Renko Bar Based Trading System for ThinkorSwim

[Shooters_Gotta_Shoot]

I'm with you on the WAE, and BOP... Regardless of the indicator, I'm more than willing to exit if histogram bar size falls significantly... More time than not there won't be a rebound and I'm content taking available profit while it still exists...

As for alternatives to BOP, consider IronRod_SMI_Histogram_Lower or one of the Zscore Lower indicators... I currently have one setup that uses both mentioned as well as WAE that I am experimenting with... Another indicator I'm testing is the Volume_Oscillator lower indicator... I feel that I get more information from lower indicators with histograms than mere crossover oscillators...

I agree. Taking profit whenever possible is the way to go. I will absolutely take a look at these. The Volume_Oscillator is definitely peaking my interest. I feel that Renko charts need a better guage on volume and this might provide that much needed info. There has been multiple situations where the price is obviously moving, but then turns into a whipsaw because there wasn’t much volume backing that price movement in the first place. My mind automatically thinks price movement matters most (which is why i love renko charts) but volume does play a huge factor in that too.

I’m traveling all day tomorrow but should have some time to mess with the indicators you sent me this weekend. Looking forward to making this strategy bullet proof soon! Thanks for all the help!

 

[ktg024]

@rad14733 and @J007RMC

I am using Reno Bar from @rad14733.. for me the chart gets updated after all the action happened in real time..
i.e. chart paints consecutive red/green bars after things happened (price ALREADY moved up or DOWN)..
Am I missing anything here? like to make it work.. but till now No..

 

[Shooters_Gotta_Shoot]

@rad14733 and @J007RMC

I am using Reno Bar from @rad14733.. for me the chart gets updated after all the action happened in real time..
i.e. chart paints consecutive red/green bars after things happened (price ALREADY moved up or DOWN)..
Am I missing anything here? like to make it work.. but till now No..

Yeah I know what you are talking about. It’s very frustrating and feels like you need a robot to trade for you because you simply cannot click the buy and sell buttons quick enough. No matter what settings you use, if the price moves significantly / very quickly it will plot a bunch of bricks at the same time without doing one at a time. It’s like TOS can’t update quick enough because the price is moving quickly. This is definitely one of the main issues I have with Renko on TOS. Don’t know if other platforms perform better in this department or not.

 

[rad14733]

I openly admit that Renko Bars can be a real head-trip, especially if the settings are off... It can be a bit concerning when there is a large move, or a gap up or down, that causes a spree of bricks/bars to paint all at once... I hope everyone testing them has Phantom Bars turned on so they know which ones are real and which ones are due to gaps...

Another issue with Renko Bars relates to volatile securities or short periods of volatility... They will definitely keep you on your toes... I recall one trade a few months ago when one stock, GDX, MU. or NIO went from being at a virtual standstill to painting literally dozens of bars up, down, and back up again, within seconds... News broke and the race was on... Using ATR can help but not always... But, in all honesty, it's no different that seeing a spree of long candlesticks shooting up and down in rapid succession...

I designed the system for trading options and when I put things together I rarely watched the underlying securities but, rather, just focused on the options I had selected pre-market... Just had to remember to re-select different strike prices if there was a lot of underlying movement prior to taking a trade... I actually made a lot of money that way - before the Covid plummet caught me over-invested and gutted my account... Morning came and all of the options I had positioned myself in before the previous closing tanked and never recovered, expiring worthless... But that would have happened regardless of what trading system I was using because I got cocky and left myself exposed to too much risk... Once the market dropped it was all over but the kicking myself in the *** for allowing my long string of successes cloud my judgement...

Once bitten twice shy as they say... I have since tried many different setups but still gravitate back to Renko Bars... I have rotated different lower indicators into the mix but almost always have the original Waddah Attar Explosion indicator in the mix...

While not a perfect system it can be very profitable in the right markets, but has its limits just as other setups that go hot and cold...

