The Logical Trader

ACD Q&ALogical Trader/ACD Daily is an independent content provider not affiliated with MBF Clearing Corp, please see full disclaimersBelow you’ll find descriptions of Logical Trader’s ACD Daily reports; click on the links for sample illustrations of the report. Immediately below are the most frequently asked questions from new ACD subscribers. For even more comprehensive insight to ACD, visit the Glossary section!Commodity Pivot TrackerA trading tool that assists in forecasting an increase in short-term market volatility.Commodity Pivot SheetsIncludes vital information such as high, low, close and pivot ranges.Commodity 'A' and 'C' ValuesLists the 'A' and 'C' values, as well as the length of the opening range for each commodity.Natural Gas And Crude Oil Spread SheetA scorecard for the intraday movement of the first eight spreads.Coffee, Sugar, Cotton and Cocoa Spread SheetsA scorecard for the intraday movement of the first eight spreads.Commodities And Stocks - First Two Weeks Of The YearVery similar to the First Trading Day Of The Month item (see above). This ACD tool uses the high, low, close of the first two weeks of the year as well as the high, low, close of the first two weeks of July to establish pivot trading ranges for both the first and second halves of the year. These two-week pivot ranges provide the trader with early insight into future market direction for both stocks and commodities.Most commonly asked questions:Q. Can the “ACD Method” be applied to stock or commodity xyz?A. As long as there is sufficient liquidity and sufficient volatility “ACD” can be applied to virtually any stock or commodity.Q. How can I get the A-C value for a stock that is not listed in the ACD stock reports?A. A good approximation of the current “a” value for any stock would be to take the 30 day avg. range (h-l) and use 20-25% of this value.Q. What prices are used in calculating the pivot range?A. A pivot range is based upon the high,, low and close of a specific trading period. (for day traders, this would be the previous trading day.)Q. How is the pivot range calculated?A. Calculate the daily pivot range using the following formula:Q. What is the significance of the Number Line Sheet?A. The main purpose of the number line is to identify a potentially developing trend. When the 30 trading day cumulative tally goes from a base of 0 to reach +/- 9 on two consecutive trading days, it becomes significant.Q. Can I create a “pivot moving average” indicator in my charting software?A. Although all charting software packages are different, almost all come with the capability to plot moving averages. The problem arises in that the default in most packages creates moving averages based on “closing” prices.The “pivot moving average” is calculated using the pivot (vs.) the closing price. Therefore, if your charting software allows you to change the price component of the moving average from close to (h+l+c)/ 3 you will be able to plot the pivot moving average indicator.Q. What is a “Pivot on Gap Day” that is referred to on some of the ACD information sheets?A. When the market gaps open, above or below the daily pivot range and never trades into the daily pivot range from that day, a Pivot on Gap Day has been established. That Pivot on Gap Day becomes critical support or resistance for future trading sessions.Q. What is a sushi roll?A. In the ACD system, sushi roll is the name given to a particular early-warning indicator of a change in market direction. The sushi roll utilizes five (5) rolling trading days (or for a shorter-term perspective, five 10-minute bars). The sushi roll compares the latest five increments of time to the prior five increments of time to determine if the market is changing direction.Q. What should I do if “this” or “that” scenario occurs?A. Regardless of the scenario, the answer always remains the same:The ACD methodology should be adapted to suit your own trading styles and parameters. Therefore, it should be incorporated into your trading to help you plan out and execute your trading strategies.For example, where Trader 1 may be trading breakouts, Trader 2 may be better suited fading failed breakouts. Obviously their entry and exits would be quite different. However, neither would be “wrong”.The following 5 ACD rules should greatly improve your trading:1. Plot point A’s and C’s as points of reference.2. Lean against these reference points as you execute your trades.3. Maximize your size when the trading scenario is favorable.At all times, minimize your risk.4. Know where you are getting out if you’re wrong.5. If you can answer 4, you will trade with confidenc

