Pivots, Patterns, and Intraday Swing Trades

Day trading stock index futures reveal a starkly different decision environment. There is no time to dwell on technical conditions.

Intraday volatility in the stock indices is far more exaggerated than the daily bar charts of other markets, partly due to the extreme leverage, partly due to the intense attention. And positioning techniques that prove reliable in the action of the long-term trends in other instruments tend to fail in the countertrend reactions of the highly leveraged S&P futures contract within the short-term. For the informed trader, tremendous opportunities in these intraday trend swings can be captured. This book will show you how.

Filled with detailed technical models, this reliable resource skillfully utilizes innovative methodologies for trend discovery and trade entry in mini-stock index futures markets. It offers a fresh approach to understanding and capitalizing on market volatility, allowing you to sort out the apparent chaos of the day trading environment through codified and recognizable trade entry setups.

• Highlights trading techniques that are anything but mechanical scalping
• Explores conceptual event models and their accompanying rules
• Contains tools by which major intraday swing trends can be identified quickly and often at the very turning points where they begin
• Explains the underlying order and structure to the markets based on the repetitive nature of human behavior. Engaging and informative, this reliable resource will put you in a better position to excel in today's dynamic markets.

Part One: Time Frame Concepts

Chapter 1 A Three-Frame Day 

The 1st Frame 

The Midday Frame 

The Last Hour Time Frame 

Chapter 2 Opening Range Bar

ORB Defined

3-Bar ORB 15

ORB Pennant

ORB Matched Highs/Lows

Chapter 3 Pivot/Exhaustion Grid

ORB Kilroy 

Break-Away Pivots: The Pivot Ledge

The Break-Away Lap 

Previous Highs and Lows 

Previous Closing Prices: The Gap 

Tick Bar Laps 

Dynamic Exhaustion Levels: The EMAs 

Floor Trader’s Pivot Points 

Fibonacci Targets 

Measured Move Targets 

Market Profile 

Trend Lines 44

Chapter 4 Dough Bar to Die Bar

Chapter 5 Leadership Divergence 55

Chapter 6 The Work-Done Concept 63

Chapter 7 Trading the News 69

Part Two… Day Model Patterns

Chapter 8 Persistent Trend Day 81

Persistence in Trend: It’s a Thing 82

ORB Entries 85

Telltale Leadership 85

Leadership Shift 87

Flubber Bounce/Monkey Bars 89

Last Chance Texaco: The 200EMA Entry 91

Summary 93

Notes 93

Chapter 9 Test-and-Reject Day 95

Summary 101

Notes 101

Chapter 10 The Split-Open Day 103

Summary 104

Notes 104

Chapter 11 Day Model Sequence Cycle 105

Summary 111

Notes 112

Part Threeâ•… Repetitive Chart Patterns

Chapter 12 The Momentum Grid 115

Summary 119

Notes 120

Chapter 13 Pre-Breakout Pause Pattern 121

Summary 124

Chapter 14 The Classics Revisited 125

M-Tops, W-Bottoms 126

Telltale Triangles 127

Head-and-Shoulders Reversals, Revised 131

The Rising/Declining Wedge 134

Midday Channel 136

Summary 139

Notes 140

Chapter 15 MA Pattern Concepts 141

The EMA Pinch 141

Gap-Close . . . or Further? 143

The EMA Cup 144

The Cup as Breakout Trigger 146

Summary 147

Part Fourâ•… Confluence and Execution

Chapter 16 Transition Time Reversals 151

Summary 156

Chapter 17 Trade Entry Models 157

Summary 172

Chapter 18 The Trade Plan 173

Prescript 174

Blueprint 176

My Blueprint Notes 179

Summary 183