This thread would only make sense if you accept the fact that we, as retail traders, are truly incapable of affecting the global price movement of currencies. You may spend your entire life saving on one purchase but unless you're at least a multi-millionaire, there is no way your purchase or selling can affect the global price. The local broker's price chart maybe, but not on the interbank rate.
Now, indicators are important to those who use them. They significantly affect their decision making. Essentially and indirectly, a program code is allowed to manage our money. Let's be sarcastic, because I'm guilty of this myself. A living human being begging on the street for your spare change is not enough to move you to commit a random act of kindness. A dead programming code, spitting out buy and sell signal, is enough to persuade your mind to a point of action and committing real money.
The question is: what's the point of having an indicator when so many have tried and fail through the fallacies of technical analysis, especially if it is custom made, only one in the world, or has a secret on it that no big players also happen to use?
BUT! I do think there is one very valid point of indicator usage, and that is: using those indicators which are used by professionals and bank traders. I think the Holy Grail aim of indicator making should be to find out what the big players are using themselves. Instead, there seems to be an endless race toward specialized, secret, custom indicator. And as a result, the trader's equities seem to be leaking out either to the programmer or to the market, and less to themselves. We somehow think that the best way to win is to try to create our own indicator that nobody else uses. Doesn't that defeat the very purpose of having an indicator in the first place, assuming you accept that we are incapable to move the price globally?
"Look! My super duper indicator that I spent 10 years building is telling me to go short on GJ!" On the other hand, Citibank is about to pile up their long position on all JPY pairs after BOJ statement of strengthening their economy by weakening the Yen.
We seem to wander aimlessly in the world of indicators. We keep hearing how some people brag about their secret indicator making millions and making us jealous, how some people boast their collection of indicators as they seem to collect indicators as a favorite hobby, and how some are still dreaming and pursuing a technical indicator that can outsmart the global financial market on a constant basis.
The other question is: shouldn't we, together as retail traders, focus our effort solely on finding out what indicators the big players are using, and stop our futile effort to make our own indicators that the market simply turns a blind eye on?
Don't get me wrong, indicators work. It might just be better than tossing a coin. Ichimoku for example, somehow works because I heard Japanese bank traders use them. But from my own personal experience, none of the indicators I've seen so far (6,219 on my archive) work consistently enough for me to make a living out of trading.
Now, indicators are important to those who use them. They significantly affect their decision making. Essentially and indirectly, a program code is allowed to manage our money. Let's be sarcastic, because I'm guilty of this myself. A living human being begging on the street for your spare change is not enough to move you to commit a random act of kindness. A dead programming code, spitting out buy and sell signal, is enough to persuade your mind to a point of action and committing real money.
The question is: what's the point of having an indicator when so many have tried and fail through the fallacies of technical analysis, especially if it is custom made, only one in the world, or has a secret on it that no big players also happen to use?
BUT! I do think there is one very valid point of indicator usage, and that is: using those indicators which are used by professionals and bank traders. I think the Holy Grail aim of indicator making should be to find out what the big players are using themselves. Instead, there seems to be an endless race toward specialized, secret, custom indicator. And as a result, the trader's equities seem to be leaking out either to the programmer or to the market, and less to themselves. We somehow think that the best way to win is to try to create our own indicator that nobody else uses. Doesn't that defeat the very purpose of having an indicator in the first place, assuming you accept that we are incapable to move the price globally?
"Look! My super duper indicator that I spent 10 years building is telling me to go short on GJ!" On the other hand, Citibank is about to pile up their long position on all JPY pairs after BOJ statement of strengthening their economy by weakening the Yen.
We seem to wander aimlessly in the world of indicators. We keep hearing how some people brag about their secret indicator making millions and making us jealous, how some people boast their collection of indicators as they seem to collect indicators as a favorite hobby, and how some are still dreaming and pursuing a technical indicator that can outsmart the global financial market on a constant basis.
The other question is: shouldn't we, together as retail traders, focus our effort solely on finding out what indicators the big players are using, and stop our futile effort to make our own indicators that the market simply turns a blind eye on?
Don't get me wrong, indicators work. It might just be better than tossing a coin. Ichimoku for example, somehow works because I heard Japanese bank traders use them. But from my own personal experience, none of the indicators I've seen so far (6,219 on my archive) work consistently enough for me to make a living out of trading.
