What is Mike? Understanding VolMike's Normalized Price Metric
If you're new to VolMike, you've probably seen "Mike" or "F_numeric" mentioned everywhere and thought: "What the hell is that?"
Fair question.
Mike is the foundation of everything we do.
It's not another indicator. It's not a signal. It's a way of measuring price that makes every stock comparable through volatility instead of dollar value.
Let me show you why this matters.
🤔 The Problem Mike Solves
Scenario 1: Price-Based Thinking
You're watching two stocks:
- NVDA: Trading at $500
- AMD: Trading at $50
NVDA moves $5 in a 5-minute candle. AMD moves $0.50 in a 5-minute candle.
Question: Which move was bigger?
Most traders think: "NVDA moved $5, AMD only moved $0.50. NVDA's move was 10x bigger."
Wrong.
Both moved 1%.
NVDA: $5 / $500 = 1% AMD: $0.50 / $50 = 1%
Same move. Same significance. But your eye is fooled by the dollar amount.
Scenario 2: Chart Confusion
You open two charts side-by-side:
- NVDA chart: Shows a $500 → $505 move (looks small)
- AMD chart: Shows a $50 → $50.50 move (looks tiny)
Your brain sees: "NVDA is moving, AMD is dead."
Reality: They're moving identically. You're just comparing apples to oranges.
✅ Mike: The Solution
Mike normalizes price as percentage movement from yesterday's close.
The Formula:
Mike = (current_price / yesterday_close) × 10,000
(The 10,000 multiplier is internal - it converts percentages into whole numbers for precision. You'll never see it in normal use.)
What You Actually See:
Mike is displayed as distance from yesterday's close:
- Yesterday's close = 0F (your baseline)
- Today's move = shown as +F or -F
Every ticker uses the same scale.
📊 Mike in Action
Example: NVDA
- Yesterday's close: $500
- Today's price: $505 (up 1%)
What Terminal shows:
Mike: +100F
Translation: NVDA is 100F above yesterday's close (1% up).
Example: AMD
- Yesterday's close: $50
- Today's price: $50.50 (up 1%)
What Terminal shows:
Mike: +100F
Translation: AMD is 100F above yesterday's close (1% up).
The Result:
Both stocks show +100F.
Same visual height. Same significance. Same technical rules apply.
Now you can compare them directly.
🎯 Why "F" and Not Just "Percent"?
You might be thinking: "Why not just say '1%' instead of '100F'?"
Two reasons:
1. Precision on Intraday Charts
On a 5-minute chart, moves are tiny:
- 0.1% = barely visible
- 0.05% = noise
- 0.025% = rounding error
With Mike:
- 0.1% = +10F (readable)
- 0.05% = +5F (trackable)
- 0.025% = +2.5F (measurable)
F gives you intraday precision without decimals.
2. Visual Consistency
When you open Terminal, you see:
- Mike line (blue)
- Kijun at +50F
- Tenkan at +25F
- IB High at +120F
- POC at +80F
Everything is in F units. One language. No mental conversion.
🧠 How Mike Changes Your Trading
Before Mike (Price-Based):
You watch 3 tickers:
- TSLA at $800 moves $8 (1%)
- COIN at $160 moves $1.60 (1%)
- SPY at $680 moves $6.80 (1%)
Your brain sees: "TSLA moved the most ($8). COIN barely moved ($1.60)."
Result: You chase TSLA because it "looks bigger."
After Mike (Volatility-Based):
Same 3 tickers:
- TSLA: +100F
- COIN: +100F
- SPY: +100F
Your brain sees: "All three moved +100F. Identical."
Result: You evaluate based on structure (IB location, army, cape), not "which chart looks taller."
🏗️ Mike as the Foundation
Here's why Mike is the foundation of VolMike:
Every indicator runs on Mike, not price:
| Indicator | Calculation | What It Measures | |-----------|-------------|------------------| | Ichimoku (Kijun/Tenkan) | High/Low of Mike over N periods | Trend baseline (Queen/Pawn) | | Bollinger Bands | Std dev of Mike over N periods | Volatility state (Bishops) | | TD Lines (Supply/Demand) | Ringed highs/lows of Mike | Structure walls (Rooks) | | Midas (Bull/Bear) | Volume-weighted avg of Mike | Dynamic support/resistance | | Market Profile (IB/POC/VPOC) | Distribution of Mike values | Session structure |
Because everything runs on Mike:
- All indicators are cross-ticker comparable
- All thresholds are universal (e.g., 100F IB range = similar volatility on any ticker)
- All entry rules scale (LOFT zone logic works on SPY and NVDA identically)
📍 Real-World Example
The Setup:
You're watching NVDA and AMD on Feb 6.
