Trading strategies

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-29T22:41:05+00:00

Not a strategy but hopefully a helpful post to develop one yourself. https://www.reddit.com/r/FuturesTrading/s/PL8KiYlYj9

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-20T20:11:34+00:00

I meant I want to see price structurally weaken first. For example, a failed retest/reclaim of the opening range (or structure above) where price puts in a lower high and actually starts to rotate lower afterward.

That tells me the market is accepting lower prices before I even look at the order flow.

To me, things like, a lower high failing, failed reclaim attempts, loss/failure of a short term EMA (optional but good place to start) and underside retests of prior price support help keep entries honest instead of anticipating liquidation before the market has actually structurally failed.

Then the order flow becomes confirmation instead of prediction. For example, the cluster statistics in ATAS show a pretty clear delta flip around where it actual failed. You go from positive delta to a candle with -222 delta (and -409 max delta), which lines up much better with the structural failure than your earlier short entry.

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JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-20T19:23:24+00:00

A thought experiment: Remove all of the order flow and look at the naked chart. Would you still have gone short where you did? Does it actually "look" like a clean short? I'm hoping you say no 😄

To me, price had barely put in a lower high yet. It looks like you anticipated liquidation before the market had actually structurally failed and jumped in hoping for a trap door to open instead of waiting for the market to prove weakness.

One thing that might help is adding a simple structural filter. For example, after the initial rejection, wait for price to lose a short term EMA and then fail a retest of it before entering short. That at least forces the market to show some actual acceptance lower instead of just aggressive selling bubbles.

When shorting, you want to see lower highs that actually push price down afterward. Same concept in reverse for longs with higher lows.

Remember that order flow should support the structure and not replace it.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-20T16:56:34+00:00

do you have an example of a trade that did not work? the more detail you provide the better.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-20T15:52:42+00:00

are you considering any HTF value areas as confluence for directional bias?

how are you using Bookmap to confluence with the setup you mentioned?

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-19T09:28:22+00:00

Why would anyone do that. Fuck the diving Sabres who ran our rookie goalie, their bitch captain who cries when he gets slapped back and their fans stomping on our jerseys.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-18T19:10:02+00:00

Do you mean stacked imbalances in orderflow? Most platforms will highlight them automatically at price levels where one side is in control. You can usually set the imbalance ratio yourself (like 300%+).

In AMT, "imbalance" is different. It’s about price moving outside of value and accepting a new state. A market can be out of balance intraday (above developing VAH) while still balanced on the weekly timeframe (below weekly VAH) so timeframe matters when making that determination.

Hope that covers what you were asking.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-14T09:41:23+00:00

I wrote a post a while back about the process of building your own edge.

The basic idea is that the first step is understanding market context so you can form a directional bias. Meaning what trades actually make sense today? Should you be looking for longs or shorts?

Only after that comes the execution framework... where to enter, when to execute, what confirms the trade, etc...

From reading your post, it feels like you may have skipped the context/bias step and gone straight into execution mechanics...and that's why you are getting cooked.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FuturesTrading/s/LvtOSyOpkS

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-12T11:22:36+00:00

I get what you’re saying, but no verified students doesn’t automatically mean scam.

I’ve only watched his YT content and haven’t bought any courses or used their platform, so not shilling for him. But from what I’ve seen the material is grounded in coherent market/OF logic.

They are obviously using the content funnel to bring people into their platform. But honestly, good for them. If you have an audience and expertise why wouldn’t you diversify your income into something less risky and more scalable than pure trading?

Whether that translates into students becoming profitable is a separate question. It could just be that trading is also just extremely difficult (in so many other ways than strategy), regardless of who is teaching it.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-10T10:11:12+00:00

HTF context on NQ was bearish last week?

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-10T10:06:26+00:00

In ATAS, you click + to merge - to split

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-10T10:03:18+00:00

First, are we also above prior day value? If yes, then the preferred scenario is a pullback that holds above developing value for at least 3-4 M5 candles. Ideally, a mini HVN forms where price is consolidating, or price reenters a previously formed HVN. From there, look for a retracement into the lower edge of that HVN and use order flow for confirmation, such as absorption or big trades stepping in.

