Help with Mixing Timeframe

Trade only in the direction of your daily analysis on your intraday time frame. For example, if you want to go short based on your daily, wait for a short signal on the 5 min chart; don't take any longs during that entire day. Exiting your position based on the 5 min move is OK. Just re-enter if there is another valid short signal.

 

Help w/ mixing timeframes – my ass

No matter how one chooses to slice n dice it – its all the same exact time – and all the same exact buying and selling

You can’t mix timeframes
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First time I’ve tried explaining it this way, so if it fails to come across – feel free to blame me

Time;

Is one long and never ending continuum

Take two people with stop watches

They both start them at the exact same point in time

One stops his at 30 seconds / the other person stops hers at 60 seconds

Meanwhile time continues on

For the first 30 seconds – they both have an identical view of time

For the remaining 30 seconds – the second person has a bigger/ more comprehensive snapshot of time – although obviously nowhere near a complete picture

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PA is similar to time…, in that it is one long continuum of buying and selling – punctuated by various events (mkt opens/ closes.., clearing of previous night’s orders…, bond closing…, lunch…, news…, disasters…, ect… ect… ect…

Mkt/ price gives a shit whether you’re using a 5 min chart…, a 72.638 second chart…, or a 44 1/3 year chart

A shorter TF chart is simply that – a shorter snapshot of PA – that is identical to – a longer TF chart – over the same snippet of time

Just like the two stop watches

Do the two TFs appear different – likely… but are they different – I can damn well guarantee the shorter TF is identical to the larger TF – in price.., volume.., and movement – over the same time

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What I would do;

Identify your levels / S&Rs / trend whatever – on your trading chart (daily or weekly I assume) – transfer those onto your shorter (intraday) TF – then use the shorter TF to fine tune your entries / exits / targets

Think/ treat the shorter TF as a microscopic view into the bigger TF – same view, only with more detail

I would also sit and watch a single DAILY candle get/ being created – over and over – until I understood how it gets created… and the PA involved creating it

And I would do this until I understood it like the back of my hand

You’ll be amazed…

Or, you'll get bored and be right back to doing this for fun

Tis always one's choice

RN

 

swingtrader,

great suggestion. I had a ZN short on from way up there. Then late last night(Sunday) on a weekend, I looked at the intraday overnight charts. Closed my winning short ZN. Then went long. Only to take some intraday losses. Got out of my long even though from my daily chart I know we are due for a bounce.

Then of course, ZN rallied hard today.

Had I followed my original daily chart, I would close out of my ZN this morning at the open, which happens to be intradays low. Reversed and went long like I originally planned. I'm not saying this with hindsight. That was my thinking all along. But I don't always follow my daily chart intuition because I was screwing around with the intraday charts.

 

Yes, easier said than done. I like to scalp around my long term positions. I make peanuts on my daytrades compared to the longer term swing trades. But I keep daytrading in hopes of better entries and exits, which sometimes work that way but for the most part it's a waste of time and net loser for me.

lemarche:

Yea, I've made some occasional good daytrades. But like I said, net net daytrading has not been profitable for me.

Worst yet, I sometime turn a supershort term daytrade(few minutes) into several hours hold. I sat through what would be ridiculous losses for daytrades, because I know where prices will be on a daily chart. And surprisingly enough it does follow and I'm able to get out and make a small profit.

But that's NOTHING to be proud of it. Because I'm mixing time frames. And rather than sit through all that losses on paper to turn back to the right level according to the daily chart, I should have gotten out for a small losses. Reverse my position and went with the intraday trend. And ride it for a good one. This probably means daytrading isn't for me since I couldn't think like that in real-time. Only in hindsight..

I think that's easier said than done. Daytrading is definitely not easy if you can't constantly change your mind to adapt to market conditions...

 

tiddlywinks:

True. It's not like my swing trading is perfect. I'm trying to refine it by better entries and exits using intraday charts. If I use daily charts it seems like I give up a lot. But then with intraday charts I might get out too soon or screw around with time wasting small losses day trades. Dilemma...

 

tiddlywinks:

You got some great points here. I haven't used fib retracements. Are they accurate? I should check it out.

I do have "rules" for entries and exits based on PURELY visual patterns that I have seen in the past. They do kinda work. But definitely need further refinements.

You guys bring up a very good points. I need a sharper tool for entries on intraday than just the bigger longer term daily charts look right.

Ironically, most of the patterns I've learned and use now for my swing trading came FROM my daytrading days. Those losing days. But I was exposed to many thousands of charts.

I just expanded my horizon and my reward got many multiples. But the noise or swings can be harrowing if I don't get the entries just right...

 

I scalped a bit intraday. Ka-ching. It's not too bad. I just hope my scalping doesn't get wiped out by one big bad trade. Still waiting for the daily signal. Meantime scalping afterhours. hehe.

 

FUDGE!!! I just did it again. My next trade after I posted this WIPED out my ENTIRE intraday scalping profits and SOME. All because I didn't cut my losses on an intraday basis because I was looking at the daily chart. Stupid mixing time frames again!

HELP?!!!

 

Mr 99,

You interest me Sir – though why I’m not exactly sure

Been here 11 1/2 years

Former quant turned trader (your post dated June 21, 02)

Traded prop and institutional (posted same date)

And yet here you are…., trading for fun

You bullshitting us.., or yourself

RN

 

Ah, u have been rumbled, Mr 99!

Great investigative work, RN!