Many friends may encounter a situation where they have correctly identified the market direction and have entered the trade according to the entry signals. However, the market does not follow the expected pattern, either dawdling and oscillating or directly reversing course and heading straight for the stop loss, which can be quite frustrating.

Waiting in trading is a significant issue, and many people lack the patience to wait for the signals or to hold out for significant profits, rushing to close their positions prematurely. This often results in small gains and large losses, making it impossible to achieve consistent profitability.

So, in today's article, I would like to discuss the topic of entry timing with everyone. I will share how I filter signals and choose the best entry timing, which can help address the issue of agonizing waiting in trading.

1. What constitutes a good entry timing?

In my view, a good entry timing must have three advantages:

(1) The market moves quickly after entry.

After the order is placed, the market undergoes a brief period of consolidation before it moves in the true direction. Even when using a break-out order entry, the market moves in the true direction immediately after breaking through.

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(2) The market moves at a fast pace after initiation, covering a large range in a short time.

After the order is placed, the market moves quickly in the direction of the trend, covering a large range in a short time. The time and amplitude are significantly greater than the normal market movement. For example, in a 15-minute trading timeframe, the most direct criterion is that the range of the 15-minute candlestick after the order entry is noticeably larger than the normal range of 15-minute candlestick fluctuations.

(3) Easily identifiable timing.

The timing should be recognizable and allow traders to confidently enter the market without much hesitation or uncertainty.Identifying the right entry points is essential for addressing issues of mindset and execution. If such good timing is hard to recognize and grasp, it lacks feasibility and does not align with our original intent.

In my view, the right entry points should have these three advantages. I have written about the details of other trading systems on my public account (Eight-Digit Garden). Everyone can combine entry patterns with entry timing to ensure the effectiveness of their entries.

Next, I will explain five methods of operation.

2. Explanation of Five Entry Timings

Method 1: Choose entry points with high trading volume, such as during the European and American sessions.

In foreign exchange trading, the European and American sessions have high trading volumes and significant price movements, which is a very obvious characteristic. Especially in the evening during the American session, if there is an important US economic data release, it creates a multiple resonance, and the price movement can be even greater.

One approach is to only select trading signals from the European and American sessions for entry, abandoning signals from the Asian session.

Another approach is to increase the position weight of trading signals from the European and American sessions, especially for the American session.

This way, after the order enters, the speed is fast, and the space is large, which is conducive to execution and profit-making.

Additionally, I recommend that intraday traders focus on trading during the American session. While it might take two hours to make a 50-pip profit in the European session, sometimes it can be achieved in just 10 minutes during the American session, making the time efficiency very high.Method 2: Choose opportunities to enter the market when the market is compressed, with a long period of oscillation and a small range.

"The longer it lies horizontally, the higher it will stand vertically," is a popular saying among traders and it makes a lot of sense.

This refers to a period of time where the market is compressed and oscillates horizontally within a narrow range, similar to a rectangular consolidation, with a relatively long consolidation cycle. During this period of oscillation and consolidation, energy is accumulated, much like a spring being compressed. Once the market breaks through, it will result in a rapid and significant movement.

Notes:

(1) It can be used at different time scales, with the number of K-lines as the standard to determine the length of the consolidation period. At least a consolidation range of more than 100 K-lines is required to accumulate sufficient energy.

(2) The more K-lines there are, the greater the space and the faster the speed of the market movement after the break.

Method 3: Choose opportunities to enter the market after false breakouts to lure longs and shorts.

At the end of the consolidation pattern, the market goes through luring longs and shorts before taking a new direction. These trading opportunities involve rapid shifts in the forces of buying and selling, coupled with the reverse effect of stop-loss orders being executed at technical levels (for example, a short position stop-loss, which results in a buy order, supporting a bullish market), usually leading to fast and significant market movements.

Please see the schematic diagram below.The chart shows a 15-minute candlestick chart of spot gold. The market tested the support level three times consecutively without breaking it. On the fourth attempt, after breaking through the support line, it quickly reversed, closing with a long lower wick on a positive candle, forming a false breakout to the downside, which was a deceptive move. Subsequently, the market rapidly rose, creating a significant upward movement.

Notes:

(1) This can be applied to trading in various time frames. The longer the consolidation period of the false breakout, the larger the space it moves in the opposite direction, and the faster the market fluctuates.

(2) An expanding triangle consolidation also has a similar effect.

(3) Trading opportunities are not abundant, and patience is required, but it is well worth the wait.

Method 4: Choose entry opportunities with a clear direction in the larger time frame and a clear consolidation pattern in the smaller time frame.

When the direction is clear, the market has a strong expectation for the trend. At this time, if a breakdown of the same direction consolidation pattern occurs in the smaller time frame, there will be very good space and volatility.

Please see the schematic diagram below.

On the left side of the chart is the 4-hour candlestick, where the market has undergone a top consolidation for a month and a half, forming a bearish breakdown. The bearish trend is very evident, and after the breakdown, the market retraced.On the right side of the chart, a narrow horizontal rectangular consolidation pattern is formed within 15 minutes, and the consolidation period lasts for more than 30 hours, meeting the time requirement for accumulating energy. Subsequently, the market breaks downward and quickly moves through a large space.

Notes:

(1) For larger time frames, choose the daily, 4-hour, or 1-hour charts; for smaller time frames, correspond to the 1-hour, 15-minute, or 5-minute charts.

(2) Select commodities with strong trends, such as gold, crude oil, and GBP/JPY, which tend to move in one direction and have fast market movements.

Method 5: Choose to enter the market during the explosive phase of a trend with clear fundamental factors.

Many large and rapid market trends are guided by fundamental factors. Fundamentals include economic data, geopolitical disputes, wars, etc., which can influence the trend of financial markets.

Under such influence, market sentiment erupts, and the direction of the trend becomes clear. Choosing such a timing to enter the market results in fast-moving and highly volatile markets.

Please see the illustration below.

The chart shows the candlestick of USD/JPY. On the left is the daily level, and on the right is the 1-hour level. Due to the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike, the US dollar index has risen significantly, driving the bullish trend of USD/JPY with a very clear direction.Since March of this year, the daily line has broken through the ascending flag pattern, and the market has been in a bullish trend. At the hourly chart level, the strategy of entering the market with a trend-following break of the long position is chosen. After two downward trend line breaks, the speed of the market's rise is fast, and the space for the rise is large.

Note:

(1) Choose to trade in markets with significant fundamental changes and clear trends, such as crude oil and gold since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which have had similar trends.

(2) Choose a trading strategy that allows profits to run, which can hold onto the profit space of the major trend.

The good entry points mentioned above do not appear frequently in actual combat, and it requires patience to wait for opportunities. However, multi-cycle and multi-species screening can meet our trading needs.

In addition, pay attention to the resonant use of these methods. For example, when the direction of the fourth major cycle is clear, and the third type of reverse fake break to lure longs and shorts appears, such entry opportunities are even more worth seriously grasping.