WinTick is a subscription-based trend analysis software.
WinTick is part of a larger package known as the AbleTrend system, which can cost thousands of dollars annually.
That’s why they offer a 30-day lower-cost trial before people commit (not a free trial).
However, many retail traders might not need the large package.
WinTick may be all they need at less than $100 per month (using 15-minute delayed and End-of-Day data).
WinTick is their smaller, simplified web-based version of their AbleTrend system.
There is nothing to download or install. You don’t need any existing charting package.
Subscription members can just log in to wintick.com and see charts with the WinTick indicators drawn.
There is a U.S. Equity-only version.
Or there is a Pro version, which includes Futures, Forex, and other markets.
Contents
WinTick Chart
Once you get to the chart page, it looks like this:
By default, it brings up the Dow Jones Index, the “$INDU” symbol in its system.
The dollar sign in front of the symbol indicates that it is an index.
I can bring up the Russell 2000 Index by typing “$RUT” into WinTick:
Don’t worry if you can not see the annotations that I’ve drawn on this chart.
I didn’t know it would come out so small.
I’ll draw larger versions later in the article.
By default, it shows the daily chart because the green “D” above the chart is enabled.
You can quickly switch to a weekly chart to perform multi-timeframe analysis by clicking on the “W.”
Some traders, for example, might like to have both their trading timeframe and their longer timeframe be in the same direction before committing to that direction.
Intraday Charts
John Wang, the co-creator of the AbleTrend system, prefers the daily chart or higher.
He says that the AbleTrend system gives better signals because longer timeframes have less noise relative to the moves than shorter timeframes.
He also says that the greater the volume of trades, the more accurate the signal.
Nevertheless, WinTick does support 15, 30, 60, 120-min intraday charts.
Intraday traders who need 1-minute, 3-minute, and 5-minute charts will need to get their full AbleTrend system instead of WinTick.
Candle Rendering
WinTick will only display the candle at the end of the candle timeframe.
You will not see the candle changing dynamically in a live market.
So, a 15-minute candle will not appear until that 15-minute candle is complete.
Once a candle is drawn, it never changes.
That is why if you are on a daily chart, you will not see any candles for the current day until after the day’s trading session is over and the system has all the data to paint the day candle.
If you need to see what is happening intraday, you need to switch to the 15-minute chart where a new candle will appear every 15 minutes – keeping in mind that by default, WinTick is running on 15-minute delayed data.
How To Use The WinTick Trend System
The trend analysis system does not predict what the market will do.
It can not see the future.
It attempts to read the market at the current moment to determine if it is bullish or bearish and how strong.
The software will show a blue candle if price action suggests an uptrend.
A red candle for a downtrend.
And a green candle for a neutral trend.
This color-coding of the candles is known as the T1 indicator.
T1 refers to AbleTrend version 1 when this feature first appeared.
The S&P 500 index (symbol $SPX in the WinTick system) shows an uptrend with 28 blue candles in a row.
This does not mean that SPX had 28 up-days in a row.
Do not confuse WinTick’s trend color with your typical candlestick colors.
Your typical candlestick may color the candle green for an up-day and red for a down-day.
An up-day is when the closing price is higher than the opening price.
A down day is when the closing price is lower than the opening price.
The market can have down-days in an uptrend.
The blue color of the WinTick candle indicates that the market is in an uptrend.
Within that uptrend, there can be down-days and up-days.
A solid candle indicates down days.
And up-days are indicated by a hollow candle.
I like to remember it as solid candles being like a lead weight going down.
Hollow candles are light and hollow, like a balloon going up.
Or, if you prefer, you can switch the chart to open-close-bars instead of candlesticks:
The tick on the left side of the bar is where the price opened.
The tick on the right side of the bar is where the price closed.
T2 stops
A highly regarded feature of AbleTrend (and therefore also WinTick) is the dynamic volatility T2 stops.
Rather than having traders set a stop loss at a fixed amount or fixed percentage, this dynamic T2 stop loss setting can determine support and resistance based on market data run through a mathematical algorithm – not by a human eyeballing and drawing sometimes arbitrary lines on the chart.
The support level is indicated by blue dots (if in an uptrend).
