Interesting concept. Seems like it would depend on one's core approach to the markets. 1) IF one seeks patterns that nobody else knows about, then nonstandard definitions of the bar duration (or bar cycle time, bar periodicity) and bar phasing (the subinterval start time of each bar) might be promising. The logic is that if everyone uses the same periodicity and phasing, then most of the profitable patterns have already been exploited. Too many traders trying to all use the same view on the markets will create an efficient market. I would guess that contrarians and bottom feeders fall into this first category. The natural analog to this is the solitary predator, waiting to take down prey that no one else knows about. 2) IF one seeks to be part of the dominant trading pattern, then one would seek the most common definitions of the bars. This is the "Don't fight the markets", "trend is your friend" crowd. The key to this perspective is to be part of the herd -- buy when others are buying and sell when others are selling. The logic for this perspective is that the markets are most predictable when lots of traders are trading the same direction. I would guess that momentum traders fall into this second category. The natural analog to this is penguins jumping off an iceberg -- the penguin that jumps alone gets eaten by the sea lion, the penguins that jump together thrive. I am not sure which perspective is better. Cheers, -Traden4Alpha
i like Traden4Alpha's response. there probably isn't one answer to this..since it depends on an individual's trading style.
Good luck trying to see what I am seeing. Assuming that maybe 1% of all traders have an equally unique approach to market data processing, you will need lots of monitors. And assuming 1% of all those use calculations that are as intensive as mine, you will need lots of CPUs as well.
There has to be a limit to how long the newly initiated search for their personal Holy Grail... continually flipping between strategies on a whim is not the way to go... by all means look at several approaches... find the single approach that best suits your personality, backtest it to confirm it has positive expectancy and simply stick to your strategy... the trick is to find a strategy with positive expectancy that suits your personality, thereby enabling you to trade it with confidence... categorically, the path of the fool is to travel a perpetual journey looking for that one strategy that never has losses and that always wins under any market conditions...
i assume you're referring to me here since i started this thread and i ask a lot of questions. however, your view of me is incorrect. i'm not at all looking for a strategy that has no losses and "wins" all the time under any market condition. i already know better.. i'm just introducing an idea i haven't heard about much. even the best traders can probably still get better.
You are on to something all the pro tweek the charts !!!! I know this cause I'm a pro !!!!!!! go with your gut and try it..
I agree with candle. There are all kind of concepts you can think of (or read anywhere). While you need 1 or 2, that's all. more importantly, I think it is critical to see exactly what the others are seeing. How can you be with or against them (depending on your style) if you see something different ? Don't get me wrong, I know what you are trying to do. But it's an illusion. A masked holy grail quest. you know it's not helping. not all styles should try to go against the majority, what you call ahead (market making or arbitrage do). also, changing the timing of candles won't change the trend definition. it's already difficult to dissociate the multiple trends active. there is a risk to confuse the timing by changing the candle definition. A trend is dictated by the majority (and sometimes the majority is WRONG.. some say it's always wrong, but that's another topic). If you try to look at things in another way, you may miss what the majority is doing and be unable to position yourself properly. I want to look at the same thing than everyone else. And in market maker mode I want to be against them, and in index mode I want to be with them. In both modes I make money when I am not trying to outsmart the market. you make it too complicated. tntneo
Au contrare, Candleboy. The market's always changing, so you had better, too. Always be a student of the market. I have a core strategy that pays the bills, but I'm constantly tweaking in very slight ways as I learn more and study more. I've been doing this for ten years on a professional, pay-all-the-bills-and-the-mortgage-support-the-family basis. Every time I have a losing day or week, and go back to review the debacle, I find that I didn't catch something upon further review. So, yes, play with everything. You'll know when you've developed a successful and consistent core strategy. But you'll need to tweak it to keep it as current as the market.