Multi Time Frame Vs Long Period Indicator?

[gaudi 10]

Let's say Main Time Frame is 1Min Chart. and secondary Time Frame is 10Min Chart.

we can assume that One bar in 10Min is same as Ten Bars in 1Min. not exactly same though

if so what's different and which is better between 10-Period-EMA in 10Min Chart and 100-Period-EMA in 1Min Chart?

it would be similar issue like 'Smoothing Technique' because 10Min Time Frame is kind of 'Filtered Price' from 1Min Time Frame.

There will be Pros and Cons.

 

What's your opinion?

[bskohler 10]

I'm not going to blurt out what took me a long time to get, but I'll throw a bone and you figure it out. Maybe it'll save you a couple years. Your premise is backwards, 10m to 1m - not 1m to 10m(although I don't use those time frames), and don't chase the line, be the line.

[bskohler 10]

You'll still need method and chasing lines is not method. Also many want to adopt the use of multi time frames as an edge, 1, 3, 8, 13, thinking fitting the smaller time frame inside of the larger gives them a timing advantage. It's backwards. So even though I look at something very similar to what you're describing I filter with method and my reasoning is different.

[BlowFish 10]

10 min 10 period MA superimposed on a 1 min chart as a 'stair step' that changes every 10 minutes.

[Kiwi 16]

Actually its a series of sloping lines (from point to point to point) ... I map slower to faster (or used to) and when the ratios were around 5 the discrete steps weren't particularly noticeable.

[BlowFish 10]

I prefer the stair steps gives a fixed level to trade against.

[Kojak 10]

Wouldn't volatility be a factor to consider?

 

During periods of high volatility a higher time frame would make for more reliable breakout indicators for one.

 

Jose

[robertm 10]

Wouldn't volatility be a factor to consider?

 

During periods of high volatility a higher time frame would make for more reliable breakout indicators for one.

 

Jose

 

Not necessarily. Having more periods to calculate the average from will smooth out spikes in volatility better. Take FX as an example, news spikes will skew figures when viewed over a small number of periods, and as much of the activity happens during a few hours even though it is a 24hr market this will mess with some of your intraday views on volatility and averages.

 

At the end of day the most important job of the MA is telling us which direction the trend is going allowing you to code around this basis, so being accurate is secondary to simply achieving something that gives you the results you are after.

Edited June 9, 2010 by robertm
typos

[Tiobingo 10]

I think Robertm makes an excellent point. Results are more important than accuracy. And news events and spikes due to market reaction are common place. In the end we're dealing with lagging indicators, which do have their place but can easily be overused and overvalued. I look at price action and will test my ideas, like a breakout idea for example, and see how it did when happening in the direction of a slower trend vs. against a slower trend. The results often surprise me too. Intuitively you might think that taking a trade on a faster timeframe might be more effective when trading with the slower timeframe trend direction, whether it's on a slower ema on the same chart, or a slower chart all together. But often, the faster timeframe does quite well against the slower ema as it wants to pull back to it. To answer the question of this thread directly though, I would prefer to see a longer period indicator on my faster chart than to watch muti time frame charts. I prefer it all on one chart, rather than multiple charts. It's just easier to look at and saves monitor real estate. It also helps me eliminate the risk of too much information.