What do Wyckoff acronyms stand for?

Tasuki

On Stockcharts, Bruce Fraser has a number of very good articles on Wyckoff analysis, but he's not so good at defining his terms. Some of them he does define, but others he never explains in his articles, at least the ones I've seen. Is there a list somewhere of what Wyckoff acronyms mean? Kinda frustrating to read the articles without understanding the terminology. Thanks, Tasuki

markd

This tutorial in chart school seems to be comprehensive.

http://stockcharts.com/school/doku.php?id=chart_school:market_analysis:the_wyckoff_method

Tasuki

Thanks, the article was very helpful. There's still one acronym that Bruce Fraser uses frequently that I can't find in that article, namely "SCLX". Somewhere he says, "The SCLX and AR set the support and resistance", but I can't figure out what SCLX means, and to make matters worse, AR apparently can stand for "automatic reaction" (bearish, I think) and "automatic rally" (bullish I think), so that's not much of a clue.

FWIW (talk about acronyms!), here's the list I've compiled:
AR automatic reaction (bearish, I think)
AR automatic rally (bullish, I think)
BC buying climax
BU backup
LPS last point of support
LPSY last point of supply
PS preliminary support
PSY preliminary supply
SC selling climax
SOS sign of strength
SOW sign of weakness
SSR stepping stone redistribution
ST secondary test
TR trading range
UT upthrust
UTAD upthrust after distribution

Tasuki
p.s. if anybody knows what SCLX stands for, please lemme know. Thanks!

markd

Hi @Tasuki , thanks for that list. Now it's all in one place.

I'm pretty sure SCLX is an alternative to SC for Selling Climax. Look at the LVS example in this blog entry:

stockcharts.com/articles/wyckoff/2016/04/wyckoff-skill-building.html

Between the LVS P&F chart and its price chart, he writes:

"LVS builds a Distributional Cause in 2014 and then embarks on a downtrend. A Selling Climax arrives in the window of the price target. A new Cause is being built.

On the P&F, the legend SCLX is around 36 (in the P&F price target region, between the two ticks at the bottom of the vertical red line), and on the price chart SCLX appears again, also around 36.

It seems to me the labeling of some of these points can only be done in hindsight, but the concepts are still very useful. The trick is to identify these points in real time.

Tasuki

Thanks, markd, that sounds right to me. So, SCLX should be S CLX or selling climax, just a longer acronym than simply SC, which I think he uses elsewhere.

markd

That's my take, too.

Tasuki

Latest article by Bruce Fraser (April 29, 2016) has SSR standing for "stepping stone reaccumulation".
In the list above, I just had it as "stepping stone redistribution".
In order to keep Wyckoffian-speak clear, I'd recommend some sort of unified terminology, such as SSRa vs SSRd or somesuch, but this ain't my party. Just sayin' it would be helpful, especially with so many acronyms flying about.

Tasuki

Something I'd really like to know is how well (if at all) this Wyckoff method works with commodity futures, index futures, and FOREX. I can easily imagine "composite operators" in grain markets, for example, but index futures? I'm not sure.

markd

Hi @Tasuki , couldn't agree more with your recommendation. The approach could be more rigorous. I'd especially like to see more examples of how the method was applied in real time - that is, showing how the chart looked at a particular stage, and how you could tell, at that moment, that you are seeing a selling climax, or a last point of supply, etc. and how you might distinguish it from some other stage, or no stage at all.

Tasuki

Oh criminy, here's another undefined acronym: ICE.
Fraser mentions it several times in his latest article from June 10, 2016, but (as far as I can see) doesn't define what the letters stand for.
Here's a link to the latest article, entitled "Unfriendly Skies":
http://stockcharts.com/articles/wyckoff/2016/06/the-unfriendly-skies.html

"Breaking through the ICE" has something to do with breaking a support line, but it might be nice to know what the letters refer to.
If anybody can suss out what "ICE" stands for, or has found it elsewhere in Wyckoff literature, please let explain--many thanks,
Tasuki

markd

ICE is just the word "ice", not an acronym. You are correct, ice is another word for support, specifically, support during distribution. There is another expression in Wyckoff world, "jumping the creek", which means breaking above resistance after accumulation. These expressions were not Wyckoff's own words. Much of what is taught as Wyckoff was in fact developed - actually refined and augmented - after Wyckoff passed by a disciple of his method, whose name escapes me at the moment.

Tasuki

markd, many thanks. Since all the other notations were acronyms, I naturally made the assumption....
Just wondering: there are many different types of support, some stronger than others. I wonder if "ice" refers to a tenuous kind of support that looks on the chart as if it's likely to get broken (as is the case in the chart example that Fraser shows in his most recent article from June 10, 2016).
Maybe we need another term for stronger, longterm support, how about BW for "brick wall" (?) But then, you can start going crazy with acronyms and fall prey to "analysis paralysis!


While I'm at it, there's another Wyckoff acronym that didn't make it onto my original list:
BUEC which I believe stands for, "backup to the edge of the creek", meaning (for long trades) a retrace back to a price level that had been resistance but was recently broken, turning that level into support.