I agree plus add some option plays, between div and option plays can be 10% to whatever capital appreciation to can make on longer term trades. But as I am nearing age 60, when I get in cheap enough on stocks, just going to be keeping them for dividends and option plays. When markets are going up which is 2/3rds of the time, either sell puts, put credit spreads or sell calls to be making something on a stock you want to either keep forever or long time.
B-Bands a Big? compression equates to narrow price trading range and Inner and outer range is based on price behavior when near prior support and resistance. "Guys who design indicators or systems make more money selling them, than using them." when you start down the road of digging into the mountain of indicators/methods, you will end up in a loop. Don't waste any more valuable resources, some of the simplest methods work the best. Keep it simple stupid, Kiss.
I been using indicators since 1978 when I had to calculate then longhand and I trade for a living, so it is more of knowing how to use them, then most people use them by what the book says. But I don't recommend newbies to start with them as I believe chart reading takes a few years to fully digest how to read charts, once done, indicators are a blessing if used correctly, but most traders don't put in the time to study what an indicator can add to one's trading. I use them to help filter out patterns that don't work well enough. If you study long enough you will know what a indicator should do in relationship to the chart and when it does something else, that can be a divergence upon it's own. It is like volume, most people don't use it cause they have not studied what is should do in relationship to price and yet it is the nuances of trading which can stop you from taking trades that a simple chart will not show. Take for instance Bollinger Bands, if you are a swing trader of stocks or options and have a good entry, you want to be able to take profit at best price. If you are using just a chart to define exits, that chart most likely will have to start coming down to show time to get out based on price not going up, whereas if using a Bollinger Band expands upward as price is going up and perhaps when price hits Bollinger band might be best time to get out. So then you start back testing it to find if true, you can also test for chart patterns, but I can think of just one topping pattern that has high degree of being topping, but does not happen at every short term extremes. So keeping it simple can lead to stupid losses, and can lead to not even having decent systems to develop and more importantly back test. I think it best to keep open mind than have another flame war on TA.
Wow! Guns are Drawn already? Take it easy there Lone Ranger. "I'm happy you found something that works for you". You are a minority of sorts, but others aren't as clear headed as you. Some simpler style guys avoid Protractors, Rulers, Colored pencils or markers to just plane old lines in the sand and some good old fashioned money management skills. Trading is a personal thing and people like what they like and I still stand by my earlier statement. So lets just agree on some and disagree without being disagreeable on other stuff.
Well, when someone is saying "Keep it simple stupid, Kiss", sounds to me as one is looking to stir the pot, I am not saying that at anyone whether they just use charts or mixture of each. I certainly didn't come back in Bold type either, if your guns are drawn and wanting to go over the top. I think there are very few indicators that work, but that happens to me as I have found majority not to work for me, not to say they don't work, just not for me. I think less is better. Most of those who use as simple as moving averages don't have a clue what the differences are other than periods, way too many read some book but the author many times don't have a clue either other than to give trend when there are other reasons to use moving averages Like speed of the market where say EMA is flat and then EMA has quickly gone on sharp angle up, and those who use charts only see that as a Thrust Bar to identify trend. Sloping EMA shows continue trend, and most over look that EMAs are for depth of pullbacks, smaller the number, smaller the pullback. Bollinger Bands offer even farther pullbacks if one uses 20,2, for me they offer best exit for shorter swing trading. I like to keep open mind, just cause whatever does not work for me, doesn't mean it doesn't work.
I would say it all depends on what way you think! Price is Price, and no matter what indicator you use, price will do what it is going to do. Volume is of course important, but might not be as important at certain times compared to other times! There is no "answer" as such, but it is up to those who try, to determine the best way that suits them, meaning, the way that they can make money with, for, if one is not making money trading, then it is obvious that they should not be trading. I mentioned recently that a person contacted me, and a family member had lost $250K trading in the past, which caused some major problems for the family concerned. This is the sad part, as in those who do not see the "information industry" for what it really is, can be duped into parting with their life savings. Hell, even the Chinese have latched on to it, and have transferred the new found wealth for those who were lucky enough to get some of it, back to those with the power and control. This is not a story, but a fact of life, so, ill informed, or "ignorant" people, should not dabble in things that they do not understand, and, no indicator is going to "show" anyone how to make money trading, for, there is far more than that involved, most of which is psychological, and how one interprets and relates to others in society, especially the idiots who are in control! J_S
I do not use any indicators apart from volume by price and horizontal lines, and can trade as good as anyone else, once I put my mind to it In relation to K.I.S.S, I have to disagree with you there, as, I was shown something by another trader some years ago, that, was so simple I did not actually believe it at first, and dismissed it because "I knew so much" As you rightly say, just because one person does not know something, in no way means that others do not know! What intrigues me about those who post on these sites, is that very few post actual charts about what they speak. I have no problem posting charts, as I know not one person will see what I see, as, it is so simple one will never see it unless it is pointed out, like it was to me some years ago, and, all the indicators under the sun will not show it to you, no matter what! J_S
One trader's simple of what I use can be complex to someone else's. I have posted many charts while being on ET. Am tired of posting charts with entries/exits as seems very few actually do the same. Anyone can put up charts as you did, but really we all can put up charts, no point in it. Market profile has always looked like music to me. Chart reading is actually a complex first step to learning price, that is if one cares to study, but most don't as many don't truly study and do years of back testing-that's too hard as many I have heard, they just want to trade, and I am glad they do.
Interesting discussion on indicators. I'm always fascinated to see the variety of methods profitable traders use. For me, I spent years unsuccessfully trying out different mechanical indicators in the hopes that some combination would provide me with a relatively mechanical trading system. It was not until I removed most of them from my charts that I had the AHA moment that what I really needed to do first was put in some serious time just observing the nature of price movement.