following types of contextual areas of interest are used: order block, breaker, mitigation block, and rejection block. All of these areas are formed by a specific arrangement of candles on the chart. In contrast, Advanced VSA operates with a different set of contextual areas of interest: effort, zone, and range (sideways movement). Effort refers to a single candle or bar that indicates significant market activity. Zone is formed by a sequence of candles or bars, taking into account their traded volumes. Range (sideways movement) is defined by a series of consecutive candles/bars where price fluctuates within a limited range, interacting alternately with the upper and lower boundaries of the range. It's only possible to identify which party (buyer, seller, or market maker) controls the range after the price breaks out and confirms the move. If the volumes align with Advanced VSA's criteria, order blocks and mitigation blocks in ICT/SMC can be considered as zones in Advanced VSA. So, not all order blocks and mitigation blocks will be considered zones in Advanced VSA. The breaker will be discussed separately, and there is no equivalent to the rejection block in Advanced VSA. Difference 3. Price Attraction Points In ICT/SMC, concepts such as fair value gap, liquidity void, and liquidity are used to describe price attraction points. In Advanced VSA, the terms fair value gap and liquidity void are not utilized. Most of the time, these ICT/SMC elements correspond to price interest points in Advanced VSA, such as effort. The term liquidity has the same meaning. Difference 4. Importance of Levels In Advanced VSA, levels play an important role in identifying trade opportunities. To understand the significance of levels, let’s first recall the concepts of trend and range (sideways movement). In both ICT/SMC and Advanced VSA, a trend is broken down into components, often referred to as impulses or expansion moves. A range, on the other hand, is characterized by its boundaries and the vectors of price movement between those boundaries. In Advanced VSA, important trading signals include the defense of a broken level or a price retracement to a level followed by its defense. In Advanced VSA, the defense of a broken level or the cancellation of a breakout (where the price returns back behind the broken level) followed by a defense of that level is considered a signal for identifying trades. This method helps traders spot potential entry points where either buyers or sellers to protect a key price level, giving more confidence in the direction of the market. The most important levels include the base of the last impulse, the boundaries of a range, and the test level of a zone. In ICT/SMC, there are no direct equivalents of these elements when it comes to searching for trades. However, breakers and sometimes mitigation blocks serve similar purposes to the levels in Advanced VSA, but the approaches differ. In ICT/SMC, trades are typically executed within the breaker or mitigation block, whereas in Advanced VSA, trades are found when a level is defended: buy trades above the level (supported by buyers), and sell trades below the level (supported by sellers). Additionally, Advanced VSA allows for trading within ranges, moving from one boundary to the other, as long as the boundaries are defended. Summary Despite the shared terms and similar approaches, there are significant differences between the two concepts: Number of forces influencing price movement: In ICT/SMC, it is believed that price is controlled by a single force, the Market Maker (MM). In contrast, Advanced VSA considers the interaction of two forces—buyers and sellers—as driving price movements. Use of volume in analysis: ICT/SMC does not take traded volume into account during analysis, while in Advanced VSA, volume is a crucial element for identifying market forces and areas of interest. Use of levels for trade entries: In ICT/SMC, levels do not play an important role, whereas in Advanced VSA, levels one of the possible places for identifying potential trade setups. Good luck with your trading and investing!
OANDA:XAUUSDEducation
by AlexeyWolf
2
The level defense patternI use the concept of a level being defended by either a buyer or a seller to find potential buying or selling opportunities. This is a specific pattern that can be identified on a chart. Let's consider one variant of this pattern. In this variant, the defense of a level by a buyer looks as follows: a buyer's candle closes above the level. Then, a seller's candle or candles interact with the level, followed by the appearance of a buyer's candle, which needs to be evaluated. If it meets the criteria, entry points can be identified. Let's look at a concrete example. The pattern developed over 10 hours. On the chart, blue-shaded areas represent 2-hour buyer's candles, and red-shaded areas represent 2-hour seller's candles. After the buyer pushed the price back above the 6.733 level, they attempted to resume from the 6.7571 level, the volume of the buyer's candle (632K) was less than that of the seller's candle (1.274M). Then, the seller attacked the 6.733 level with increased volume (709K) but could not push the price below this level. Note where POC of the volume profile for the 2-hour seller's attack candle is: below 6.7571. The high of the attack candle is at 6.8166. The next buyer's candle had increased volume (792K). Notice where the buyer's movement started in this candle: from the POC of the volume profile of the seller's attack candle. Now entry points can be identified. In this example, the entry points are visible on the 1-minute time frame. The chart shows two entry points. Note how volumes are distributed at these points and the resulting buyer's zones (blue rectangles on the chart). The first entry point is the defense of the breakout from the range by the buyer, which was formed in the previous 2-hour candle (RPL on the chart, 6.7784). The second entry point is the defense of the high of the attacking 2-hour seller's candle by the buyer (6.8166 level).
