Zak! Has more than 20 Questions

[immy]

Hello Immy,

I'm very excited about this system and all of the feedback you have received along with it. I have read your pdf, the setup about 5 times now, and learn something new from it every time. I wanted to ask you all of the questions I had after reading your e-book and I wanted to personally contact you with them because you're the creator of this system and you would know some of the answers better because of your natural intuition of the system. You don't have to give any long answers and take as long as you like to reply since I know you're a very busy man.

Thanks for your time

The following questions are just about trades on the 1 & 5min Eur/Usd and also ONLY about setup 2:


1. I want to risk 2% on setup 2, If I put it all on at the start and not add on after that, would that be ok? (since it may be risky to add on after that)

2. how long before the news do you stop trading and how long after news do you start trading again?

3. You say leave 1 pip+ spread for pending orders above the aims box on a buy for example and then say that for a sell you leave 1 pip, my question here is that the spread is always included right?

4. Do you only trade double aims levels and if so how much better is it and why?

5. If price turns against you quickly do you personally like to exit on the dots or wait for price to possibly go back in your direction?

6. do you trade the 1-5 min charts and if you do how long for per day and I also want to trade more than just the session opens, is that ok?

7. After how many consecutive losses in a row is it worth calling it a day, or do you just keep going?

8. Is the ao allowed to cross the zero line quite a lot for setup 2 since it is a later entry than setup 1?

9. You say that you place a trade after a fresh cross of the zero line, but in an example you gave you entered a trade after a wave had finished but it was close to the z/l and then you continued trading in that direction, so has the fresh cross rule above changed?

10. You also show in a few trade examples the purple line not being above the alligator for a sell, however you have said in the book that it has to be, or is there an exception?

11. Does there need to be an Aims box breakout on the 5 min and do you personally trade after the 5 min breakouts or before?

12. For setup 2 can you trade inside the aims box on the 5 min if there is room or does this only apply with setup 1?

13. What do you mean when you say to look at the angulations of the purple line of m1 before trading?

14. On which time frame do you look at for a fresh cross of the zero line, is it the 5 min or 1 min?

15. You say that if the m5 has squashed aims boxes not to trade. Firstly, how do you define them and does this rule apply to setup 2? (since the market is already trending)

1. I want to risk 2% on setup 2, If I put it all on at the start and not add on after that, would that be ok? (since it may be risky to add on after that)
Immy: The question is why not S1? S1 gives you the best risk level with slightly higher risk of whipsaw whereas S2 gives you more odds in terms of confirmed breakout but risk is often increased. It is for that reason I'd recommend you take 1% on S1 and Add on 1% or less on S2. Whether you go for 1% or 0.5% per trade is entirely up to you, keeping in mind your risk tolerance and taste etc but once decided you must stick to the plan. Money management is the key here...
2. how long before the news do you stop trading and how long after news do you start trading again?
Immy: 10min before and as soon as spread is back to normal and there is a setup i'll take it. I like doing this, News = higher volatility = bad for h1 or m15 but perfect for m1. e.g. 150 spike, might not create a setup afterwards but a 20 pip spike might create a setup within the next 10-15 minutes on m1

3. You say leave 1 pip+ spread for pending orders above the aims box on a buy for example and then say that for a sell you leave 1 pip, my question here is that the spread is always included right?
Immy: most brokers deduct spread out of short positions at the time of exiting so e.g. you enter short at 1.3020 and want to exit at 1.3005, the market will have to drop to 1.3005 less the spread for the exit order to trigger. However for longs, your entry is triggered the number of pips of spread above your desired price. So if you want to go long at 1.3005 and your broker gives your 1 pip spread, they will open your position at 1.3005+1 pip spread = 1.3006 so we add a 1pip buffer +spread at the time of entry

4. Do you only trade double aims levels and if so how much better is it and why?
Immy:I don't only trade double aims. Double aims = higher odds of a stronger breakout. Why, because 1 break of 2 aims levels means you have odds on your sides because the higher the time frame the stronger the breakout while the risk level is still based on m1.

5. If price turns against you quickly do you personally like to exit on the dots or wait for price to possibly go back in your direction?
Immy:This is a tricky thing... as a beginner it would be best to simply follow the exit signal. Exit with a loss = Stop Loss Hit period. No discretion. Exit with profit = mechanical + discretion + intiution. But as a beginner the mechanical exit is recommend. This is where the art of trading kicks in

6. do you trade the 1-5 min charts and if you do how long for per day and I also want to trade more than just the session opens, is that ok?
Immy:The M5/M1 on EUR/USD or sometiems EUR/JPY is my strategy for Opens and news. Open Times and News = News Information Coming in = Chaos = Volatility . Its not that we are in love with M1, We are not in love with M1/M5 rather it is our strategy to catch the most volatile periods in the market. If the markets don't move, THE ODDS OF SUCCESS ON M1 ARE DIMINISHED.