NVDA:
- Yesterday's close: $500
- Current price: $510
- Mike: +200F
AMD:
- Yesterday's close: $50
- Current price: $51
- Mike: +200F
Both moved 2%. Both show +200F.
The Entry:
Your Entry 1 scanner fires on both:
- NVDA: E1 at +50F
- AMD: E1 at +50F
You check Terminal:
NVDA:
- IB High: +120F
- Entry at +50F (below IB High) ✅
- Not in LOFT zone ✅
AMD:
- IB High: +180F
- Entry at +50F (way below IB High) ✅
- Safe zone ✅
Both entries are safe.
The Result:
Both move to +200F (T1 target).
NVDA: +50F → +200F = +150F move = $7.50 profit per share AMD: +50F → +200F = +150F move = $0.75 profit per share
Same +150F move. Different dollar profit. But you evaluated both with the same rules.
💡 Key Takeaways
1. Mike = Normalized Price
- Converts price to percentage from yesterday's close
- Displayed as +F or -F (distance from baseline)
- All tickers start at 0F (yesterday's close)
2. Cross-Ticker Comparison
- A +100F move is equally significant on any ticker
- Removes the illusion that "high price = more volatile"
- Enables universal entry/exit rules
3. Foundation of Everything
- All indicators (Ichimoku, Bollinger, TD, Midas, Profile) run on Mike
- All thresholds (IB zones, army count, cape) calibrated in F units
- One language across the entire system
4. Intraday Precision
- F units give you measurable precision on 5-minute charts
- No mental conversion (1% = 100F, 0.5% = 50F, 0.1% = 10F)
❓ FAQ
"Why is Mike scaled internally?"
The internal scaling makes the math work cleanly:
- 1% movement = 100F (easy mental math)
- 0.1% movement = 10F (precision without decimals)
- Keeps values readable on charts
In Terminal, you never see the internal calculation - just the +F or -F from yesterday's close.
"What if I want to see actual price?"
You can. Terminal shows both:
- Mike line (blue) in F units on the left Y-axis
- Price values in the tooltip on hover
Mike is for analysis and comparison. Price is for execution and reporting.
"Does Mike work for intraday and swing trading?"
Intraday: Yes (our primary focus). 5-minute charts benefit most from F precision.
Swing: Partially. Multi-day holds care more about absolute price levels (support/resistance), less about intraday volatility normalization.
Mike is built for active day traders on the 5-minute chart.
"Can I backtest strategies using Mike?"
Yes! That's what Ticker Scout does.
It replays historical sessions using Mike-based entry signals (E1/E2/E3) and shows:
- Win rates
- Avg return (in F and $)
- Entry timing
- Exit strategies
All calculated in Mike space for consistency.
"What does 0F mean?"
0F = yesterday's close.
It's your baseline. Everything is measured from there:
- +F = above yesterday's close (bullish)
- -F = below yesterday's close (bearish)
When you open Terminal in the morning, Mike starts near 0F and moves up or down as the session progresses.
"How do I convert F back to dollars?"
Formula:
Price = yesterday_close × (1 + F / 10000)
Example:
- Yesterday's close: $500
- Mike: +100F
- Price = 500 × (1 + 100/10000) = 500 × 1.01 = $505
But you rarely need this. Terminal shows price on hover.
🔗 What to Read Next
Now that you understand Mike, here's where to go:
Core Concepts:
- The Five Pillars - Ichimoku, TD, Bollinger, Midas, Market Profile
- The Chess Framework - How we visualize the army
- Kingdom States - Green, Red, Fragile, Siege
Entry System:
- Entry 1 Logic - How E1 fires and gets filtered
- Location Filtering - LOFT, CORE, CELLAR zones
- Blocking vs Unlocking - ⏳ → 🧿 sequences
Live Tools:
- Terminal - See Mike + all indicators live
- Entry Watcher - Find E1 signals across tickers
- Ticker Scout - Backtest using Mike-based entries
🎯 The Bottom Line
Mike isn't magic. It's just math.
But it's the right math for comparing tickers through volatility instead of price.
Once you see the world in F units instead of dollar moves, everything clicks:
- Charts make sense
- Thresholds are consistent
- Entry rules scale
You stop chasing "big moves" and start evaluating structure.
That's the point.
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Still confused? Open the Terminal and watch Mike in action. The blue line is Mike. Everything else is calculated from it.