The red dots indicate the resistance level (if in a downtrend).
These dots are known at the T2 stops – T2 stands for AbleTrend version 2.
If a candle closes beyond its T2 stops, it is time to get out of the trend.
Note the keyword is “close”.
Intraday piercing of the T2 stops does not count.
John says that the signals are much more accurate when using the close.
Many traders want to put in a stop order right after trade entry.
In that case, they can place the hard stop at a support level one level below the current stop level.
If the trader feels this is too far away, they can alternatively place the hard stop loss mid-way between current support and the below-level level.
The trader will still want to get out if he sees the candle closes beyond the current T2 stop level.
However, the hard stop, one level below, is a safety mechanism for when the trader is preoccupied with life and not watching the charts.
Confirmed Trend
Now that we know how to exit a trend.
How do we enter a trend?
You have a confirmed uptrend when the T1 indicator and the T2 stops are blue.
You have a confirmed downtrend when the T2 indicator and the T2 stops are red.
The two indicators are independently calculated.
When they both agree, you can enter the trend.
This chart shows where you have red candles with red resistance dots and where you can enter a short position.
The blue candles with the blue support dots are where you can enter a long position.
Don’t Trade In Chop
Trend traders need to trade when there is a trend.
They need to stop trading when the market is in “chop” or a “sideways trend.”
(Unless you are a non-directional delta-neutral options trader.
In that case, you trade in chop when the trend traders stop).
The system indicates the market is in a chop when:
- The T1 signal and the T2 signal do not agree
- There are two consecutive green candles
- There are two wrong signals in a row
- Frequent changes of colors
Here, we see consecutive greens and a disagreement between T1 and T2.
No trade.
Frequent changes of color indicate a choppy market.
A benefit of the system is that it tells you when NOT to trade.
Knowing when not to trade can save you money.
Take The Emotion Out Of Trading
The problem that many traders face is that in a winning trade, fear of profits slipping out of their hands makes them take profit too soon.
In a losing trade, the hope of recovery makes them hold the losing trade for too long.
Taking emotion out is the key to improving trading with a mechanical system like AbleTrend.
It tells you you can stay in the trade if the T2 stop has not been broken.
And it tells you that you must get out when the T2 stop has been broken.
You just need the confidence to believe in the system and the discipline to follow the signals.
Without confidence in the system, you will not have the discipline to follow its signal.
Backtest Its Signals
One way to gain confidence in the system is to manually backtest its signals.
In fact, John encourages users to do so.
Once a candle and its indicators are painted, it will never change.
Therefore, you can scroll the chart back in history and count how many signals worked versus how many signals failed to get a sense of the accuracy of the trading indicator system.
AutoScan Picks
WinTick members also have access to stock pick reports generated by its AutoScan algorithm:
Behind The Machine
The algorithm behind the AbleTrend / WinTick system involves moving averages (simple, weighted, and exponential), MACD indicator, ADX indicator, and STARC Bands – all based on price alone.
How does AbleTrend / WinTick come up with the T2 stops?
That, of course, is top secret.
Even after going through the entirety of John Wang’s book AbleTrend: Identifying and Analyzing Market Trends for Trading Success, I still don’t know.
All he says about the internals of the T2 stops is that it is proprietary and not shareware.
All the other information in this article is based on publicly available information, mostly from John’s book.
Conclusion
This was just a quick look at WinTick.
While WinTick is just a small subset of the AbleTrend System, examining WinTick by itself certainly does not do justice to the more sophisticated and complex AbleTrend System.
A full comparison between WinTick and AbleTrend can be found on their website.
The AbleTrend system has existed since 1994 and has earned many awards since then.
It’s been used by many users in various markets, which indicates the system’s robustness.
It is believed that its original formula has not changed much.
Any system that has been around for 30-plus years must have withstood the test of time and might be worth looking into.
We hope you enjoyed this WinTick review.
If you have any questions, please send an email or leave a comment below.
Trade safe!
Disclaimer: The information above is for educational purposes only and should not be treated as investment advice. The strategy presented would not be suitable for investors who are not familiar with exchange traded options. Any readers interested in this strategy should do their own research and seek advice from a licensed financial adviser.