7. After how many consecutive losses in a row is it worth calling it a day, or do you just keep going?
Immy:This is entirely up to you. But best not to trade more than 2-3 times per session. Trade the best setups and when you're up 1-2% just quit. Enjoy yourself. TRUST ME

8. Is the ao allowed to cross the zero line quite a lot for setup 2 since it is a later entry than setup 1?
Immy: sorry mate, I don't understand your question. Here I'd say again, when asking trading, specially the setup related questions, its best to attach pictures

9. You say that you place a trade after a fresh cross of the zero line, but in an example you gave you entered a trade after a wave had finished but it was close to the z/l and then you continued trading in that direction, so has the fresh cross rule above changed?
Immy: Every day is different, every trade is different, every moment is unique. Those are ground rules but at times there are other factors that increase odds of success and we go for it. Generally fresh cross is priority no. 1 but just close to ZL is also good. the later being very useful during days when the market just keeps going in one direction

10. You also show in a few trade examples the purple line not being above the alligator for a sell, however you have said in the book that it has to be, or is there an exception?
Immy: again we need a picture here, but I'm guessing I might have shown a reversal type trade where the purple might be inside the box but not above the gator in case of a short trade.

11. Does there need to be an Aims box breakout on the 5 min and do you personally trade after the 5 min breakouts or before?
Immy: Again we need a picture here but my guess is you're referring to a situation where M5 is showing S1 where price is stuck between M5 upper and lower aims level and gator is sleeping. in that case if the dominant trend on M5 is confirmed we can at times take trade on m1 even before breakout provided that M5 leves are not too tight. E.g. if M5 leves are 15 pips apart, it would be best to take m5 level.

12. For setup 2 can you trade inside the aims box on the 5 min if there is room or does this only apply with setup 1?
Immy: This is covered in the Advanced techniques section as ITB (In the box). We can use BDC for such entries using PC setup

13. What do you mean when you say to look at the angulations of the purple line of m1 before trading?
Immy: if the purple is horizontal it means the red line of gator on m5 is horizontal which would mean chances are there is no trend on HTF

14. On which time frame do you look at for a fresh cross of the zero line, is it the 5 min or 1 min?
Immy:M1 if M5 is also crossing even better, a friend used to call such setups as Tsunami!

15. You say that if the m5 has squashed aims boxes not to trade. Firstly, how do you define them and does this rule apply to setup 2? (since the market is already trending)
Immy:So S2 trend is established so we will simply trade in the direction HTF trend. The tights the aims boxes the better the chances of a stronger breakout. Remember Higher Probability Setups are Breakouts in the Direction of HTF Trends

I hope I've answered most if not all of your questions.

Immy --- Your FREE Mentor! \m/ :-bd :o3

[zak]

Could you put in a entry order in when aims box is not confirmed (5th candle has not finished developing) and then cancel the order if the aims box was deleted?

You said that the odds are diminished on the 1 min if the market doesn't move so what's the next higher TF you could recommend trading e.g. the 5 and 15 min or is there no point with this strategy since it needs more momentum?

If trading the 5 and 15 min is a good option, then how would you trade the news on those time frames?

Are trailing stops hard to use for beginners and if so should I stick to dots to exit with?

Why do you only like to trade one pair?

Sorry just woke up and thought of a few more questions to edit in lol

Does the alligator need to be open on the 5 min when trading setup 2?

And just out of curiosity what happens to you if you continue trading the whole london session for example? What bad experiences did you have trading full sessions? And why do you like to stop trading for the day after you're up 1-2%?

And I think you misunderstood my question of trading inside the box of M5. All I meant to ask was: do you start to look for trades on the M1 after the M5 aims box has been broken out of, or can you trade inside it on the M1 when a setup occurs, or both? And how can you avoid resistance from the M5 aims box if you trade inside it?

Just had a few, few more questions I hope you don't mind

For setup 2 if there isn't a fresh aims level after the dot what do we do? (it says this in the flow chart)

Any tips on how to tell if the M5 is ranging? and how to avoid that?

