Originally posted by bone
I guess I'm more than a little perplexed by the number of traders using one and two-minute bars/candles, and thinking that they can divine some sort of meaningful market action out of them...
Personally, I would think that a trader is better off using a longer timeframe like five-minute bars or candles and tape-reading the order flow.
Hi Bone,
Note: My reference is to the Eminis.
I know a lot of traders using candlesticks via the 1min charts or lesser (TICK charts) because they are scalping.
Further...traders using a higher time frame are usually looking for a lot of points per trade position.
Thus, it's possible all those traders your perplexed by...
they are using the shorter time frames in an attempt to capture a few pieces of a point here and there while hoping to catch a bigger trend to make the day stand out from other trading days.
Now...if you know traders using a shorter time frame in hopes of catching points...these are traders that often have difficulty in managing their stops or leaving too much profits on the table because of all the noise.
I have trade setups in which I'm only looking to capture a few pieces of a point...such require a smaller chart time frame...
and I have other trade setups in which I'm looking to capture a lot of points...such require a higher chart time frame.
Therefore...I think its key for the trader to use the appropriate chart interval to correlate with the profit goal.
Simply...I agree that a trader is better off using a higher chart interval but only if it correlates with his/her profit goal of POINTS. Just the same...those using smaller chart intervals should not be attempting to capture points because the trades become much more difficult to manage with a goal as such.
In addition (I've discussed this before in someones Journal thread)...when using higher time frames...such requires the appropriate stop. For example, using 1 point stops on 30min charts is not a very good strategy. Just the same...using a 5 point stop on TICK charts is not a good strategy.
P.S. Japanese candlestick analysis on any time frame works...yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, minute charts, TICK charts. However, they should be used with another form of TA for confirmation.
NihabaAshi