5 or 10 minute candles for intraday trends?

[murray t turtle]

While everyone can explain why they use particular time frames, based on my experience using a time based chart for day trading does not work well. What is the consistent correlation between a clock and what you are trading, other than the market is open or closed.

A trade could start and end before you get a new bar. Or, if you have a period of low / no activity many technical indicators will start reverting to neutral. As soon as activity pick up invalid signals may be generated because the math is comparing something to nothing.

%%
True TNA [ TT];
+more money has been made off calender than clock. 5 hour candle is like any other small time frame candle-may, or may not not have time to allow candle close.-murray tt; no relation to Turtle Beach. Hour candle$ may help; but again, may, or may not allow candle to close.

 

[gurucandidate]

The 15 second charts of ES with a couple of studies on the IB platform offer VG setups for intraday trading. It helps getting in early and to use tight protective stops. By making decisions based on very short time frames one can take a position before others and liquidate when the latecomers show up. Of course near the opening and closing of the underlying and around major reports one has to stay out of it.
Because of the near 24 hr session every known chart formation or dynamic is noticeable so if one wanted to test some new idea after two or three days of observing one could discern if the idea would work or not.

 

[futrstrdr]

I have been trading for over 20 years and have always used tick charts for day trading. The thing that takes time is to find the best value for each market. I found it depends a lot on the volume of the instrument. I trade exclusively the futures markets, but i would assume it should also work with stocks

 

[murray t turtle]

Some daytraders/daytraders books use them;prefer weeekly charts, but sometimes >> may not have time for weekly chart to close.52 weeks can be even better/stocks.

 

[cornerstone]

I've always used 5, but the 10 minute is looking more revealing now for seeing the trend. What are you guys using?

there are trends on both time frames, but I use mostly 5 minuets. but, on each time frame, how you can figure that a price movement is a trend? a price movement that might seem like a trend can seem like it holds the trend on one time frame but not on another. it helps to see the buyers and sellers intentions for realizing the way the market is heading, like the heat map in Bookmap offers. it shows where the big buyers or sellers support or give up on a price levels which creating a trend.

 

[murray t turtle]

there are trends on both time frames, but I use mostly 5 minuets. but, on each time frame, how you can figure that a price movement is a trend? a price movement that might seem like a trend can seem like it holds the trend on one time frame but not on another. it helps to see the buyers and sellers intentions for realizing the way the market is heading, like the heat map in Bookmap offers. it shows where the big buyers or sellers support or give up on a price levels which creating a trend.

%%
PlenTsy of study helps>> 5 minutes; 50 days/all data help s

 

[Carlw]

I've always used 5, but the 10 minute is looking more revealing now for seeing the trend. What are you guys using?

1 minute chart for opening bell on ES (futures) after that 5 minute and after 3pm 1 minute when bond traders migrate from stocks to futures.

 

[sandoskan]

How about the 4.75 minute chart? What's so special about 5 min or 10 min bars?

Trading has an intrinsic psychological factor so using timeframes that most other traders (especially those with the ability to move the market) use would be beneficial.

 

[murray t turtle]

One should see it even in one min candles, if zoomed out far enough, tho i doubt that intraday noise , can reveal the true trend.

%%Exactly;
takes a 200 day moving average to do that.

 

[speedo]

I doesn't matter what tf's others use, what matters is what tf's allow you to best to see price action reflecting your own signals. Play with different minute and transactional (tick, volume etc.)variations until it looks good to you. Think of it like a trip to the optometrist.