Can you trail using aim boxes? It's something not really discussed in your book but Dave suggested it and it seems like a good idea, I was referring to trailing behind the previous candle high/low.

D you look at divergence of ao and ao getting old or not, and if so how do you define an old ao?

Which template/s of yours only makes a fractal box every 5 candles?

And out of curiousity how did you come up with the 15 pips number when deciding a decent size for your aims boxes?

And thank you Dave for spending your time helping me, I'm very grateful to have met you

[Dave]

Hi Zac, I’ll take the reigns on these few and Immy can just say agree or disagree

Could you put in a entry order in when aims box is not confirmed (5th candle has not finished developing) and then cancel the order if the aims box was deleted?

Of course you can. Being prepared with your order will help you in fast moving markets. It may also cause you to be spiked into a trade that is not a genuine entry though. Best method is to fill out all your order details and be ready and as soon as the setup is confirmed hit submit. By watching one pair closely and knowing what forms a fractal you will anticipate these entries and be able to prepare the ticket in advance.

You said that the odds are diminished on the 1 min if the market doesn't move so what's the next higher TF you could recommend trading e.g. the 5 and 15 min or is there no point with this strategy since it needs more momentum?

This strategy, just like any other swing trading strategy, relies on momentum, but momentum exists across all timeframes. It’s just that momentum of a 3rd wave on M1 may last 30 minutes and the momentum of a 3rd wave on daily may last 30 days. The structure of the wave and the structure of the momentum remains the same though. Immy saying that the odds are diminished is probably him saying that in a sideways market you will catch little fakes and whipsaws on M1 that trading outside a higher timeframe range may prevent. But remember that those higher timeframes have their own whipsaws, but to use the above example, an M1 whipsaw may last 2 minutes and a daily whipsaw 2 days, so it is perceived as being less damaging. The best approach is to trade a shorter timeframe (M1) in line with the trend of a higher timeframe (M5). Wait until the higher timeframe shows a trend (open alligator) and breaks out of its range and then look to then faster timeframe for the setup. So this works of course with any timeframe pairing, M1/M5, M5/M15, M15/H1 etc.

If trading the 5 and 15 min is a good option, then how would you trade the news on those time frames?

We don’t trade the news. We trade the setup. We avoid the unpredictability of the actual moment that the news is released but as soon as that’s over we just go back to looking for the setup. So no different. Don’t trade a few minutes before news. Wait for the release and wait a minute or two and then resume your hunt for the setup.

Are trailing stops hard to use for beginners and if so should I stick to dots to exit with?

Trailing stops are a piece of cake. Just watch the trade develop and move your stop loss to follow the high (for a sell) or low (for a buy) of the latest AIMS level. That’s it. Every method of closing a trade has it's own advantages and disadvantages. If you choose to trail AIMS level you'll be screaming and throwing shit everywhere the first time your trade shows +30 pips and then immediately comes back and takes you out for a loss as there hasn't been a new AIMS level to trail. But you'll be screaming and jumping for joy when your trail realises 100 pips from an M1 entry that you ride and trail for an hour or two as it just keeps stepping up. The key is to choose a method and stick to it and trailing AIMS levels is a great method.

Why do you only like to trade one pair?

This is a matter of concentration. Trading M1 is full on and demands 100% attention. So if you throw a few pairs in the mix then your focus is divided. Higher timeframes allow more pairs as you’re not scrutinising the charts every minute, but as a beginner stick to EURUSD and be profitable before you even look at a second pair for M1. The setup is exactly the same across all pairs. Learn the setup thoroughly for EURUSD first.

I suggest you start a journal so that you can keep all your thoughts and questions and trade photos in one place. You learn a lot and being able to read back through your notes in six months time is a great way of assessing your progress.
And good luck!
Dave

[immy]

Dave!

100% agreed!

(hug) \m/

my tree is calling me! I shall spend some time with it!

ps: I'll be back to to trading after the 26th!

[immy]

Sorry just woke up and thought of a few more questions to edit in lol

Does the alligator need to be open on the 5 min when trading setup 2?

And just out of curiosity what happens to you if you continue trading the whole london session for example? What bad experiences did you have trading full sessions? And why do you like to stop trading for the day after you're up 1-2%?

And I think you misunderstood my question of trading inside the box of M5. All I meant to ask was: do you start to look for trades on the M1 after the M5 aims box has been broken out of, or can you trade inside it on the M1 when a setup occurs, or both? And how can you avoid resistance from the M5 aims box if you trade inside it?