 

[mdtn]

Here is the link to my shared workspace, complete with my customized Studies... Comments welcomed... If you have questions, I'll do my best to answer them...

https://tos.mx/DHOcwrT

@rad14733 I have changed Time Axis setting to renko setting as instructed on beginning of the page. I then Open Share that you posted. It did popping up another windows in which it has title of Charts from shared config ...... it looks like it tries to load it, but hour glass running with Waiting for Data.
I try on another computer that I have installed TOS with same result. (both has 16 GIG of RAM).
Is there something else that I have not done correctly? Thanks!!!!

 

[rad14733]

@rad14733 I have changed Time Axis setting to renko setting as instructed on beginning of the page. I then Open Share that you posted. It did popping up another windows in which it has title of Charts from shared config ...... it looks like it tries to load it, but hour glass running with Waiting for Data.
I try on another computer that I have installed TOS with same result. (both has 16 GIG of RAM).
Is there something else that I have not done correctly? Thanks!!!!

Go and enter in a valid security symbol... That package was saved with a now expired option call symbol which is why it never loads because that symbol no longer exists...

 

[irishgold]

Hello @irishgold How to turn Trade Long ON??

In the strategy I posted on page 2 TradeLong =1 is the default, to turn off tradelong = 0. They can be set when selecting strategy options gear symbol.

 

[J007RMC]

I am using the 20/25cts setting after following the thread and it is working well for me. I merely take indicators and ideas on_site and transpose that taken to create my charts. Primarily I use the .20/.25 cts with good results. Also added a 20, close sma shown as the white line it helps me keep track of trend direction.

https://tos.mx/CcPysKu

 

[Sean_C]

I am using the 25cts setting after following the thread and it is working well for me.

great setup.. u mind sharing this grid layout? thx

 

[J007RMC]

great setup.. u mind sharing this grid layout? thx

Primarily I use the 20/25 cts with good results. Also added a 20, close sma shown as the white line it helps me keep track of trend direction.

https://tos.mx/CcPysKu

 

[Blazin_Trails]

Hi @rad14733, pretty good stuff here. I like the bubbles you added, but wanted to know how I can make just that part into a scanner. Would like to combine it with some other stuff I am working on. I found the section where it adds the bubbles, but I get a runtime error if I try to set up a scan up to that point. Wondering what the best approach here would be or if you've already tried this before? If it doesn't work, may have to create sub scans but thinking that may have limits as well. Thanks!

 

[rad14733]

Hi @rad14733, pretty good stuff here. I like the bubbles you added, but wanted to know how I can make just that part into a scanner. Would like to combine it with some other stuff I am working on. I found the section where it adds the bubbles, but I get a runtime error if I try to set up a scan up to that point. Wondering what the best approach here would be or if you've already tried this before? If it doesn't work, may have to create sub scans but thinking that may have limits as well. Thanks!

Unfortunately, that study cannot be converted into a scanner or watchlist because of its complexity... That is just the Trend_Reversal_Indicator_with_Signals study from here in these forums... I did have some reversal code that I wrote but I think In accidentally deleted the study because I haven't been able to find it on any of my machines... I'll have to check my archives...

 

[RickK]

@rad14733, @Shooters_Gotta_Shoot , @irishgold .... are you finding that there can be a big lag between the chart updating and the pricing ladder on active trader? Or, to put it more simply, do your charts update in sync with active trader? Mine don't. If yours also lag, do you find that it is a problem for using this strategy?

Also guys, (and note that I've been watching in live trading but trading quite well in sim/paper) do you find that there is a slight (maybe 4 seconds) delay between a large surging 1m green candle on /ES and when the options actually tick up? On paper, scalping during this 4 second gap has been quite successful for me. I'm wondering if that's an issue with the platform. A similar (but opposite) example is when I trade futures. Often I look for a quick drop on a 1m VX candle that may precipitate a nice uptick on /ES....but they're almost always simultaneous. It surprised me to see this time gap. I hope it's real.

