Tick charts are best for scalping. I set up a volume indicator on a 2 tick chart for block trade signals. Please don't still my edge....
I think it is meant to avoid the other traders with similar strategies (same efffect as frontrun)... but my guess is sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't because the other guys are also shifting
I have heard that is is a requirment for all of the traders at GS to use tick charts now... And they have to be fibonacci based or they are gone...
Price & volume run hand in hand. Price movement or oscillations are the reflections of the sentiment or the emotions of the individuals that trade inside of any market IN REAL TIME. Volume shows the amount of that collective sentiment that is effecting the market at any given moment. Time is the monitor where we view a combination of price and that sentiment. The most common viewing options for traders are Minute Charts, Ticks Charts, Range Bar Charts and Volume Bar Charts to use as that monitor. 1. Minute Charts - Varying number of shares or contracts traded per bar. (Volume unstable) 2. Tick Charts - Constant number of Ticks but still a varying number of shares or contracts traded per bar. (Volume unstable) 3. Range Bar Charts - User defined bar range but still varying number of shares or contracts traded per bar. (Volume unstable) 4. Volume Bar Charts - User defined number of shares or contracts traded per bar. (Volume Stable) Price will always be stable because it can not be manipulated. It is a perfect reflection of any Market at any given moment (past & present). Volume Bar Charts then give stability to Volume and Time (Chart Increment). The user (YOU) define the number of contracts or shares that make up each bar. Less contracts or shares gives you faster charts and would be used for intraday or scalp trading. More contracts or shares traded per bar gives you slower charts and would be used for Swing, Position or Long Term trading. The environment is now perfectly viewable, stable and non-varying. You now need to choose the chart increment to best suit your trading style (Intraday, Swing, Position or Long Term) and as stated earlier, spend the screen time to learn just exactly what does price do consistently in the "time frame" that you wish to trade. I don't use the term "interrupt" because it implies a subjective action. I prefer "read" because what the ultimate result of this environment is, is to be objective in your decision making process trading on price consistencies. Price does move methodically. One just has to view it in a stable non-varying environment to see it.