Trade station or think or swim to replace qcharts--Any UP TO DATE Opinions appreciated....

I already am set up with think or swim as my trading platform but I still use qcharts/Esignal. I am so excited to have found this board as I have taken Gary's original classes. Have been trading 6 years but not with much to show for it but I have stuck with it. Last two years I have been homeschooling so have a flexible job now most days I can still trade. I am excited about switching and it seems like most people like trade station and I could switch everything over but is trade station that much better now? Some of the post were older I was reading here so I'd love an updated view.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2014 04:05PM by bugabiga.

Just my personal opinion but either Think or Swim or TradeStation can be used. The advantage of TradeStation is that you can go back in time on intraday charts for a longer period than with Think or Swim. Think or Swim limits you to 20 days with any interval less than 60 minutes and I believe at 60 minutes you can go back only 180 days. One thing I really like about Think or Swim is the Think On Demand feature that enables you to replay the market at a point back in time and watch the option prices change as the stock price changes. I find this a very valuable tool for practice. Also, depending on the deal that TradeStation may be offering at the time, it can end up being relatively more expensive than Think or Swim, although either one of them is dirt cheap compared to QCharts/eSignal. I use both of them so if one is down for some reason or another, I still can trade.

Both packages have a steeper learning curve than QCharts, but in my opinion it is worth it. Finally, I confess that I am not following "all the rules all the time, exactly as stated." I have tweaked some of the original QCharts indicators and added a few of my own. This is easy to do in either Think or Swim or TradeStation but simply cannot be done in QCharts. As an example, instead of MACD I custom coded the PPO indicator which uses percentage change in price instead of change in price itself. It took me all of 10 minutes in Think or Swim to make a copy of the MACD indicator and change it to get a PPO indicator. I also will chart volatility, which is something QCharts never had. I'm still very grateful for the education Gary provided, but even he changed his indicators over time as evidenced in the changes between the 2003 and 2005 1-5 class manuals.

I switched from Qcharts to Strategy Desk and now to Think or Swim. I left Qcharts because of the expense. It is amazing what you can sometimes find for free that some charge enormous amounts of money. I would have stayed with SD, but I started having some major issues connecting to the site/platform with my hotspot, so I had no choice but find another platform. The transition from one platform to the other can be difficult-especially if you have experienced success from your present platform. I stopped trading real money until I was able to basically duplicate my SD trading screens. Again I have done that with TOS. Also, when I was diligently training, I used Think on Demand several hours a week. Having the capability to replay the live market is the most important piece to my growth and development through training. I lost baskets early and forced myself to have hundreds of winners in TOD before I started back trading- PRICELESS OPPORTUNITY!.

I have also developed my unique style of trading. I use several basic indicators. 90% of the time, I trade short bursts of momentum. I focus on 10-20% gains. I am perfectly content with a 10% gain because I take what the market allows. It has become pretty easy for me to recognize a trade and gain at least 10%. I have worked hard to understand what each indicator means-opposed to simply making decisions based on line movements. If I have an idea of the meaning of Money Flow, MACD, Moving Averages, ADX/Directional Movement, etc., I am more aware of what takes place when line movements take place. Over the last nearly 3 years, I have developed and follow a specific set of rules. If I follow them, I very, very rarely miss a trade. I do not follow earnings, events, or significant dates. Option Friday does not mean much to me because I am in and out of a trade within usually 45 minutes to an hour. My misses are very small based on the discipline I have developed. If my trade is not performing the way I expect, I bail. I trade-Not Gamble. If I for cross my fingers and wish that a trade goes in my direction, I have resorted to gambling. My rules are written down. I do not get upset because I lose 5% of my position. I am excited about having homework to do that night because I tear apart every single loss, and I must have a concrete reason for the lost before I trade real money again. Normally, that reason goes in my trading plan, so I can eliminate that problem in the future. I have a trading entrance checklist that I use to confirm each rule has been met before entering a trade. I have an exit plan as well. I do not use those forms as much now because I have placed hundreds of trades and know what I am looking for.

My suggestion is, develop your trading plan. Start with a few rules and allow losses in practice to help you create more rules, enabling you to build your trading plan.

I continue to do new plays. About 60% of my trades are still practice trades. I have been lazy about writing in my journal. I read from the booklist. I use my market calendar. I use my information of trading zones. I read through my manuals about once a month or so. I have developed discipline and a plan that works for ME. If you look back over some of the previous post, you can develop or fine tune a really good trading plan.

Good luck and it is good to know someone has hung in there for 6 years with limited success. Most people would have quit and never looked back.

Rookie30

I only use 1 maybe 2 contracts. I have a hard time cutting losses sometimes and then I have a hard time letting my gains go. I first started during 2008 so for a long time I was used to down more than up. That's why the last 2 years it was so hard for me to keep thinking the market would keep on going up like it did. I typically tend to trade the same 15 stocks or so. My practice account is doing so much better so for me I know controlling my emotions is huge. When I lose, I have a hard time overcoming the fear and so I get out of winning trades much sooner. I tend to do best with the momentum stocks but I don't have enough money to day trade but 3 times a week. So that sucks sometimes when I make a bad decision and waste a day trade for a pt loss. I am going to have look into these E charts. I just use the 3 regular indicators Gary taught. Well 4 including xmas cross. I really try to use all charts all the time and that does work best for me. Esp. if I am going in the direction of at least one preferably 2 bigger charts (233 and D). Goog/l tsla, nflx, wynn, lvs, amzn, appl, lnkd pcln are what I have been using lately just b/c they have been moving well. Appl not so much lately....Typically I am going in the direction of the nasd or s&p and that makes a difference. I have started to have decent success with gap trades if I wait till they are going across or slightly down and then a big candle forms to break out of that sideways action. When I get in a stock my goal is to stay in overnight, but that doesn't always happen. I appreciate your responses.

I am confused. Is Strategy Desk a part of Think or Swim? Some poeple use Think or Swim and some use Strategy Desk? I will have to look for a promotion with Trade Station it looks like. Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2014 01:07PM by bugabiga.

I've been very satisfied with TradeStation ($8 per month). I have two monitors. All charts of custom times. A ZigZag indicator to simulate Autowave.

Thanks so much for a picture. I really appreciate that.

bugabiga, if you want to learn about E charts recommend reading chapter 12 in Technical Analysis for Dummies, and data mine this forum for posts Darcy has made about applying what E charts tell you along with FP/HRFP indications for directional confirmation and entry//exit points. Market Maker's Edge is a must read too.

Thanks I have been reading all the posts from the past. Particularly about E charts. I didn't have adx exactly set up on mine. Just di+ and di- but others do that too apparently.