Trade Management in Range Bound Market

[bambino45]

Hi,
I have experienced on more than one occasion the situation where I have found myself a littel uncertain once in a live trade. I was hoping for a little clarity as reading the forums it is one of the more subjuective areas.
The scenario is this, hypothetical, but mirrors a real life situation. Red dot appears and pending order set , the correct side of purple line. However once trade is activated by price the target is not met and price retraces. Because range is tight by definition we may get candles closing either side of the green line. So, at the sight of a blue dot I am not keen to simply close out for a loss. It is quite obvious there may be another red dot then another blue dot as price has come back into line.
Stop Loss is obviously placed to the upside of AIMS box included spread.
Personally I am one to believe the hard work has been done in the years of developing the system so once SL and Target set I am prone to let the market do what it does. However, my real issue (and confusion) is when new AIMS boxes appear, as the minutes tick by does the original set up become obsolete ? 20-30 minutes later on the 1 min TF is an eternity and if I havent been taken out by price on stop or target I feel myself a little confused as to whether I should be trading the "now" rather than sitting on what I had set up previously.
I am not one for changing my mind quickly and jumping on and off trades at he sight of a contrary dot, but want to feel confident I am trading the current market action. My 30 minute old trade may well complete but is that more down to chance if I am not trading the latest AIMS alerts and box but just so happen to have not been taken out yet ?

I hope that makes sense and the more experienced users out there can provide an insight.

Many Thanks

[Andreww]

Hi,
I suggest Grant's strategy of moving SL to 4 pips below/above the trigger candle that way a loss is not too painful.
Remember the dots only tell you to look at what is happening in the market. If you trade every dot you will lose.

Andrew

[Leviathan]

Hi,
I have experienced on more than one occasion the situation where I have found myself a littel uncertain once in a live trade. I was hoping for a little clarity as reading the forums it is one of the more subjuective areas.
The scenario is this, hypothetical, but mirrors a real life situation. Red dot appears and pending order set , the correct side of purple line. However once trade is activated by price the target is not met and price retraces. Because range is tight by definition we may get candles closing either side of the green line. So, at the sight of a blue dot I am not keen to simply close out for a loss. It is quite obvious there may be another red dot then another blue dot as price has come back into line.
Stop Loss is obviously placed to the upside of AIMS box included spread.
Personally I am one to believe the hard work has been done in the years of developing the system so once SL and Target set I am prone to let the market do what it does. However, my real issue (and confusion) is when new AIMS boxes appear, as the minutes tick by does the original set up become obsolete ? 20-30 minutes later on the 1 min TF is an eternity and if I havent been taken out by price on stop or target I feel myself a little confused as to whether I should be trading the "now" rather than sitting on what I had set up previously.
I am not one for changing my mind quickly and jumping on and off trades at he sight of a contrary dot, but want to feel confident I am trading the current market action. My 30 minute old trade may well complete but is that more down to chance if I am not trading the latest AIMS alerts and box but just so happen to have not been taken out yet ?

I hope that makes sense and the more experienced users out there can provide an insight.

Many Thanks

This is where multi-timeframe analysis becomes critical. (namely, looking at M5) If the aims boxes are so tight on m1 that a red dot could appear, trigger a trade (at a fresh cross of AO), and then snap back to create a bluedot, you are esentially doing a "breakout trade", and the blue dot would require the purple line to be within the aims box (otherwise it would be a black dot). If this is the case, then the aligators on m5 probably aren't open. Your best bet to filter this kind of whipsaw is to take the break of the m5 level rather than the m1 level. That, or take the break of the second fractal away from the aligators.

As for your exit signals, it's best to let the market tell you what it wants to do. If you are really at a saddle point, price can and will go either way that it wants to, and if the market gives you an exit signal (or even 2 or 3!), and you don't exit...are you trading? Or hoping?

[immy]

Hi,
I have experienced on more than one occasion the situation where I have found myself a littel uncertain once in a live trade. I was hoping for a little clarity as reading the forums it is one of the more subjuective areas.
The scenario is this, hypothetical, but mirrors a real life situation. Red dot appears and pending order set , the correct side of purple line. However once trade is activated by price the target is not met and price retraces. Because range is tight by definition we may get candles closing either side of the green line. So, at the sight of a blue dot I am not keen to simply close out for a loss. It is quite obvious there may be another red dot then another blue dot as price has come back into line.
Stop Loss is obviously placed to the upside of AIMS box included spread.
Personally I am one to believe the hard work has been done in the years of developing the system so once SL and Target set I am prone to let the market do what it does. However, my real issue (and confusion) is when new AIMS boxes appear, as the minutes tick by does the original set up become obsolete ? 20-30 minutes later on the 1 min TF is an eternity and if I havent been taken out by price on stop or target I feel myself a little confused as to whether I should be trading the "now" rather than sitting on what I had set up previously.
I am not one for changing my mind quickly and jumping on and off trades at he sight of a contrary dot, but want to feel confident I am trading the current market action. My 30 minute old trade may well complete but is that more down to chance if I am not trading the latest AIMS alerts and box but just so happen to have not been taken out yet ?

I hope that makes sense and the more experienced users out there can provide an insight.

Many Thanks

Bambino

If there is a red dot, and you check the rules, and the setup is correct, you take the trade and then "You Wait for Blue Dot" The opposite dot colour. When that happens and you second guess it, You've simply disobeyed your own plan. So Close the trade and say NEXT. However if you'd like to ignore the dot and wait for price to hit your stop loss on the other side of aims levels then thats a plan too. But the close on lines is exactly what it is. It is an EXIT signal.

We dont let price hit our stop loss on the other side of AIMS. That is where we do our money management and its our disaster stop loss. If the alligator is sleeping and intertwined and I take a breakout of AIMS and price comes back and closed on red line. I'll be out INSTANTLY.

Hitting Targets:
We dont wait for targets to be hit. We Wait for EXIT SIGNAL. If you have set a target and before hitting that you receive your exit signal , you exit. thats all.

I still did not quite get the last bit of your paragraph. but here is what I say to everyone.

Trade the Market of Whats Happening Now. Dont ever try to predict the market. Base your trading decisions by looking at the Grounded Assessments i.e. the indicators on the right side of the chart.

I hope this clarifies somethings!

cheers

[bambino45]

Thanks to you all for your well thought out and clear replies. As a newcomer to the AIMS style of trading I am trying to find my feet and execute trades as efficiently as possible and I knew I was not at that stage. With this advice it is clear now to me what I need to do.

1) I will look for 5min breakouts initially and pay more attention to the higher TF in the set up
2) Execute the pre-defined exit strategy immediately, now I am 100% clear on this and that has been the biggest help of all. If the set up is right and breakout of AIMS is established then the market dictates my exit with the signal I have chosen to determine it regardless of price.
3) Remove focus from target but trade position until market provides exit signal.

Thanks again for the illumination

Cheers
^:)^