What SINGLE timeframe chart would you use if you 'had to' limit to one for 80% of your trades? i'm thinkin' 10m is too slow, 5m grabs plenty of good trades, makes doing stats lots easier and less time consuming, gives more time for chart analysis between candles. i'm thinkin 5minute. What say you?
For day trading purposes (not scalping)... If I was limited to only just one time frame because of limited screen space such as travelling or trading while mobile, I would use either the 2min or 3min chart. I've done the statistical work on my trading plus psychological limitations...2min or 3min is perfect for me. 1min too fast and 5min too slow. wrbtrader
Depends on the underlying. For mini indexes I use 2 min and 3 min charts. Trading metals, softs, and micros I use 5 min charts. In the odd situation where I am trading non-rth hours, almost always 5 min charts and slower.
i tried to go M5's this week, been on M1 for ages, needed a change, tried it for a day and too slow, not enough setups, but did help me relax a bit M1 and let trades come to me. 100% of trades on M1 here. I do think M2 or maybe M3 would suite me better, but no access to those TF's
I'm only a poor Spot Trader via MT4, yes need to move to proper future broker, but lazy and it works and I've got code helping me written in MT4 so it's a hassle to go elsewhere. Until they refuse to hand over my profits then I'll have to run, might never happen!
All the same really, works on tablets and phone okay ish. You click Buy / Sell and an X to close, or drag TP line to a location to sell and move SL via the line on the PC version. Shame Tablets have to enter the numbers and that's clunky and horrible mind Can Code for it, Auto SL with Trailing and a TP line added ready to move, also clunky if you have to enter it yourself.
Nearly all of my intraday entries are made based on what is observable on the five minute bar chart. For OTC's and low float Nasdaq stocks I will look at the one minute because I need to see volume per minute as part of the market context, but I do not "trade" the one minute. For futures, index options, large cap tech, I use only observations made on the five minute bar chart for intraday trading, and then hourly, four hour, and daily to place the current day's action in the context of longer time frame support and resistance. But to answer your question, if I had to select only one bar interval for day trading, it would undoubtedly be the five minute bar.
I scalp breakouts on the 1 min. 2 or 3 would be great though too. I do trade in the direction of the 1hr and 20 min candles.