Education
by AlexeyWolf
How to use different timeframesHello traders and investors! Today I'll talk about choosing the right timeframe and how you can use different timeframes when looking for trades. This will help us uncover what is hidden in this candle on the chart. When we look at something, we are usually limited by a certain viewpoint. From this point, we only see part of the whole picture. But if we move and look from a different perspective, we will discover new details and aspects that were previously unnoticed. The same applies to analyzing the chart of a financial instrument when using different types of charts or different timeframes. This post will focus on using different timeframes. On one timeframe, it may be difficult to understand the essence of what is happening, while on another, everything can become clearer and more understandable. I've already talked about using different timeframes when looking for trades in an educational article a few weeks ago (see the related post below). In that article, I highlighted 5 skills that help effectively trade in sideways markets. Discussing the first of them - how to combine higher and lower timeframes when looking for trades, I provided a practical example on the OPUSDT chart using the daily and hourly timeframes. In that practical example, I formulated target levels that are likely to be reached. You can see the results in the related post (see below). I'll provide another example of choosing the right timeframe and the correlation between timeframes, using the BTCUSDT chart. This will help us uncover what is hidden in this candle on the chart. In the update of this idea I noted that on the hourly timeframe at the contextual point of the seller (the beginning of the last seller impulse, level 66867), I didn't see an active seller and wasn't ready to join the sales at that moment. As a potential target, I indicated 62776. So, I looked at the chart on different timeframes and searched for what remains unnoticed. On the 7-minute timeframe, I discovered a sideways movement at the contextual point of the seller (level 66867), as mentioned in the idea update with a recommendation to look for a trade after exiting the sideways movement and protecting this exit: Now, let's analyze what happened next (on the bars chart, as bars take up less space and additional marks are better visible). The seller broke through the lower boundary of the sideways movement at 65626.87. The seller's impulse ended at 10:49 (New York time), when after breaking through the lower boundary of the sideways movement, the first buyer bar appeared. The key candle(bar) of the impulse (the largest volume in the impulse) is marked on the chart as "KC". Therefore, the seller's defense of this candle or the lower boundary of the sideways movement (65626) increases the probability of further price decrease. The price range of the key candle of the impulse is highlighted on the chart (from high to close). Now let's pick a lower timeframe to see more clearly what happened before and after 10:49. On the 1-minute timeframe by 10:49, a sideways movement formed, and at 10:49, the price attacked the upper boundary of the sideways movement (level at point 2). The key candle of the buyer's impulse ("KC" on the chart) is in the middle of the impulse. At 10:59, the buyer attacked a new boundary of the sideways movement (level at point 6 - 65249.01). Pay attention to the volume of the attacking candle. At 11:02, the seller pressed the attack candle, forming a seller zone (red background on the chart). On the buyer's candle at 11:04 (black downward arrow on the chart), you can sell because: On the hourly timeframe, the price is in the seller's impulse in the seller's area of interest, which defended the level 66867. On the 7-minute timeframe, the seller broke through the lower boundary of the sideways movement. On the 1-minute timeframe, the seller defended the level (65249.01) from the buyer's attack on a significant volume, which is within the price range of the key candle of the 7-minute timeframe impulse. And one more interesting point. Look where the seller's resumption on the minute timeframe came from - from the 50% of the key candle of the 7-minute timeframe seller impulse. Could the price, without reaching the target of 62776, go up? Yes, the probability of this event is not zero. And we see how the price did not reach the target by 18 dollars (black upward arrow on the chart) and turned upward. Where did the seller stop it? It stopped right there inside the key candle of the sideways movement exit on the 7-minute timeframe (black downward arrow on the chart). After that, the target of 62776 was reached.
