POLL: If you trade intraday, do you use sub-one-minute charts in your trading?

Discussion in 'Trading' started by Gabfly1, Aug 12, 2010.

If you trade intraday, do you use sub-one-minute charts in your trading?

  1. Yes

    23 vote(s)
    30.7%
  2. No

    52 vote(s)
    69.3%
  1. you must give to get.

    i'll ask a question, you answer, then you ask.

    who is your broker?
     
    #11     Aug 12, 2010
  2. I agree. Which is why I participated in my own poll.
     
    #12     Aug 12, 2010
  3. BSAM

    BSAM

    Kill, stop trying to "kill" the intent of the thread.

    Back on topic.....I do not use sub one minute charts.
     
    #13     Aug 12, 2010
  4. If they have a software language like EZ language, just create your own sub minute charts using tick data. It is not as hard as it might sound...
     
    #14     Aug 12, 2010
  5. But wouldn't the use of ticks result in an activity-based chart rather than a time-based chart? While I have no doubt that activity-based charts have value for many traders, this thread is concerned with time-based charts.

    P.S. You have given me an idea for another poll. Thanks.

    http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=204853
     
    #15     Aug 12, 2010
  6. What I'm saying is if you want a 10 second chart, for example, just set up an array and store the tick value every 10 seconds of computer time or data time. You can do all the calculations on the array values. As long as the symbol you are looking at trades more than once every few seconds, you should enough data for a sub minute bar.
     
    #16     Aug 12, 2010
  7. wrbtrader

    wrbtrader

    Every data vendor has their bells & whistle stuff. Other high end vendors don't have something while others do.

    By the way, have you ever visited the offices of any institutional trading firm? I have visited several and none of the trading desks had charts up on the monitors with sub-one-minute data charts although I don't know if their data vendor had the option for such.

    In fact, most of the sub-one-minute discussions I've seen have been by us retail folks that trade from a home office. Thus, I'm under the impression that the high end data vendors aren't targeting retail trading clients because they spend their efforts targeting professional trading firms although I'm sure their happy when a big swinging retail client wants to use their services.

    Something else, the institutional trading firms I've visited...all had time-based charts (e.g. line, bar, candlestick). Thus, I didn't see any of those fancy types of charts you see discussed here at EliteTrader.com as supposedly being superior (e.g. volume, tick, range) to time-based charts.

    P.S. I use time-based charts.

    Mark
     
    #17     Aug 12, 2010
  8. tick, volume based charts are usually displayed as bar charts.

    I once visited our local scottrade office, does that count?
     
    #18     Aug 12, 2010
  9. wrbtrader

    wrbtrader

    Yes but I'm referring to something like 133 tick charts or whatever the number of ticks the trader designates to produce the next bar or candlestick interval in comparison to a time based chart (bar or candlestick).

    Quick explanation of the difference at the below link...

    http://www.dacharts.com/faq/tick-charts.php

    note: no affiliation, I just use google to do a quick search and that's the first link that pop up.

    Mark
     
    #19     Aug 12, 2010
  10. sure, I was just joking around Mark. You know that is an interesting chart comparsion link you posted. If someone is a intraday trend trader, that 133 tick/volume based chart looks much smoother and easier to trade.

    may I ask why you prefer time based charts?

    http://www.dacharts.com/faq/tick-charts.php
     
    #20     Aug 12, 2010