Last, is it common that if set, does this strategy often blow right through (and not fill) limit exits and/or protective stops? I've never traded options before, let alone scalp them on active trader, so I'm learning.

@rad14733 , thanks for sharing IronRod_SMI. It's great. I find that when a change in color on the SMI line coincides with green bars (of any size) on RBP and Waddah, this is often a great signal to go long for a quick scalp.

 

[rad14733]

@RickK What you are calling lag may or may not be real... One thing to remember is that in Paper Trading you really aren't fighting for fills like in actual trading... By that I mean that your orders aren't prioritized lower than those of the market makers and large institutional traders like they are during actual trading... Also, if there actually is lag in price updates to Active Trader I would suggest running Collect Garbage, logging off and then restarting TOS... On busy days I have been known to do so up to several times per day...

As for blowing through Stop Loss targets, that is not uncommon with options, especially if they are trading relatively low volume or trades are sporadic based on underlying equity movements... If you are going to be scalping options just make sure you select liquid equities as well as liquid options... Sometimes a single strike price might trade much better or worse than one immediately above or below...

In closing, I'm glad you are finding this trading system useful... Good luck... If you have additional questions I'll do my best to provide answers...

 

[RickK]

Thanks for that @rad14733 ... I usually 'buy the ask' to get in and then, because I don't want to set a limit closing order (I'm testing my will to stay in the trade until the green waddah bar plunges) , I have my pointer over the 'flatten now'. Reason for this: because the account value doesn't allow me to 'sell' calls. Is there a better way to do this in your opinion? Should I try to click on the buy side AT ladder somewhere between bid and ask instead? The ladder seems awfully jumpy to do it that way.

What's working for me seems to be having the setup on two screens. On screen 2, I just have /ES and /VX on 1m timeframes. There I can use my volume profile, pivots and everything else.

On the main screen I have (let's say) a SPY call option on the left side with active trader. On the right side I have a SPY put option also with active trader, although I'm less fond of shorting (unless it's clearly a bearish day). So, always going long...watching the SMI change color and the green bars on Waddah & RBP and watching the /ES 1m for trend channel development/continutation .

I usually use options that are the next expiration out and right at the money, assuming that those are the most actively traded. Any advice there? I really don't know anything about what option to select.

 

[RickK]

Hey @rad14733 , fast question: I'm still getting familiar with trading options on the Active Trader ladder. Supposing that you're in a long position, bracketed with a limit and a stop loss. If you see the underlying move quickly in a bad direction (or if you simply get a sell signal) and you want to just close the position, do you simply flatten? On paper (and I'm assuming live as well) it won't allow me to click 'Sell Market" or 'Sell Bid' because it thinks that I'm opening a new "Sell Call" position (which requires a LOT more margin).

Anyway, simply put, is the preferred way to close a long call to flatten? ..... or do you drag your limit down?

Thanks!

 

[rad14733]

@RickK I use a couple of methods to close a trade quickly... If I see the market weakening I simply drag my Limit Order down to where the current action is transpiring or a bit below to better insure an exit... If the price is falling fast I use the Flatten Now button... The Active Trader default button is Flatten which requires confirmation so I swap it out for Flatten Now which doesn't require confirmation... I also keep Auto Send disabled... You just have to be extremely careful so as not to accidentally perform an unintended action... I virtually never use the Bid/Ask or Market buttons and could probably remove them from my Active Trader panel... Hope this helps...

 

[mdtn]

@RickK Can you please share the grid? Thanks!!

 

[rad14733]

@RickK In my previous post I forgot to mention that I almost never Buy at the Ask... I usually position my Buy somewhere between Bid and Ask and only bump up to the Ask if the price starts climbing the ladder in a hurry... Bid/Ask spreads can get pretty wide at times...

 

[RickK]

Thanks @rad14733 ... filling in all of the puzzle pieces.

@mdtn Here you go. Note: link 2 below is for my second screen

https://tos.mx/JrgOXPV

https://tos.mx/IUt1ghA