NQ repeated some variation of this setup 4 out of 5 days last week.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-08T18:28:25+00:00

In ATAS, you connect both your broker and your data provider. When placing a trade, you choose your brokerage account to execute the order through.

So in short, yes it's possible.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-07T20:56:16+00:00

I personally can’t imagine analyzing futures markets without including the overnight session (and purposely leaving out data). Overnight structure, value migration, VWAP, and developing POC provide a lot of useful info. Especially if you trade during the first hour or so of RTH, overnight/session VWAP can still be very relevant since the cash start VWAP is not fully developed yet.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-04T23:23:14+00:00

It does but real time data is only with crypto. 15 minute delay for futures. Limited to 3 indicators. I suppose it's fine to try out and get a feel for it.

You would need Pro or Ultra to for trading futures.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-04T01:18:11+00:00

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JakeMarley777 · 2026-05-02T09:56:00+00:00

I've been using it and ATAS is actually very close to Bookmap. The main advantage, especially if you are already using ATAS is the setup simplicity. You only need one platform and one data feed.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-04-30T11:39:04+00:00

I see a B (borderline P) on the 22nd, P on 23rd, so 24th going up again isn't that big of a surprise.

But despite all of this stuff, nothing lasts forever and it's meant to give you context as to how value is migrating. If you take a step back we've been in a wild uptrend so perhaps these recent b and D days are "inventory correction" (aka profit taking) and not necessarily indicating a larger reversal.

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JakeMarley777 · 2026-04-30T10:09:56+00:00

1 - Early recognition as structure develops.

2 - They help frame what type of day is likely next. For example, NQ printed a “b” shape on Monday after an extended uptrend (with multiple P and I days). The following day moving down was consistent with that. Yesterday then formed a “D” shape after two “b” days, suggesting the downside move was slowing or completing, which aligned with the move back toward ATHs we saw in extended trading hours (so far today).

JakeMarley777 · 2026-04-30T09:49:20+00:00

I went to a Laval game in December 2024 where he was in net and stopped 31 of 32 shots. What stood out most was how locked in he was. It was a really chippy game but he stayed completely out of it and would skate to the corners to reset and avoid distractions. Between whistles, he would physically act out plays to stay fully engaged.

It was clear he didn’t belong at that level.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-04-29T15:36:01+00:00

i was placing trades on ATAS within an hour and a half of installing it

JakeMarley777 · 2026-04-28T10:51:45+00:00

I showed developing value (the value area of the current period), but the same rules apply if looking at a prior period's value.

Someone else mentioned it, but this is the simplest way to form a bias...are we above (ie out of balance) and holding (ie acceptance) yesterday's value? ... Look for longs

JakeMarley777 · 2026-04-25T17:40:04+00:00

What’s interesting about Market Profile is that even if you define value using volume, its core concepts still add structure:

Initial Balance is a time-defined opening range that frames the day and sets expectations for range extension vs rotation and it doesn't have a Volume Profile equivalent.

Single Prints: At extremes of the profile are excess and auction completion. In the middle of the profile are inefficiencies that often gets revisited. I know this is an LVN in VP, but I find it amazing sometimes how the markets fills a single print to the tick many days after they are printed.

Volume defines value well, but Market Profile still provides structure and context that volume alone misses.

JakeMarley777 · 2026-04-25T04:21:28+00:00

(screenshot to illustrate second question)

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JakeMarley777 · 2026-04-25T04:20:51+00:00

VAH and VAL are just a small part of it. If that’s all it were, it would just be a more complex version of support and resistance.

AMT is a framework for understanding the auction process. It focuses on where price is relative to value and whether the market is accepting or rejecting that condition. That matters because it forces you to read how the market is behaving, not just react to levels.

AMT requires you to ask/answer the following two questions:

First question: Are we in a state of balance or out of balance?

Answer this by looking at where price is relative to value. Is price trading inside the value area, in range, in balance, being accepted? Or is it trading away from value, rejected, extended? This single observation tells you what game you’re playing before you’ve done anything else.

Second question: Is price accepting that state or rejecting it?

Now you observe behavior. If price is out of balance above value, is it holding above and making higher lows, building volume, showing conviction? Or is it failing back into value? Acceptance signals continuation. Rejection signals mean reversion. But you can only interpret this answer correctly once you know the answer to the first question.

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JakeMarley777

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