Why do traders still use lagging indicators?

[TSLexi]

I am guessing and you can correct me if I am wrong, but you don't know how to program and back test? Fast means more false signals, it is like you strapped down to front of very fast motorcycle and you not wearing googles and you along the ocean in Alabama, every bug will hit your face along the path, even those quarter size yellow bugs where you have to scrap for ten minutes to get off the windshield. Whereas if you are going much slower and can see where the swarms are and can filter them out before you get there and go for much less trading than have a much higher percentage of winning trades. Most newbies go for speed and if you want to be still be here, you go for much slower and learn how to trade by using slower. MACD is good indicator as it shows established trends for trend trading and will sure true divergences to stop you from taking trend trades, same goes with RSI. You want longer period moving averages as they produce deeper retracements.

Order flow will be useless to you if you can't read charts and volume, also, unless you become very good at chart reading, indicators will take you longer as you don't know how to use them in relationships of price.

I see.

 

[learner2007]

Why do traders still use indicators?

Some people who do not have the time, desire, or ability to learn true TA find indicators easy to learn and use.

Some people believe that TA ='s indicators, and that's all there is to it.

Many people are lead to using indicators by the salesmanship of trading software vendors.

I look at PA on the chart as being the heartbeat, and indicators as the pulse. I'd rather have my doctor listen to my heart than just feel my pulse!

 

[wrbtrader]

Why do traders still use lagging indicators? MACD, RSI, MA, I can't see why they're useful; it's like driving your car using the rear-view mirror instead of the windshield. How is anyone supposed to be profitable doing that?

Analyzing the order book is the only way you can trade, because the order book generally shows you what's going on and what probably will happen.

Some traders that are using indicators and are successful at using them...

Its not the only thing their using. In addition, they know their indicator is lagging but they seem to be ok with that and ok with the fact they are not going to get the perfect entry.

Don't misunderstand, I didn't say all traders that use indicators are profitable...I'm just talking about some traders (small percentage). Simply, there's more to profitable trading than just indicators, more to profitable trading than price action without indicators, more to profitable trading than fundamentals, more to profitable trading than economics or whatever...some traders understand that the markets and understand the price action of whatever it is they're trading...they just get it prior to the appearance of their trade signals via whatever method.

Another way to look at it.

Can a profitable trader that's using indicators continue to be profitable if he/she removes indicators from the trading plan ? I don't know but I do understand that sometimes something that is flawed...it can actually give some kind'uv confirmation while using the other resources. For example, I know one particular profitable trader that uses indicators and analysis of the order book. In fact, he uses a traditional indicator (Momentum) on his charts and a custom design indicator on the flow in the order book.

 

[Mysteron]

I see.

It is a waste of time telling a religious person that god doesn't exist. What they believe is up to them. The danger is when they try to convince others of their erroneous beliefs and lead them down a dangerous path.

 

[wrbtrader]

It is a waste of time telling a religious person that god doesn't exist. What they believe is up to them. The danger is when they try to convince others of their erroneous beliefs and lead them down a dangerous path.

Religion in general and trading...I see very little connection.

In contrast, politics, religion, NRA or whatever...I do see a strong connection. Sometimes cult like behavior.

Sure, there are people in trading that blindly follows a method regardless if it involves indicators or doesn't involve indicators. Simply, trying to turn trading into a religious issue, political issue or gun control issue or anything else via making comparisons between such...

May as well conclude that any profession on this planet has its minority of fanatics...fanatics that believe in something and fanatics that don't believe in something...both sides are most likely misinformed and will most likely create lies or bend the truth whenever they desire just via the fact they are fanatics.

Dangers on both sides for those that are weak minded.

Many traders don't use indicators nor believe in such. Yet, they are still losing traders or barely breakeven...year after year. They keep using and believe in whatever it is that they're using. They may even bash others that believe in something different and may encourage others to share their beliefs...its a fanatic behavior.

 

[botpro]

Why do traders still use lagging indicators? MACD, RSI, MA, I can't see why they're useful; it's like driving your car using the rear-view mirror instead of the windshield. How is anyone supposed to be profitable doing that?

Because there is, to the best of my knowledge, not a single indicator or oscillator that is not lagging. It's simple maths.
TA, for example a simple MA, is still better than having nothing at all.
IMO TA can to a certain degree be used for long term, but hardly for short term trading.
IMO TA alone, I mean the usual indicators and oscillators, won't be enough for consistent success.

Analyzing the order book is the only way you can trade, because the order book generally shows you what's going on and what probably will happen.

Do you mean the quickly popping up, and also quickly disappearing, offers of the HFT bots in the book?
I doubt the effectiveness of order book analysis, because of the many fake (quickly changing, canceled) orders in the book.
HFT is a similar story, but has a different purpose: HFT=frontrunning with speed over all the others.
IMO, the best strategy is money management, ie. risk management. It works, if done right, even if one blindly jumps into a position without doing first anything of a direction analysis.
Of course it alone isn't sufficient as well, one rather has also need to apply diversification...

 

[Laissez Faire]

Interestingly, several, if not most, of the technical traders in Market Wizards used indicators, yet every expert and elite trader on this site is against indicators and believe themselves to have made some expert observation when they beat their chest and talk about lagging indicators and how only PURE PRICE ACTION or ORDER FLOW is what's of value and that indicators distort the purity of price action. Lol...

Quite amusing, really.

 

[botpro]

Interestingly, several, if not most, of the technical traders in Market Wizards used indicators, yet every expert and elite trader on this site is against indicators and believe themselves to have made some expert observation when they beat their chest and talk about lagging indicators and how only PURE PRICE ACTION or ORDER FLOW is what's of value and that indicators distort the purity of price action. Lol...

Quite amusing, really.

Been there, seen that, old hat... ;-)

 

[Dinosaur_Supervisor]

Please tell me when find an indicator which is based on future data.

Anyway, the reason people use "lagging" indicators is because they make it easier to interpret price data, which is also mostly past data. By your reasoning, price action analysis is lagging analysis, because it's based on past price behavior.

 

[romik]

because they make it easier to interpret price data

There's the answer, so thread can be closed now.