Full Time traders only : Timeframe Poll

Please only use the vote if you're a full time trader, it would be interesting for an aspiring person to know what time frame is most likely to succeed in this business. The poll is multi-choice so you're able to select more than one TF.

Nobody?

I don't see a "None of the Above"...?

People are voting now

Hopefully at least 100 full timers go ahead and place their vote - the result could turn out quite interesting.

Universal time frames only, if you use a different TF then just round it up/down to match one listed.

Why are there so many indicators on this forum for scalping when all the true traders use longer term charts!

because if you have a good scalping strategy you will start from a $100 mini account and upgrade to trading with an institutional account or directly through a bank in a coulple months

Are you also going to tell me that pigs fly?

this one doeshttp://scienceblogs.com/developingintelligence/pig1.gif

Exactly, some don't understand there's other time frames, 2,3,4,10,20,240 minutes, 3,4 & 8 hour charts.

I've known some that like off the wall stuff like 8 and 13 minute charts.

And then there's those that use multiples of the above to trade.

Kinda hard to narrow it to just one.

I might add, forget the poll,the proper time frame(s) is the one that works for you.

LOL. I was alluding the the fact that I do not trade off of charts, and therefore do not "trade" timeframes.
Little unclear on my part, sorry.

all charts are just compilations of tick data. so technically a day chart is the same thing as a minute or hour chart. it just shows a broader range of data.

that being said, i like one and four hour charts for my long term trading (couple weeks to a couple months) but i zoom em out a little bit. for short term trading i like 5 min charts. not too slow, not too fast. i like how you can visualize the intraday ranges and S/R on em.

with the 1 and 4 hour charts, i do mostly investment type trading. i find my direction, stick it in and leave it. i also stack a couple times.

for the 5 min charts i do break/bounce type trading. i find a range, watch the action, and look to see if it's gonna bounce or break. i usually only make 1 to 2 trades a day using this. sometimes i don't trade it at all.

hope this helps a bi.

Hey, some people use P&F charts exclusively!

yeah i like four hour P&F charts mixed with one hour P&F charts. it's really weird though. it seems like no matter what time frame i switch too, all the charts look the same. some kind of weird pattern maybe........

Here's something funny... all the people voting 5M/1M time frame have less than 1 year trading experience on their profile haha!

People that voted the longer term charts have at least 3-5 years experience which gives me a strong impression that they're CONSISTENT in the market. I guess some punters aren't reading the forum correctly - full time traders only! This thread has been moved to "Rookie Discussion" so I can't imagine that we will see many full time traders here.

In the end, it's the longer time frame which has the most momentum... Why would you buy/sell against it on the short term! Why do people have this need for fancy indicators that have been produced by people who can't even trade them live haha!

hmmmmmm ---- two statements in one paragraph --- good use of posting space methinks !

BUT,(dont ya just hate it when that word pops up ?) perhaps more people here use longer range charts, but i would wonder at just how experienced they are, and what are their working arrangements ---- longer time frames are easier if youre a wage slave with a 9 - 5, but you LOSE money compared to what a trader, sitting in front of his/her workstation will produce during the same time period.

Allow for a proven and repeatable fact of the forex world, and not even figuring in the one minute chart retraces that scalpers play, forex REVERSES its direction (but not necessarily its TREND) at a few key times a day, with 5oclock, EDT being one of the key periods (rollover time).

Now, by tomorrow, your long term trade may well hit 120 pips profit, but the trader who has traded both the upside move and the downside move has DOUBLED that 120 to 240, and that DOESNT include the very short term (5 pips or so) trades that can also be taken.

Nothing wrong with the "set it and forget it and live thru the drawdowns" kind of trading, as its probably the most popular since there are fewer "sit down all day and stare at the screens" retail traders out there relative to the first kind, but needed to answer your question and provide some understanding !

NOW, (thats a word similar to BUT) it all depends on what "fancy indicators" you refer to and if indeed they were designed by people who cant trade live ---- I know Mr. Bollinger trades pretty danged well, as does Mr. Wilder, so we have to put aside THEIR indicators for a bit, and since so many OTHER indicators are trading STANDARDS for much longer than youve been alive, are followed by any and all in the financial business and are "self fullfilling prophecies" simply because EVERYONE is watching the same thing, I am at a loss to understand your exact meaning !

BUT (that word again) each to his own and may the winner always wear a smile !

enjoy and trade well

mp

Mparker said it best.

Just to add, you go through timeframes to see s/r levels and trendlines and price action. Alot of traders that I know make money dont have strict hard rules to trade off of one timeframe. They may look for patterns, some patterns emerge better on a pair on an hourly TF and some on the min TF. I have patterns that work on the sec. TFs and patterns working on higher TFs on certain pairs. If you are a trend trader, and you may have looked at trend traders, obviously they will go for higher TFs, like Jacko. But there are successful traders in all styles and TFs, so I think this poll of yours is pretty useless.

For me, there are two keys to trading: direction and positioning. I use longer time frames for perspective and direction and shorter ones for entry/exit. I'm a short-term trader so I focus most on the more immediate moves. I also use other types of charts such as tick charts and range bars. My favorite among the time charts is probably 15 minutes.

The bigger the TF the less control you have over your trade, makes you require bigger SL and it's more gambly due to the nature of longer term holding and news releases that'll drag the market where ever it wants to go.

1M charts, you can pick 10-40pip momentum plays multiple times per day ( if you've got the time and if your full time trader, why haven't you ?? ), on a 15M or even 5M there is just no way you can see the detail required to spot this.