This post is under construction…check back often for updated information.
THT webinar training on Brick Walls with Lori on Saturday, 12/2/2017 Click Here
Recommended reading before this post would be the Powerful Setups Click Here to get an understanding of the basic power trades. Then there are the advanced Power Plays Click Here. You might find it helpful to start at the very beginning with the basic SEES Click Here
After this post was written and walls had been used a while, it was noted that for most traders, it was difficult to trade with very many walls on the chart. Price action reacted to those walls; however, it was difficult to discern which ones were more important than others. What has been referred to as Brick Walls in this post are now noted as levels of interest. They are were you can expect a slight retrace or hesitation. The most important levels to plot on your chart would be when there are three or more unbroken mini magnets directly above/below each other within a level of 5 ticks. This acts as a strong level of support or resistance. The price action will typically test this level several times before breaking through. When it does finally break, it will take high volume and will usually go a distance for a nice profit.
This is how the market responds to those “really strong” walls of stacked mini magnets:
The material below this level is the way we taught brick walls previously. It is good information and still valid; however, due to the fact that many traders find it difficult to trade with lots of levels on their chart, its best to stick with the strongest ones as noted above.
WHAT ARE BRICK WALLS? They are levels that form real time as the price is moving. In the past, a brick wall has been defined as a price level that has 2 mini magnets (mm) and 1 cluster OR 2 clusters and 1 mini magnet that fell on the same price level. The order of which appears first does not matter. The mm and clusters can appear in any order. They just need to be within a maximum distance of 3 ticks of each other from the farthest two entities. The walls remain in effect until the price no longer reacts to the level. As you can see on the wall (denoted with a purple dashed line) in the screenshot below, when the last mini magnet is laid down, the price bounced off the level. Levels can stay on for weeks or even months and be effective when the price returns to that area. The more times a cluster or mini magnet shows up on that level, (often referred to as laying another brick in the wall) the stronger that level becomes. When a “brick” is added to an existing wall, it should be within a 1 tick of the line drawn since you really don’t know where the original 3-tick price level was. However, these levels are not always to-the-tick exact, and if it is within 2 ticks, and the setup is otherwise picture perfect, it can be counted. A lot of Brick Walls in a concentrated area signal a choppy area much like clusters and mini magnets themselves do. A ghost line is a line on the chart that is very thin and does not stand out. It lets you know something is happening at that level and is worth watching, but not enough to count for a Brick Wall. If you have cluster that falls on a ghost line of mini magnets, then you have a wall. Similarly, if you have a mini magnet that falls on a ghost line of clusters, you have a wall.
APPLIED IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS, BRICK WALLS WILL INCREASE YOUR EDGE IN A TRADE DRAMATICALLY.
A setup within a trend (meaning it is not a reversal bar) that has a cluster falling on a current brick wall has a higher chance of profiting than one that does not. One example is a power sling or elevator that has the cluster falling on an existing brick wall as it passes through a swing point. The chart below shows an elevator as an example.
A reversal setup needs to have a Brick Wall within 5 ticks of the end of the bar, the closer to the end the better it is. If it is going through the wick within a few ticks of the end of the bar that is okay too.
POWER P:
- Apex pattern P.
- Higher total volume on the order prints total volume than those around it. This is a HVB or a high volume bar.
- A Brick Wall within 5 ticks of the end of the bar.
- Cluster on the bar.
- Expected Volume meeting or exceeding expectations.
POWER X:
- Order Prints absorption X.
- Higher total volume on the order prints total volume than those around it, HVB.
- A Brick Wall within 5 ticks of the end of the bar .
- Cluster on the bar.
- Expected volume meeting or exceeding expectations.
THIRD BAR SLINGS (TBS):
- A sling that occurs after the reversal bar that occurred just two bars before it bounced off a Wall, with the very best being after a valid power play bouncing off a major level and a Wall.
- A cluster. A cluster that falls on an existing brick wall is best.
- A Paw print. An orange cell at the top of a bar for a short entry or a green cell at the bottom of a bar for a long entry.
- Acceleration (a lightening bolt) on total volume or net volume or both.
- Higher total volume on order prints than the bars around it.
- Expected volume (EV) meeting or exceeding expectations. In short, a TBS with a cluster, bolt and paw print after a power play is awesome sauce.
POWER SLING (PS):
- A sling bar with a cluster passing through a swing level.
- Cluster is another brick in an existing wall.
- Swing dots from the previous Power Play that just happened is the setup that is the best power sling. It is not required to have just had a Power Play, it is just preferred.
CHOP BREAKOUT:
- A bar nearing or at the chop box.
- Cluster falling on current brick wall.
- High volume bar (HVB) relative to other bars around it.
- Expected volume meeting or exceeding expectations
DOUBLE EDDIES HIDDEN DIVERGENCE … (OR CONTINUATION):
- A row of Early Detection Hidden Divergence indicator mode A
- Three or more Early Detection Hidden Divergence indicator mode C
- A bar with a cluster.
- A Brick Wall.
- If the bar closes opposite the line of bars with the EDHD indicators, there is a hidden divergence trade like a Power Play #3. If the bar closes the same direction bursting through the brick wall, it is a continuation trade.
FAQS:
1. How far back do you look to find clusters and mm on the same level?
A: You can go back a few days; however, the strongest ones seem to have the elements creating the wall to happen in within the same day or so.
2. Its really good to bounce off a wall, but what about the walls in front of the setup?
A: Look at Expected volume (at the bottom of the chart) and the Total Volume (from OP) on the setup bar. If they are strong and the setup is solid, your edge on the trade is probably solid. Using common sense helps. If you are in a strong down trend and you get a power X reversal trade to go long when all other indicators, e,g., APEX pattern, MVP arrows, Vad E, continue to scream short, it may be best to ignore that setup. Indicators in agreement of a trade in the direction your setup shows is important. All of those indicators do not necessarily have to be in agreement, but the more there are, the stronger your trade setup is. Demo it a bit to get confidence in what you see. The setups listed above are strong and give a huge edge to consistent profits.
3. Where do I put my stops?
A: Stops are the same as they have always been for any given setup listed. A power P, for example, does not change the entry and stop just because you have added a brick wall.
4. How do you use OP to confirm a touchback?
A: Screenshots and explanation coming soon.