CB bars DMI Plus DMI Minus Last Time Octave bar LRS Micro M/W Parabolic R Count Shazde StochRSI True Strength Index XBO XBD Please also visit our Options Glossary page for general options terminology. Please also visit our Trading Terminology page for our Trading Room vocabulary. CB Bars “CB” stands for clear bar. A clear bar is a bar on any chart where the entire range of the bar (top and bottom of the bar) is above or below a moving average. An example of this is on a chart of the SPX on a 15-minute basis. In an up market a clear bar below a 18 period moving average tends to be a good buy signal and vice versa. Clear bars are also a great way to see if your position is wrong. If the range of the clear bar signal, after a trade has been initiated, is easily violated then that is a good sign that the trade may not go as planned. DMI Plus and DMI Minus These are the main components that comprise the ADX indicator. Independent study of these components may yield some interesting trading signals based on thresholds. Some numbers to examine in your trading studies are when either of these components are above 40. Last Time Octave Bar In music, an Octave is interval of eight diatonic degrees between two tones of the same name.  In trading, a time Octave, or one-eighth, is determined by taking the Regular Day Session trading minutes and dividing it into eight equal parts.  The bar that corresponds the beginning of the last eighth of the trading day is called Last Time Octave Bar.   For ES & NQ, it is approximately 1415 CT. LRS Linear Regression is a concept also know as the "least squares method" or "best fit." Linear Regression attempts to fit a straight line between several data points in such a way that distance between each data point and the line is minimized. Micro M Tops & Micro W Bottoms This indicator, essentially depicting short-term double tops or double bottoms on the chart, often indicates very accurate support and resistance levels based on a well defined chart pattern. As with many indicators the first appearance of this indicator on a chart will be the strongest and most reliable signal to trade off of. Each successive indication will be a bit weaker thereafter. On the chart you'll basically see a line made up of Green Pluses under the bar for support or a line made up of Red Pluses above the bar for resistance. The longer the timeframe the better the signal, i.e., a 15 minute first indication of the Micro M/W will be more reliable then that of a 2 minute chart. For more information on this excellent indicator, read Active Trader Magazine December 2001 cover story. Parabolic The Parabolic strategy, as described by Welles Wilder in his book New Concepts In Technical Trading Systems, is a complete stop-setting entry and exit trading strategy. The strategy is designed to allow more leeway or tolerance for contra-trend price fluctuation early in a new trade, then to progressively tighten a protective trailing stop order as the trend matures. The Parabolic function provides the calculations necessary to create the trading signal(s) for the Parabolic trading strategy described by Wilder. R Count The R-Count is a derivative of the work done by Al Gietzen who created the Reactivity Index. You may want to read his earlier work entitled “Real-Time Futures Trading” to gain insight into this interesting indicator. Basically the R-count is a paint study that plots each time on the buy and sell side the reactivity indicator reaches a threshold. Our work has found that, much like octaves or harmonic levels, counting the number of times the indicator reaches a threshold can create opportunities for very accurate trading of market tops and bottoms.  The number of counts are directly related to market volatility, so be aware that you can't count these bars in a vacuum, like everything in trading, the trader must examine all of his tools to understand the current texture of the market. Shazde Shazde in Persian means "Born to Royalty".  Persian Royalty, much like other royal families throughout history, are usually very corrupt and of course, always very very lazy.  They have never worked an honest day in their lives but always demand a ton of money to pay for their luxurious lifestyle.   I have a music and trading buddy named Max Vafi Qajar.   He is the creative genius behind the very eclectic and popular band called BlueMaxBerries.   His paternal great great grandfather was the younger brother of Fath Ali Shah, the second monarch of the Persian Qajar Dynasty which ruled Persia from 1796 to 1925.   Max and I collaborated to come up with a special momentum indicator.   With proprietary moving averages overlaid on it, this forward looking indicator delivers what a true Shazde would want, and hence the name.  On certain indices, it has demonstrated an uncanny ability to foretell market turns.  Works well on any time frame. Here are some of Max's greatest hits:   Europa Calling   Sweet Dreams   Rainforest on Mars StochRSI StochRSI The StochasticRSI oscillator invented by Tushar Chande in his book, The New Technical Trader, combines the two popular ideas behind the RSI and the Stochastic oscillator.  The stochastic oscillator measures the location of closing prices within the recent high to low range.   Similarly, StochRSI measures the location of RSI within its recent range, showing short-term momentum extremes.   True Strength Index (a simpler version of our CI Indicator) Momentum-based indicators lead the market and moving average-based indicators lag it. Both types of tools have advantages and disadvantages. Here’s a process that combines the two, and an indicator approach that can help you catch shorter-term swings while staying in sync with the trend. The True Strength Index (TSI) is a momentum-based indicator, developed by William Blau, designed to determine both the trend and overbought-oversold conditions. The TSI is applicable to intraday time frames as well as longer-term horizons. For more information on this excellent indicator, read Active Trader Magazine, January 2002 issue, P. 58. XBO Expansion Break-Out Pattern, popularized by Jeff Cooper in his book, Hit & Run Trading.  This pattern, showing a pick up in emotional buying,  usually repeats three to four times intraday before exhaustion and reversal. XBD Expansion Break-Down Pattern, popularized by Jeff Cooper in his book, Hit & Run Trading.   This pattern, showing a pick up in emotional selling, usually repeats itself three to four times intraday before exhaustion and reversal.