To use or not to use is a question everyone struggles with. My reason for not using any indicators is because they influence my decision making ability in a negative manner. My brain recognises: Patterns instantly without me having to put any effort in at all. Whether price is trending/ ranging/ indecisive/ aggressive/ passive etc... Whether a trade is on or not Its like driving a car or wheeling a bicycle, there is no thought because all the heavy lifting is taken care of by my subconscious pattern recognition algo. When I place something even as simple as a moving average on my chart it messes with everything. I get confused and start thinking about whats happening. This is not a good situation for me as I believe that trading is a simple process which is needlessly complicated by over analysis. Following are 2 examples of the same instrument. 1st chart tells me price is slowly trending up with lots of opportunities to get in on pullbacks. 2nd chart contains the standard macd, stochastic and moving average which requires me to think. Im not the sharpest tool in the shed at the best of times so I avoid having to think to hard about things which is why I stick to no indicators.
I am biased against indicators. My thoughts are along the lines of - if one of those indicators actually worked - why on earth did they create another 5000 of them....
The reason I dont use any indicators The actual price movement is as precise as can be. Indicators, by design, less so. So why handicap yourself and settle for a tool that is simply derived from the price movement? I look at price movement as being the heart, and indicators the pulse. And I would rather have the doctor listen to my heart than just feel my pulse! But on the other hand, if you can't read the price movement, indicators may be your only choice.
Indicators are tools. If you know how to use them, they rock. But a sculpter with a screwdriver will do a better job than a noob with the sharpest chisel. (And neither the chisel nor the screwdriver care a whit about who uses them or whether they are being used "correctly.")
Im always willing to learn. Perhaps you would be kind enough to share your knowledge? I need all the help I can get
To create a working indicator (or several) you have to be smart. And smart people will never publish a working indicator FOR FREE on internet. The 5000 you are speaking of are cheaters who want to make money (or fame) from naive people.
That's funny. As I as coming in from taking out the trash, I was thinking of this thread... and about making the analogy of trying to drive a nail with a screwdriver.