Скачать книгу

Throwbacks occurrence 64% 66% Average time to throwback peaks 8% in 6 days 11% in 6 days Average time to throwback ends 12 days 12 days Average rise for patterns with throwbacks 45% 27% Average rise for patterns without throwbacks 48% 34% Percentage price resumes trend 76% 60% Performance with breakout day gap 47% 39% Performance without breakout day gap 46% 28% Average gap size $0.38 $0.47

      Set realistic goals and realize that you'll have to make more on winning trades to compensate for losing ones. Trading perfectly also helps… (that's a joke, but focusing on improving technique often leads to making more profit).

      Table 7.4 shows breakout and post‐breakout statistics.

      Breakout direction. All big Ws break out upward. If they don't, then they are not big Ws.

      Yearly position, performance. I sorted patterns according to the breakout price and checked performance of the three ranges.

      The best performance for both bull and bear markets comes from big Ws near the yearly low. The worst performance comes from those near the yearly high. It suggests that bottom fishing (buy low, sell high) works better for big Ws than momentum trading (buy high, sell higher).

      Throwbacks. A throwback happens after the breakout when price rises but quickly returns to the breakout price (within 30 days). Often price resumes the rise thereafter. In Figure 7.1, for example, the throwback peaks at E before returning to the breakout price. Figure 7.2 shows a throwback after point E.

      Throwbacks occur about twice every three trades. Price peaks in 6 days after rising between 8% and 11%, on average, before completing the trip back to the breakout price (or nearly so) in 12 days (that's the roundtrip total).

      Notice that price does better if a throwback is absent. We've seen this behavior in other chart patterns, too. How can you tell if a throwback will happen? Look for nearby overhead resistance, such as prior peaks, round numbers (10, 20, 30, and so on), or sideways price movement between the breakout price and about 10% higher. If you see some, then expect a throwback. In my trading, I always expect a throwback will happen, and I party when they don't.

      You can always wait for a throwback to complete before making a trade. However, if you wait, you'll miss investment opportunities where a throwback doesn't occur (that is, you'll miss the best performers).

      Gaps. Breakout day gaps push price higher, meaning performance is better if a gap appears. However, in bull markets, the extra push probably won't be enough to wake you from a sound sleep. In bear markets, it's more of a jolt.

      How can you tell if price will gap higher? I've no idea. However, I measured performance from the opening price the day after the gap to the ultimate high. So if you see a gap, you can buy into the situation and maybe score extra performance points for doing so.

      Table 7.5 shows how the sizes of big Ws perform.

      Height. Tall big Ws perform better than do short ones. To use this finding, measure the height of the big W from the peak between the two bottoms to the lower of the two bottoms. Divide the result by the breakout price (the price of the peak between the two bottoms). If the result is bigger than that shown in the table, then you have a tall pattern.

Description Bull Market Bear Market
Tall pattern performance 48% 31%
Short pattern performance 44% 29%
Median height as a percentage of breakout price 11.9% 16.2%
Narrow pattern performance 45% 30%
Wide pattern performance 47% 30%
Median width 23 days 21 days
Short and narrow performance 44% 30%
Short and wide performance 44% 26%
Tall and wide performance 49% 32%
Tall and narrow performance 48% 29%
Description Bull Market Bear Market
Volume trend 69% down 74% down
Rising volume trend performance 45% 25%
Falling volume trend performance 47%

Скачать книгу