Just had a few, few more questions I hope you don't mind

For setup 2 if there isn't a fresh aims level after the dot what do we do? (it says this in the flow chart)

Any tips on how to tell if the M5 is ranging? and how to avoid that?

Can you trail using aim boxes? It's something not really discussed in your book but Dave suggested it and it seems like a good idea, I was referring to trailing behind the previous candle high/low.

D you look at divergence of ao and ao getting old or not, and if so how do you define an old ao?

Which template/s of yours only makes a fractal box every 5 candles?

And out of curiousity how did you come up with the 15 pips number when deciding a decent size for your aims boxes?

And thank you Dave for spending your time helping me, I'm very grateful to have met you

Hi, Firstly if you have to add some new questions, dont edit the post it will harly be noticed. Simply use the reply option to create a new post that is added to the current topic. Don't forget to use the "View Unread Posts" Button at the top right to view new posts and threads in the forum

Now to your questions. I have to say, almost all of these questions have already been asked and answered but I enjoy repetition. Ok here we go.


Q. Does the alligator need to be open on the 5 min when trading setup 2?
A. "Trading" within range and sideways market may not be good for your accounts health. Its up to you, but we like to trade "in the direction of higher time frame trend" or reverse it. But the market has to be moving, even trend reversals have higher probability then range bound sideways price action. "Nothing happens until something moves". Every day everyday, every session, every trade, every moment in the universe is Unique.

Q. And just out of curiosity what happens to you if you continue trading the whole London session for example? What bad experiences did you have trading full sessions? And why do you like to stop trading for the day after you're up 1-2%?
A. Well, there is nothing bad that can happen to me. I can only lose a certain percentage of my account that's all. In the past I've traded all day long and had good, very good and bad days. But in the end I found that the most high probability times for successful trading are the high volatility periods and I can easily plan my day ahead. Trade during Session open and/or just after news. You'll have to experience it for yourself.

And I think you misunderstood my question of trading inside the box of M5. All I meant to ask was: do you start to look for trades on the M1 after the M5 aims box has been broken out of, or can you trade inside it on the M1 when a setup occurs, or both? And how can you avoid resistance from the M5 aims box if you trade inside it?
A. Sorry! Monday morning, hangover! Picture would help...

Just had a few, few more questions I hope you don't mind

For setup 2 if there isn't a fresh aims level after the dot what do we do? (it says this in the flow chart)
A. order some pizza! (party)

Any tips on how to tell if the M5 is ranging? and how to avoid that?
A. When the gator is sleeping = Market ranging. When the AIMS levels are not stepping up or down = market is ranging. Using Mark I Eyeball Indicator, if the market is going sideways, its sideways. :o3

Can you trail using aim boxes? It's something not really discussed in your book but Dave suggested it and it seems like a good idea, I was referring to trailing behind the previous candle high/low.
A. Trailing AIMS boxes, its all over the forum. And it must be in the book as well, if not I need to put it there. Its one of our options for trailing Stop Losses. And it is our standard trailing mechanism for The Seed and The Fruit Strategy. Its one of the best trailing mechanism ever. You'd be surprised that we have checked it against other methods and this methods is almost identical to Turtles and Darvas boxes.

Do you look at divergence of ao and ao getting old or not, and if so how do you define an old ao?
a. Yes! When price breaks out of S1, range but lacks momentum, we see the fresh cross but no real price movement. I need pictures.... please read my journal this is a question that requires pictures and stuff and we've already done it a 100 times...

Q. Which template/s of yours only makes a fractal box every 5 candles?
A. hmmm? what do you mean?

Q. And out of curiosity how did you come up with the 15 pips number when deciding a decent size for your aims boxes?
A. I had a dream! How did you decide to ask this question? haha just kidding, Experience, Testing and Statistical Analysis mate!

And in the end I have to ask you to do 2 things.
1. Start your own journal in the journal section. You can post your trades, with questions and observations. You'll be surprised at yourself when you look back in a few months!
2. Join the Chatroom you'll get instant answers.

cheers

ps: I'm off to do some talking to my tree!

[Dave]

Enjoy the tree, Immy. I'm swamped by work last few days so no trading - I'd prefer the tree option

[zak]

Ok the questions are getting less and less now

Firstly, breaking out of range is also a new concept is not really talked about in the book. Do you mean breaking out of the higher or lower TFs or both? And do you always check for this before you enter?

You said you sometimes also trade the eur/jpy, since you recommened it I will also try to trade that in the future, but what is your box size guide for this pair? (e.g. for eur/usd - less than 15 pips.)

