Whilst your trading time frame is often based on a very personal choice reflecting your time constraints and lifestyle, whether to be rigid or flexible with those time frames used is often little considered amongst many traders.
From a psychological view point, I have come to the conclusion regarding many aspects of trading that less is more. The less clutter on one's chart the better, the less information I have to make a decision for placing a trade - the better, the less hours spent staring at the screen - the better and so on and so forth. And when it comes to the number of instruments to trade, I have come to the realisation that less is better, insofar as there are less charts to juggle and keep track of, and of course the easier it is to wake up each morning and begin the routine of analysing half a dozen charts instead of twenty plus. But this does not mean opportunities are fewer. Flexible time frame analysis is key here.
A recent Seiden webinar highlights this concept of time frame flexibility quite clearly, and I believe this is one of Seiden's best webinars to date (despite Seiden's inability to stay focused on a smooth seminar delivery which he begrudgingly admits).
Instead of sticking to rigid time frames waiting for trade setups to come along, Seiden actively dissects the market up to maximise reward over risk, through various time frames, and as he puts it, 'attempts to see the many angles of a potential trade as he possibly can...like a doctor taking x-ray snapshots'. In doing so he is pro-actively moving in on potential setups for that day or week, rather than passively waiting for a level on some other fixed time frame to trigger. But there are other added benefits to using a more flexible approach.
By analysing instruments using a flexible time frame approach with top down analysis, it gives one a more holistic picture of that particular instrument to be traded, arguably leading to better trading decisions. For example, we might be in the middle of the Daily Supply and Demand Curve where price is at equilibium and therefore more prone to ambiguous price action in either direction on this particular time frame. But, on a lower time frame such as H1 we might be at extreme levels which primes us for some great intraday trades.
Also, the higher volume of trades per instrument means fewer instruments are required to be analysed each day for the same volume of trades a person trading 3 times as many instruments. This allows one to learn and experience the particular behaviours of a few instruments and become more intimate with them, rather than the general sweeping glance approach when analysing a larger number of instruments.
Ultimately, the goal of making better trading decisions can be gained using fewer pairs but with a more flexible time frame approach, - and a lot easier to wake up to in the early trading hours! Why make your trading routine a psychological brick wall with a daunting number of charts, when it could be a more pleasurable hop with fewer charts, and a more interesting time spent with each at that.
From a psychological view point, I have come to the conclusion regarding many aspects of trading that less is more. The less clutter on one's chart the better, the less information I have to make a decision for placing a trade - the better, the less hours spent staring at the screen - the better and so on and so forth. And when it comes to the number of instruments to trade, I have come to the realisation that less is better, insofar as there are less charts to juggle and keep track of, and of course the easier it is to wake up each morning and begin the routine of analysing half a dozen charts instead of twenty plus. But this does not mean opportunities are fewer. Flexible time frame analysis is key here.
A recent Seiden webinar highlights this concept of time frame flexibility quite clearly, and I believe this is one of Seiden's best webinars to date (despite Seiden's inability to stay focused on a smooth seminar delivery which he begrudgingly admits).
Instead of sticking to rigid time frames waiting for trade setups to come along, Seiden actively dissects the market up to maximise reward over risk, through various time frames, and as he puts it, 'attempts to see the many angles of a potential trade as he possibly can...like a doctor taking x-ray snapshots'. In doing so he is pro-actively moving in on potential setups for that day or week, rather than passively waiting for a level on some other fixed time frame to trigger. But there are other added benefits to using a more flexible approach.
By analysing instruments using a flexible time frame approach with top down analysis, it gives one a more holistic picture of that particular instrument to be traded, arguably leading to better trading decisions. For example, we might be in the middle of the Daily Supply and Demand Curve where price is at equilibium and therefore more prone to ambiguous price action in either direction on this particular time frame. But, on a lower time frame such as H1 we might be at extreme levels which primes us for some great intraday trades.
Also, the higher volume of trades per instrument means fewer instruments are required to be analysed each day for the same volume of trades a person trading 3 times as many instruments. This allows one to learn and experience the particular behaviours of a few instruments and become more intimate with them, rather than the general sweeping glance approach when analysing a larger number of instruments.
Ultimately, the goal of making better trading decisions can be gained using fewer pairs but with a more flexible time frame approach, - and a lot easier to wake up to in the early trading hours! Why make your trading routine a psychological brick wall with a daunting number of charts, when it could be a more pleasurable hop with fewer charts, and a more interesting time spent with each at that.
