various MAs description can be found here http://www.quotetracker.com/help/techind.shtml I use sierra chart but it is also available in other charting software
Stay away from trendlines. Depending upon chart service, scaling, even screen size, no two people have trendlines in the same place. I look for an MA that's often mimicking the slope of an invisible trendline.
Actually, it all depends how well a market is trending when using TL's, as well as MA's. I have been using trendlines as one of my major tools for the past 19 years, and they work as well today as they ever did, just depends on the market. One reason I like TL's is that they are self fulfilling. When a market is smooth, nearly everyone WILL have the same lines drawn. Nothing like a move towards a trendline on declining volume. Risk-reward ratios just get beautiful in such cases, and its all about money management anyway. That said, I believe Pabst has a point if you don't have an obvious trend, as lines can and do get drawn all over the place in a choppy environment. You would be surprised at how well the stock indices can trend on a 5 min though, even when the longer frames are a mess. Screen size and scaling does not affect TL's, however; just the slope. The prices will still hit in the same place, given a very small range for how accurately they were drawn. Shouldn't affect results unless your stops are too tight to begin with. This is just my opinion, and I am no guru, but I have been trading full time for a very long time, and this works for me. Jay
================ Aspenboy; Believe you could find a way to use them in a helpful way; like on 2-13-06 , most of trends that day were down, and that day was down from 2-1-06, most any ma confirmed it. Not saying you should do it that way;worked well then. However as you hinted when derivatives move , they move like a Georgia pine/timber falling or covey of quail rising. So while they can keep one on the right side of a trend; prefer something else for exits, keys like MIT [market if touched order] If i coould find trends like that moderators & figure his moving averages ; might change my mind. Thanks for link
I use the exponential mov avg on a 5 min chart of ES 4, 9 and 19 periods. More money has been made in stocks and futures with the use of mov avg's than anything else out there. Best trend following indicator for my money. I keep hearing about the lags, well there is not much of a lag relative to many other indicators. Once you become familiar with your crosses etc with experience mov avgs will be more faithful than your dog. They are killers in consolidations as stated by others. you are advised to determine when a mkt is sideways and adjust accordingly. To determine a sideways mkt is a snap. Good Luck .........
look how beatifully the work: 50-100emas signal support taken out and a possible short sale. 20ema, absolutely on the money, signals profit target for long pos after vbottom:
One word of caution using mov avgs. When you get a cross of say the 4 crossing the 9 DURING the time the bar is working it can be a flip flop on both sides of the cross. I wait for the bar to close first and then see if the cross stuck or not. This saves you some trades that might be a loss when jumping on to soon. With experience you should tell if you want on before it runs away from you...............Have fun............