Too Many Indicators?

[robertw]

Hey guys,

I'm a relative noob trader, blew up a really small account and dumped myself back on demo for a while now. I've been focusing on day trading US Equities.

Earlier on when I blew up my small acount, I tried to keep things simple by using trade patterns and learning how to read the tape. After reading up a lot of books and so forth I have started to add some indicators in. I was not, and I'm still not, looking for the holy grail, just a few items that would help me confirm my style of trend trading and reversals.

So far the indicators that I have are the Bollinger Bands, MFI, Accu/Distr, MACD Histogram, and Bollinger %b. This on top of me drawing out the R and S and trendlines as well.

I find it very messy and would like to simplify things but I'm not sure what to do. I don't really like the MACD as it seems relatively slow in confirming trends. I intend to keep the Bollinger Bands for volatility andI want something for Volume and Momentum.

Any thoughts?

If you have a style of trading that is objective rather than discretionary, isn't then the question how to translate it into code rather than looking for off-the-shelf indicators to do the job?

If, on the other hand, your method is discretionary in the sense that it involves some form of subjective judgement or anticipation that can't be translated into code, then no indicators whatsoever will do what you are looking for.

The fact that you are looking for "confirmation" seems to indicate that the latter is the case. If your method works, why look for confirmation?

 

[hoodooman]

handle123: All I have on my charts now is BB and volume

+1 plus one more indicator.

 

[dbphoenix]

All I have on mine is price.

If one understands price movement, indicators will be of no help.

If one doesn't understand price movement, indicators will be of no help.

 

[kut2k2]

The thing is I'm still very very new so I'm not sure how I would go about designing my own indicators. I think it would be great though cause the process of developing it would definitely help my understanding of how to trade.

You needn't start from scratch. Start with an indicator you already like and that you feel shows some promise. Then ask yourself "Can this indicator be improved and if so, how do I do it?". You'd be amazed at how often you can do something. The most important thing is to open your mind to ideas beyond what you read in trading books.

 

[Handle123]

All I have on mine is price.

If one understands price movement, indicators will be of no help.

If one doesn't understand price movement, indicators will be of no help.

Would you agree if one doesn't understand Price and half way decent ideas of why price moves, Price is of no value either. I like playing poker once in awhile, I was told if you can't spot the sucker at the table, I am that guy, I think that phrase goes well for trading, if one can't spot the obvious on Price patterns, their account will be lowered.

I have always enjoyed your posts dbphoenix.

 

[lotto]

It all depends on what you are wanting the indicators to indicate....and if you cant answer that why would others be able to.

Excellent!

 

[lotto]

All I have on mine is price.

Excellent!

If one doesn't understand price movement, indicators will be of no help.

Agree completely.

If one understands price movement, indicators will be of no help.

I do think that if one knows, as SIUYA said, what it is one would like for the indicators to indicate, that one could find a way to utilize indicators in ways some might consider to be helpful. For example, I know some who use a retrace to a moving average as an indication that it is time to start looking for signs that a potential with-trend entry might be develop. I would not go so far as to say indicators are necessary in any case, but I would not dismiss their use out of hand. As you note, if one does not understand price movement, then indicators or not, nothing will lead that person to profitability other than dumb blind luck which wouldn't last very long anyway.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

All I have on mine is price.

If one understands price movement, indicators will be of no help.

If one doesn't understand price movement, indicators will be of no help.

I disagree that you use no indicators. TL's are simply a form of "moving avg's", and as such are indicators.

 

[dbphoenix]

I disagree that you use no indicators. TL's are simply a form of "moving avg's", and as such are indicators.

By that definition, price itself is an indicator. However, "indicator" is generally defined as something obtained from mathematical manipulation, something that requires a "setting". Trendlines, however, are just that: they track trend. All one needs is the ability to distinguish between up and down. No math required.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

By that definition, price itself is an indicator. However, "indicator" is generally defined as something obtained from mathematical manipulation, something that requires a "setting". Trendlines, however, are just that: they track trend. All one needs is the ability to distinguish between up and down. No math required.

Raw data, and raw data alone is price itself. You chose candles/bars of a specific TF of your liking then draw lines connecting the bottoms and tops of those candles/bars of your liking. That's mathematical manipulation of the data, or said another way an "indicator".

Why don't you connect your lines to the tick price, rather than 5 mins or whatever of captured ticks??