Education
by AlexeyWolf
Trade in a sideways marketMain price pattern of financial instruments So, when we talk about the price of financial stuff, like stocks or crypto, it often moves in specific ranges over different timeframes, right? Whether it's weekly, daily, hourly, or even minute charts, prices tend to hang out in these ranges for a while. Traders call this kind of price movement "consolidation," "range-bound," or simply a "sideways market." In this article, we'll just call it a sideways market or range. When prices are stuck in this sideways action, they can break out with a sudden burst of momentum, kickstarting a trend, or they might just keep bouncing around, forming a new sideways pattern. Let's check out the daily chart of BTCUSDT starting from October 2021. On the chart (see above), we've marked those periods where the price was moving sideways with blue markers. Since October 2021, we've spotted 7 of these sideways patterns. We label the first point of each sideways move as "1". Out of 884 trading days, the price was stuck in this sideways action for 758 days (884 - 72 - 39 - 15), which makes up about 85%. This means that throughout this whole period, you could've been looking at trades from one edge of the sideways range to the other. Based on my estimates, most financial instruments spend more than 75% of their time in this sideways market mode. So, knowing how to trade in sideways markets is a super important skill for traders. And for investors, understanding these sideways moves can really amp up the profitability of their investments by pinpointing better entry and exit points. For example, right now, considering buying BABA stocks might be a good idea because the price is chilling at the bottom of a sideways range on the weekly chart. Example1 Mastering the Skills for Successful Trading in Sideways Market Being able to effectively trade within trading ranges, between their boundaries, requires not only a certain amount of knowledge but also the development of specific skills. Initially, one must grasp the theoretical foundations and then apply them in practice, gradually honing their skills. Let's look at the necessary skills: Skill 1: Understanding and applying the Concept of Time Frame (TF) Interconnection: higher TF, lower TF. Grasping the context of the higher TF in relation to the sideways market TF. Skill 2: Identifying sideways market: determining the absolute and current boundaries of the range, as well as the current direction (vector) of price movement. Skill 3: Recognizing zones of interest for buyers and sellers. Skill 4: Determining the presence of buyers at the lower boundary (bottom protection by buyers) and sellers at the upper boundary (top protection by sellers). Skill 5: Adhering to risk management principles when entering trades (especially crucial for traders). Each of these skills is based on a vast amount of knowledge that needs to be absorbed first and then applied in practice. The journey can be long and sometimes tedious. Is there a way to hack this system and shorten the time it takes to acquire knowledge, develop skills, and start trading? Well, there are options. For example, you can use technical indicators (such as RSI, Bollinger Bands, ATR, etc.) to make buying or selling decisions. Or you could completely bypass the process of acquiring knowledge and skills and rely on signals from Telegram channels or expert opinions. But what will you find there about trading in sideways market (ranges), where the market spends more than 75% of its time? This series of articles is written for those who are ready to take control of their financial destiny, who strive to understand how financial markets work, and who want to master the skills of independent trading and making more informed investment decisions. Here you will find the knowledge and tools to start understanding what is happening in the financial markets and how to profit from it. I don't promise any magic pills or "money" buttons:). So, let's get started. Skill 1: Applying the Concept of Time Frame Interconnection The higher time frame (TF) always takes precedence over the lower one. For instance, if we observe on the daily chart that the market is in a seller's zone (which is determined by Skill 3), then on the hourly chart, we need to analyze the seller's actions (Skill 4) and primarily look for selling opportunities. However, there might be a situation where the seller is inactive, and the price starts to rise due to buyer pressure (in this case, Skill 4 comes into play again). Example2 On the provided chart, areas of seller interest are marked in red, while buyer interest areas are marked in blue. Let's examine the period from March 25th to March 27th, highlighted in yellow on the chart. On the daily TF, we observe sideways movement since December 22, 2023, with the bearish vector (11-12) being relevant. The first target of the bearish vector, 3.119, was reached on March 19, 2024. The second target (2.822) and the third (2.611) remain valid. On March 25th, the price returned to the seller's zone on the daily chart (the red zone with the lower boundary at 3.680). On the hourly chart, on March 25th, the price trend reached the daily seller's zone and formed a range with 7 points. The breakout from this range occurred downwards on March 27th. Therefore, in this range, it was advisable to look for selling opportunities from the upper boundary and riskily consider buying from the lower one. Similarly, you can make investment decisions by analyzing, for example, the weekly and daily TFs. To be continued... P.S. This is indeed an interesting point! Despite the fact that the market spends more than 75% of its time in sideways movement, indicators and strategies specifically designed for trading in this mode have not gained as much popularity as other trading approaches. Even on the internet, including TV and trading Telegram channels, signals or analyses based on identifying sideways movement are very rarely encountered. If you have experience or knowledge about trading methods in sideways markets (including indicators), please share them in the comments!
Education
by AlexeyWolf