Timeframes

[sharky2372 10]

could someone give me a general run down on what tick count ie...177 tick or 244 tick ect ect.. is good for the s&p 500 emini or the dax e mini ect ect.....

[BlowFish 10]

The short answer is no. (though I suspect your question might simply be to get 3 posts). It depends on what you want to achieve. The requirements of a scalper taking maybe maybe 50 trades a day are going to be different from someone wanting to catch the main intraday swings.

 

I notice from another post you have been trading 8 or 9 months I am kind of surprised. If you are profitable (or close to being) great! I would change nothing. If you are not you need to stop and work out what you are trying to achieve and then pick the tools to do it.

 

If you tell people exactly what you are doing now and what's not working out (or you'd like to change) it would be easier to offer feedback. In the meantime just use 42.

[Minis Trader 10]

The short answer is no. (though I suspect your question might simply be to get 3 posts). It depends on what you want to achieve. The requirements of a scalper taking maybe maybe 50 trades a day are going to be different from someone wanting to catch the main intraday swings.

 

I agree with BlowFish there is no correct answer for every trader and every setup. Each trader will have their own system requirements. For me I like the 144 and 233 tick on the ES.

[DaKine 10]

Seems to me alot of people use variations of fib numbers to choose tick timeframes. Like BlowFish says only you can find the answer that is best for your style of trading. For me the 610 or 377 tick chart work fine on the ES...

[sharky2372 10]

no i was not trying to get my 3 limits in sorry you guys think that about everyone... i use the 144 tick on th ty and love it and the 377 on the ym and hate it just wondering if anyone had a better suggestion for the ym i like to trade for 3 or 4 hrs and sit and watch my charts if that helps, i dont swing trade. please give me some help if you can like i said im still pretty new to trading and the only luck i seem to have is just with the ty....

[atto 20]

A common misconception among traders is that "faster" charts are faster. That is, the 1m is "faster" than the 10m. However, timeframes are just ways we summarize a stream of data by "boxing" data into a set time interval, trade interval, volume interval, etc. More accurately, a 1m chart is more detailed than a 10m, but price moves at the same speed. Sure, it's stretched out horizontally more, but it's representing the same data. So, you could use a 5s chart to scalp, OR to take much longer positions.

 

Therefore, timeframes shouldn't effect your trading effectiveness unless price becomes far too summarized for your tastes. People like to use cute intervals (like 89 tick, 610 volume, or whatever), but it really doesn't matter. Find something that summarizes price in a way that's easiest to look at and analyze for your specific strategy.

[sharky2372 10]

thanks i just find the ym for me is really choppy and fast lol have a hard time getting my orders in just like i like them but im using the matrix now and its getting easier.

[Hlm 10]

no i was not trying to get my 3 limits in sorry you guys think that about everyone... i use the 144 tick on th ty and love it and the 377 on the ym and hate it just wondering if anyone had a better suggestion for the ym i like to trade for 3 or 4 hrs and sit and watch my charts if that helps, i dont swing trade. please give me some help if you can like i said im still pretty new to trading and the only luck i seem to have is just with the ty....

Exactly, if you use tick or volume charts it will be differrent between contracts because the amount of activity is different. If one is stuck on tick charts, I would suggest trying several of the larger fib numbers to see which one looks best (89-1597 most likely). As I said in another thread, using fib numbers for picking a single time frame has no mystical power. The advantage lies when watching multiple time frames...fibs do a good job (imo) of separating themselves more naturally to the market flow.

 

Of course it also depends on your strategy. I personally have moved almost completely to range bar charts. They allow me to view the fractal nature of the market more easily since they don't get distorted by momentum/volume. Of course I trade without bar volume and don't find it necessary in a highly traded efficient market. My question with momentum/volume versus fractal price areas and cycles...is it the chicken or the egg? Of course my views tend to be in the minority.