Do you use aims box trailing? I assume you leave a pip below/above + spread above/below the box like candle trailing, right? and if you use this method do you ignore the exit dot and just keep trailing till the end of the move? And if you use another stop type, why is that one better?

Ty for the help. Now If you don't mind I've got to teach you how to read Elliot waves in LESS than a second. Elliot waves. DONE.

[Dave]

Hey Zac, don't tell me you're running out of questions! Keep them coming if they're there mate, I guarantee there are people on this forum choosing not to participate but learning a lot from your involvement.

Firstly, breaking out of range is also a new concept is not really talked about in the book. Do you mean breaking out of the higher or lower TFs or both? And do you always check for this before you enter?

Breaking out of the range is something that you should wait for at the start of each and every trading session. Particularly when trading short timeframes, if you try to trade within a range it might take a few losers until you get your winner and that's bad for the mind. It is always best to identify a trending market on the higher timeframe before you look for the setup on the lower timeframe. So if you're trading M1/M5, either take the first break of the M5 AIMS level (if it corresponds with an M1 setup - i.e. double AIMS levels and a genuine lower time frame setup, not just double AIMS levels alone) or wait for the price to break out of the M5 levels and then look for the setup. The first option is trying to catch the breakout so involves a little higher risk but in my opinion the reward is also greater, the second option means you might not get a setup if it just keeps going and going, but that's no problem there's always another wave! This question that you asked previously All I meant to ask was: do you start to look for trades on the M1 after the M5 aims box has been broken out of, or can you trade inside it on the M1 when a setup occurs, or both? And how can you avoid resistance from the M5 aims box if you trade inside it? is similar in concept to trading in the range or outside of it. Of course you can trade inside M5 boxes but it is a lower probability. So check distance from PO to M5 level, if that's >5 pips you might consider trading inside the M5 box, but if it's <5 pips then no way. Either way though, at the start of a session, it's best to let it break the range.

You said you sometimes also trade the eur/jpy, since you recommened it I will also try to trade that in the future, but what is your box size guide for this pair? (e.g. for eur/usd - less than 15 pips.)

Yep, 15 pips, but it's all about identifying boxes that are small relative the boxes that were before it. So eyeball the chart. Look at the size of the box. Is it small relative to the other boxes you can see? So every box might be 5 pips and the setup is a 12 pip box, so even though it's <15 pips it's still not suitable. Similarly every box might be 50 pips and now the setup is a 20 pip box, well maybe that's ok!

Do you use aims box trailing? I assume you leave a pip below/above + spread above/below the box like candle trailing, right? and if you use this method do you ignore the exit dot and just keep trailing till the end of the move? And if you use another stop type, why is that one better?

Yes, when trailing lows it's 'level - 1', when trailing highs it's 'level +1 + spread'. There are many ways to trail and if you're trailing levels stick to that. If you're closing on dots stick to that. Once you start to understand divergence and the relationship of waves between timeframes you might wish to use some discretion but at first just choose one method.

And start your journal my friend! Put some photos of your trades up. We would rather see 100 losing trades in a row and give you the chance to improve through doing than to see nothing at all. Demo account, trade the house down.

Dave

[zak]

I may start a journal in the future but I'm learning a lot just going through this forum and the rules aren't that hard to apply so if I do get a 100 losers in a row, I'll start it then, well maybe there's no point then.

Love you Dave!

[zak]

OO well who woulda thought it!! Dave was right more questions:

do you personally trail the aims levels on the 5 min or the 1 min TF?
does the alligator have to sleep before setup 2?- since that would give the trade more momentum.
what does fresh aims level after dot mean in the flow chart, and what does the dot represent again?
Do you have a take profit or do you just like to trail till you get stopped out?
what is the inital disaster stop loss that's in grant's trade management rules?
Is there anything you do differently to grant?
You've said before that you trade only once if you hit your 1-2% target, but if you don't how much do you keep trading that day before you stop?
After a bad london do you come back for the new york open? -or if the session is bad, is the day likely to be bad too?
Is it a bad idea to trade if the m5 purple is not correct?
is a fresh cross of the 1 min needed for setup 2?
is a fresh cross on the 5 min good for probability?
Do you only trade double aims?
Do you use elliot waves to exit?
And finally, metatrader crashes sometimes and asks for a password sometimes after downloading your templates, do you know how to fix this? Another thing is that the templates also glitch (with dots all of the screen and no aims boxes) so any ideas on how to fix this too?

Hope you had a great holiday with your family.

Thanks for everything.