I will spare you from a synopsis of this book and get straight to the pros and cons of what this book is about. First of all, I want to say that I adopted the ACD method and am having some great success with it. This does not mean you will though. I have read many books on systems and have only really felt connected with this system. If your looking for others bookson par or above this check out Carter's "Mastering the Trade," Douglas' "Disciplined Trader" and "Trading in the Zone."Pros:-The thing that is really great about Fisher's system is that it is very flexible. It is not for novices though. It is not a black box system, it is simply a loose structure that (after mastering) gives more freedom with trading.-It can be applied to any trading entity. This point really cannot be pushed enough. A lot of traders do not understand how important this fact is. The ability to apply a Good C Up Through Pivot (What Fisher claims is a high probability trade) to ANY entity in trading will have you trading better opportunities more often, unlike, say, Carter's TICK fading system that can only be applied to the main Eminis.-The choice is in your hands. This is not a system that overrides your pyschology in an attempt to dampen your natural reactions to market events. All too often we are told that we need to eliminate fear and greed from the equation, but in reality, suppression of these emotions can create sub par results. It is only after accepting and working with your own unique psychology that you can maximize your trading (see "The Disciplined Trader").-You get to pick the other indicators. For example, you really only need to nab the opening range and the A values to create your own system. Instead of C values and his pivots, you could use the daily pivots like r1 r2 s1 s2, etc. Or support and resistances from other sources, or even stochastics, MACD, or anything else really that is to your taste.-The ease with which a day trade can become a swing trade or vice versa. Because of the flexibility in this system, and the rules he lays out, it is easy to see when to take a day trade over night and when to sell it, all based on the probabilities that that day presents. This system is VERY good at showing you when you can press your bets and when you can test the waters, all with the probabilities ON YOUR SIDE.Cons-I think the major con that most people complain about is the fact that Fisher does not provide the ways to calculate the A and C values. If you go to his website though and read his Q&A, he tells you that when in doubt, take 25 percent of the 30 day average range of said entity. This equation is quite simple with most charting technologies (AVG30(H-L) comes to mind). I trade this system and I do not subscribe to anything of his and it works quite well. At the moment, for the QQQQ, the A value is 13 cents.-I wish the "Macro ACD" chapter was a bit clearer. While I understand the reasoning behind it, he only really hints at what it means that a -9 or +9 day occurs; does this mean we should go long/short for the long run? Does it mean that that day will be a trending day? A chop day? should we look for a new trend to start (what I suspect)?-The information provided in this book is not well laid out. I had to reread many sections, and between the lines to really get across what he was trying to say in certain parts. And part of the reason I was even able to discern those facts is because I have experience with other systems and trading in general, a novice would be hard pressed IMO to create a working system from this book.Conclusion: All in all, I believe this book was worth the price FOR ME. If you already have a system that works for you, by all means, don't throw your money at this book. It can be easily summed up by saying. Take your favorite day trading time segment (ex. 5 minute), put lines at the first bar of the day or this segment, aka "opening range," take 25percent of that entity's 30day average range(H-L), put lines above and below the "opening range" by this number, use all lines as support and resistance, and apply any other indicators you like to them. But then again, most really good systems are simple like that, they simply let the trader's experience guide them. This book will have a place on my bookshelf for sure, but I doubt I would put it with "Reminiscences" like PTJ.

This was an eye opener in order to determine when to enter and exit ACD strategy really works well buti would recommend further to add more charts based to illustrate with examples .This is great book every trader should and must have it ....if they are serious about trading .

Timeless book by Mark Fisher. Absolute must read to whoever seeks to maximise their chances of success in commodity futures.I've traded commodity futures for over 22 years, still consider 'The Logical Trader' as the bible of trading for commodity futures.Mark, thanks for sharing your methods!

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bestes Buch zum Thema day trading........Allerdings: nach meiner Einschätzung eher für den Trader mit Vorkenntnissen geeignet......hätte ich das Buch zu Beginne meiner Trading Tätigkeit gelesen, hätte es mir nicht so viel gebracht

Interesting read if you're an experienced trader. Some useful points made and you should be able to take something from this and add it to your own strategies.