When reading surface charts, look for as many large, preferably uninterrupted,
areas of the same color as possible, which represent values as high as possible, as
indicated by the legend. In this way, we’ll make sure that the system not only works
with that specific variable combination but also with other adjacent combinations,
which gives us some room for error and adjustments if market conditions change.
If you look at the color chart as a weather map, with each line separating the
different colors representing the air pressure lines on the weather map, the tighter
the lines, the more unstable the weather, with really tight lines forming a tornado
or hurricane (or at least a very unstable weather situation) that no one wants to be
in. Or look at the chart as a topographical map, with the colors representing
changes in elevation. With that in mind, it is easy to understand that you’d be stand-
ing safer on a large, relatively flat and uninterrupted plateau than on a pointy peak.
Also, when putting together charts like this, it’s important to have a feel for
what will likely be the best values for the input variables, given the desired char-CHAPTER 19 Placing Stops 213
FIGURE 19.1
Surface chart with average profit per trade as output variable.