Evidenced in the data

Full disclosure: the information in this post can be life-changing.

We trade crowd behaviour. Or, to be precise, a certain aspect of it. Now many aspects of crowd behaviour can be datamined, and, true, if you look long enough, dig deep enough, you’ll find something. But the way datamining works, the deeper you have to dig, the higher the chance that what you find is a fluke aka random, meaningless accident with no edge.

Which we found out about 15 years ago, as most traders do, the hard way. So what we have set out to do over the years since has been to capture not just any aspect of crowd behaviour, but one that is enduring, one that is grounded in solid theory, one that is so deeply rooted in human psychology that is not likely to change any time soon, and one which is evidenced in the data.

And evidenced in the data it is, almost daily. And we call it the re-emergence of momentum out of consolidation areas. Here’s today’s:

Internalize the anatomy of a 1R trade

1. The story starts yesterday, with the setup, when our Market Scanner Pro and our PRO STR BT identify a solid long setup on ZC. As always, our Premium subscribers are the first to know. (And they also know that they can either pursue this opportunity on the futures market (ZC) or with the appropriate ETF (CORN). Note the trigger and the time stamp on the 240min chart: 9.17pm EST. We’ve got work to do!

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ZC 2025 10 22

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CORN 2025 10 22

2. Four things can happen when we take a trade like this:

a) the trade fails, we get stopped out with a 1R loss or less (depending on how our software manages the trade for us). When this happens (about 25% of the time), we remind ourselves: a losing trade is a cost of doing business.

b) the move loses momentum and price action turns sideways (about 25-30% of the time). These situations are best left to be handled by our PRO STR BT algorithm (often for a <1R win or a slight, mosquito-bite-size loss).

c) the trade works just fine (the rest of the time): price hits 1R, and depending on our settings, we are either out, or keeping a runner (which is the case in this ZC trade, given the potential on the daily).

d) simple consolidation evolves into a complex consolidation, often resulting in a strong move in the original direction

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ZC 2025 10 23

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CORN 2025 10 23

Now, if you look at the daily chart, you’ll see the party is just starting, so we expect to stay engaged. In the meantime, Remek! Premium subscribers and other seasoned Remek! traders are not blind to what is happening on soyabeans, which has also triggered (see below). Do note both ZC’s and ZS’s favourable volatility-based risk profile (RC column below)!

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ZS 2025 10 23

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ZC and ZS risk profiles (highlighted) as calculated by Remek! Converter (RC).

If you like the above, consider deploying our software and becoming a Premium member today!

Not ready to go fully automated?

In every profession, and trading is no exception, it’s important to use the correct terminology. Here’s a few of note that we use in our work:

• algorithmic trading: trading based on predefined rules, including entry, exit and trade management, risk management and sizing rules, all coded in software. (We’ll cite PRO STR BT as the best example for such a tool, at least in the less-than-a-quarter-million-dollar price range.) Note: algorithmic trading may or may not be “all-the-time, 24/7” trading.

• discretionary trading: trading based on rules at least some of which, for some reason, were not or cannot be coded in software. Yes, not everything can be, or is worth being, coded.

• trading with no rules: we don’t have a name for this, except it’s “very bad trading”.

• trading without edge verification: we don’t have a name for this either, except it’s “very bad trading”.

• some combination of automation and discretionary trading: for many traders, often the most fruitful approach: as much automation as possible with certain steps along the decision tree assisted by a human. (See how we do this daily.)

Further notes:

• successful 24/7 100% algorithmic trading is, although quite possible and done every day, that route requires financial, technological and mathematical resources that are beyond the reach of most mortal retail traders.

• successful 24/7 100% discretionary trading is, in theory, also possible, but that route either requires gallons of coffee and a team covering each day’s 24 hour period. And you’d still have to deal with decision fatigue. Again, not a likely approach for most of us. And who would go into a nuclear war with a baseball bat?

So most retail traders’ best approach is, most likely, some combination of automation and discretion, a method we call human-assisted algorithmic trading. We at Remek! have found that using full-automation-while-in-the-trade (with PRO STR and PRO STR BT) to execute carefully selected trading opportunities can bring good results. Consider the following as you plan your daily trading process:

• Select your timeframe sensibly. Chasing smaller and smaller timeframes while you’re thousands of kilometers from the exchange on a public internet connection in the hope of “finding an edge” amidst shrinking liquidity is, after a point, a hopeless exercise. Hard as it is to believe, most successful retail traders have found their edge - after much self-damage - when they’ve moved on to just a little higher timeframes. Think at least a 15 minute chart and up, e.g. a 240min chart in the context of the daily chart. (Remember: even a 4 hr chart is an intraday chart: there are six 4 hr candles within the day. We at Remek! are very much intraday traders, just not necessarily 2 minute traders!)

• Design a process that you can follow.

• “I just want to make x dollars between 9 and 11 every morning.” - the sooner you forget such nonsense, the faster you’ll become a successful trader. Trading is statistical and probabilistic.

• The edge won’t come to you. You have to go where the edge is. Your best chance of finding an edge (your edge), is an area, whether it’s a timeframe or a method, that is not in the focus of the …, how shall we put it… the crowd (popularly called “dumb money”).

• And the list of items to consider can go on and on. Make your own list and maintain it. Hone your skills, expand your knowledge, tighten your helmets, and get the best tools: you’re entering a battlefield.