Quote from hapaboy:
Just wondering if any intraday traders out there are using 1, 3, 5, or 15-min candlestick patterns out there to make entries on a consistent and profitable basis. If so, what have you found to be the most reliable patterns for short-term trades? What other indicators do you find them to be most useful in conjunction with?
My sense going over various posts here on ET is that most traders believe candlestick patterns are better used for longer (i.e. swing) trades than short-term quick scalps or daytrades. Is this correct?
Personally, I trade intraday using candlestick charts to view stock price action BUT do not make my entries based on the patterns themselves. Instead I look at volume, pace, and SMAs in conjunction with simple support and resistance levels the stock has made during the day. I'm ALWAYS looking for ways to improve my trading and wonder if looking for candlestick patterns on a short-term basis is worth looking into.
Mahalo.
Quote from hapaboy:
NihabaAshi,
Now that we're in a seemingly little bull run of some sorts, have your favorite intraday candle patterns changed?
Mahalo,
Hapaboy
Hi Hapaboy,
I saw this thread but didn't initially reply because its a topic that's been discussed often enough for me here at EliteTrader.com
In addition...your a stock trader and I'm a Emini trader. Stock traders view and use candlesticks a lot differently than Emini traders...this is just my impression of the stock traders and Emini traders I personally know.
First of all...my discussion is that of an Emini Futures trader.
My
favorite intraday candlesticks are different than the most
reliable patterns accordingly to market conditions.
What I mean is this...my favorite patterns are always the same...no matter what the market is doing:
Bearish Engulfing
Shooting Stars (after parabolic uptrend)
White Hammers
Long Legged Dojis (after parabolic surges up or down)
Bearish Rising Shadows (Long Upper candlestick shadows)
Advanced Tweezer Tops and Bottoms
Advance Block
Advance Deliberation
Bullish Window and Bearish Windows
The above are my
favorites simply because I have a trading plan for such and I'm quick at recognizing the trade signal as a discretionary trader.
Of the above...I've and others have discussed more details (including chart examples) about the Bearish Engulfing and White Hammers.
White Hammers:
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18381&perpage=5&pagenumber=1
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20535&perpage=5&pagenumber=1
Bearish Engulfing:
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15131&perpage=5&pagenumber=1
My most
reliable intraday candlestick patterns are accordingly to the current overall market conditions based on the daily charts.
Currently...after ES bounced off its daily chart 200eMA line support and the NQ bounced off its 50eMA line support around October 1st...the ES and NQ put in a very Long Upper candlestick shadow while above its 5eMA line last Thursday.
This tells me to look for any Bearish Reversal or Bearish Exhaustion patterns...particular...
My most
reliable patterns for this particular and current price situation is Bearish Engulfing
Dark Cloud Cover
Incomplete Dark Cloud Cover
Bearish Rising Shadows
Shooting Stars
Bearish Advanced Tweezer Tops
Bearish Three Black Crows (also discussed here at ET)
My point is this...its impossible to make trading via intraday candlesticks easy via simply applying a reliable candlestick pattern for one type of market condition to another different type of market condition.
You really need to know what the overall market condition is doing...
know what the big picture is.
This...via position size managment...I'll most likely be going normal to heavy on the Short positions and light on the Long positions...
accordingly to what I see on the daily charts which to me represents more of a big picture than the intraday charts.
Something else...
I'm a trend reversal trader and divergence signals are a major part of my trade methodology.
I DO NOT use candlesticks while looking at a small part of the sky when sitting in a deep well...sometimes called using candlestick analysis all by itself.
Thus, via those candlestick patterns I've mentioned above...I will be looking first for divergence signals and secondly looking for intraday candlestick patterns within that divergence signal.
If there's no divergence signal...I'll be going normal size on any intraday bearish candlestick pattern...
if there's a divergence signal along with one of those above mentioned candlestick patterns...I'll be going large size.
Once again...any bullish signals like a Bullish Engulfing or Bullish White Hammer...
I'll be going light size regardless if its a Bullish White Hammer along with being a Bullish Divergence signal.
If I'm confused about the overall market condition...I'm either on the sidelines or light size on every trade signal.
Hapaboy, I use intraday candlesticks on any time frame...1min, 3min, 15min and daily charts.
I use them with indicators and in price action only methods. In price action only methods...I've very dependent upon intraday candlestick signals.
Indicators I use are price exponential moving averages, bollinger bands, CCI, MACD, volume et cetera...
all depending upon the price pattern...trade signal.
I also use Market Breadth Indexes like VIX, TICK and Advance Decline Line to make sure my intraday candlestick signals aren't going against what the Market Breadth is telling me.
Market Breadth Indexes are
excellent when trying to determine if the market is trending or choppy and to help ensure your on the right side of the coin.
(Intraday candlesticks sucks in choppy or flat environments...reason why I tend to ignore such trading)
All the above has been discussed here before at ET in small bits as responses in other threads...just not
generalized in one message post as this.
Hapaboy, if I failed to mentioned something important its only because I'm outta time with the message and have more important things to do...
trading and the market is about to open.
Good luck today and study every intraday chart you possibly can for a minimum of 3 months...
you will see repeatable intraday candlestick patterns and there reliability directly associated with the overall market condition.
NihabaAshi