The reason I dont use any indicators

Grantx said:
To use or not to use is a question everyone struggles with.

My reason for not using any indicators is because they influence my decision making ability in a negative manner.
My brain recognises:
  1. Patterns instantly without me having to put any effort in at all.
  2. Whether price is trending/ ranging/ indecisive/ aggressive/ passive etc...
  3. Whether a trade is on or not
Its like driving a car or wheeling a bicycle, there is no thought because all the heavy lifting is taken care of by my subconscious pattern recognition algo.

When I place something even as simple as a moving average on my chart it messes with everything. I get confused and start thinking about whats happening. This is not a good situation for me as I believe that trading is a simple process which is needlessly complicated by over analysis.

Following are 2 examples of the same instrument. 1st chart tells me price is slowly trending up with lots of opportunities to get in on pullbacks. 2nd chart contains the standard macd, stochastic and moving average which requires me to think. Im not the sharpest tool in the shed at the best of times so I avoid having to think to hard about things which is why I stick to no indicators.View attachment 177749 View attachment 177750
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You've opened up a large can of worms. :)
ET is like a big fishing expedition, worms get the fish biting.
There's nothing quite like a good ol' 'TA / Indicators' fishing frenzy.
 
I love the irony of starting a thread about not using indicators and just looking at a chart for simplicity, when there are about as many different possible charts types/ time frames as their are technical indicators. Each chart is an indicator in itself.
 
Macca1 said:
-Edge alone can not come from prudently managing trades.

This isn't my onion. Ask anyone with a background in Statistics.
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Well, that would be me. -- It's difficult for most to understand that positive expectancy is derived from risk management. --Most folks make trading hard for themselves.
 
Buy1Sell2 said:
This is why most traders who blow up accounts will tell you that they picked direction well but hung on or overextended themselves and also took profits too early.
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I disagree. I think a lot of traders blow up their accounts because they pick direction poorly and lost patience...therefore becoming desperate, losing discipline, hang on for big losses, book profits too soon, take too much risk, revenge trade, etc.
 
Buy1Sell2 said:
Well, that would be me. -- It's difficult for most to understand that positive expectancy is derived from risk management. --Most folks make trading hard for themselves.
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So you can turn a random entry trade with a 50/50 outcome into a winning trade?
 
Why do we care about this indicators discussion?
BTW, Full kudos to Grantx for raising the topic, but has been done numerous times on ET before though.
We care about 'indicators' discussion because we are all looking for an edge in our trading.
The edge is between your ears.
Some have more developed brains than others, they will lead the pack when it comes to self sufficiency.
 
Macca1 said:
So you can turn a random entry trade with a 50/50 outcome into a winning trade?
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Who cares about A winning trade?
Who cares about win %?

I care about positive expectancy which is attainable with random entries.
 
themickey said:
You've opened up a large can of worms. :)
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I thought it looked more interesting, at the start, than most "indicator discussions" here ... but I suppose it's inevitable, by the time two or three people with super-dogmatic beliefs, customarily expressed with great intransigence, join in, that all such discussions evolve rapidly to become only the ever-repeated can of worms after all.
angry-smiley-008.gif
 
Grantx said:
I was just trying to say that I listen to what the market tells me without the need for a translator.
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And that feeds into my point that we all see something different based on personal skill/experience. You and I will see different things because that is why we have a market. I believe indicators are viewed the same.
 
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