PIVOT POINTS

anybody aware of how one can add pivot points to their chart using IB Trader FX 4? my technical analysis currently exists of MACD, ROI + Stoichastics, and i'd like to incorporate pivot points to get an idea of chart patterns and support + resistance.

if anyone can help me out, id very much appreacite it.

thanks and good luck with the trades

here ya go

Pip_rugrat,

Here's a link to my personal favorite pivot indicator (reasons given in the link). Should run OK with any MT4 version.

A forum search will likely reveal at least 20 other pivot indicators. Here at FF we are spolied for choice.

Good luck,
David

thanks guys for the resonse

hanover: i was wondering if you could help me out a liiiiiiiitle bit further . i'll be blunt...

- i plan to trade mon-fri between 7am + 8am, or 8am + 9am (GMT).
- i'm going to be a scalper, using a mini account with start up capital of £1000, aiming for 10 pips a day at volume 50 (= £500 day).
- like i mentioned before, MACD, ROI + Stoichastics have served me well while backtesting...but which pivot point indicator would suit my circumstances?

thanks a bunch for taking the time to read the newbiness in my question

also, i've just added the pivot point files you kindly attached...although im a bit confused...ive added auto-pivot plotter V1-41 + auto-pivot plotter V1-41 (mid-level).

here is a pic of what my chart looks like:

id like to know what each colour represents...which colour represents PP, R1, R2, R3, S1, S2 + S3?

and which time frame would you recommend i use it in?

again i apologise for al the newbie questions but you've been rather generous in your responses thus far and i find your support both educational and resourceful.

thanks

Hi Pip_rugrat,

Colors: you can set the colors and styles to anything you wish. Edit the indicator parameters (press Ctrl-I, double click on "Auto-Pivot Plotter V1-41") and select the Colors tab. In the "#" column:
0 = R3
1 = R2
2 = R1
3 = PP
4 = S1
5 = S2
6 = S3
7 = not used
I use color "FireBrick" for R3,R2,R1; "Green" for PP; "RoyalBlue" for S1,S2,S3. But my window background is black, choose your own colors to suit your white background.
Same logic aplies for the mid-levels, the numbering is the same, i.e. top downwards.

Timeframe: The daily pivots are fixed levels, no matter which timeframe (M1, M5, M15, etc) you use. I use the Visualization parameters (edit the indicator again) to display daily pivots on timeframes H1 and below; weekly pivots on H4 and above. But I am not scalping. One of my systems is multi-time frame stochastic on M15 charts, and I also use the daily pivot levels, fibo retracement areas drawn between key highs/lows, prior support/resistance levels, EMA(200)s, and round numbers (e.g. X.XX00, X.XX50). (Yes, this particular chart is a seething mass of lines - LOL). I don't necesaarily regard any one of these as being significant in its own right, but if there is confluence of maybe 3-4 within a few pips of each other, then I use these to help me with entry and stoploss levels. But that is possibly more applicable to the way I trade that particular system personally, it may not suit anybody else.

Start Hour: since the daily pivot is calculated as (High+Low+Close)/3, it needs a cut-off time for the Close, while the High and Low are the highest and lowest prices attained between cut-off points. I read somewhere that the greatest majority of traders use 0000 EST (midnight New York) as their cut-off point, so I use that. Other commonly used points are apparently 1700 EST and 0000 GMT. My MT4 broker is Alpari, the time on their chart is GMT+2. New York is currently GMT+4, hence I enter a value of 6 into the indicator's StartHour parameter. I think IBFX is GMT+0 (you will need to check this), if that is the case, and you wish to use 0000 EST, then you will need to set StartHour = 4. Simply experiment with the parameter, until you see the lines change value at the desired time on the chart.

For more info on pivots, see my posts here and here.

Hope this helps,
David

I don't know if this is a miss type but you should read all you can about money management.
Don't risk any money until you realize how crazy the highlighted sentence is.

hanover: "I think IBFX is GMT+0 (you will need to check this), if that is the case, and you wish to use 0000 EST, then you will need to set StartHour = 4. Simply experiment with the parameter, until you see the lines change value at the desired time on the chart"

the time on my chart reads 22:25 GMT, whereas here in london its 23:25, so im assuming IBFX is GMT-1? i would like to use GMT 0000, so shoulod i set my StartHour=-1 ?

steve: thanks for your input. ive been using this pip volume etc... while backtesting and its proven effective. i admit that its a lot at stake, but the gains can be rather large too on a daily basis, which is why i need to assess as many indicators as possible.

Depends whether you want to use GMT, or London time. London is currently GMT+1 due to daylight saving.

You need to calculate what the IBFX time is relative to the cut-off time you want to use. Assuming IBFX is GMT+0, and you want to use London GMT+1 as the cut-off, then when it's 0000 in London, it will be 2300 at IBFX, hence you would set StartHour = -1. I assume that this works, I've never tried entering a negative number. You could also try 23. You may need to adjust twice each year for daylight saving.

If you want to use GMT 0000 as your cut-off, and assuming IBFX is also 0000 GMT, then set StartHour = 0. Keeps it very simple!

David