Im trying to determine which chart is the best for trading daily. I still have to work so I can’t sit at the computer all day scalping but I would like to make at least one or two trades a day. I do have access to my laptop at work, I just cant sit at it all day. I would rather not go so long that I have to hold a position over night. Things tend to work against me unless I’m watching it. Nor do I want to hold one over the weekend. I dont mind holding a position from 5 AM to 11 PM but thats about as far as I want to take it. So… any ideas on what chart I should be watching that would give me a good idea about the trend movements and any signals for a short trade? Thanks in advance.
I’d say your a bit out of luck if you can’t watch charts but don’t want to hold positions for long periods of time whilst looking at trends, etc. My advice would be to considder scalping as an option, you could get home from work and sit at the computer for a few hours and make a couple of small trades? Look up the daily trends and/or areas of resistance on a 15 minute chart (or zoomed out 5min) and pick your entry points on a 5 minute chart. Play the bounces off key resistance areas and aim for conservative pip targets but with small stop losses (risk). You won’t be in positions for more than an hour or two very often which should be an ideal place to start.
I agree with Shroomhead. I’m sort of in the same situation except the other way round; I’m dealing with going to University at 11:00am est. Best thing about that is I can wake up a bit early and watch the NY open. Works well, I only watch for a couple hours and I’m either in a trade or two or I leave and wait for the next day.
Yeah, I figured as much. Thats what I’ve been doing up to now. It just sucks trying to scalp when I get home from work. I wish I could get in while the European market and US market are open between 0800 hrs and 1300 hrs. I just dont ahve a whole lot of volatility to work with in those later hours. I guess I’ll have to stick with what I can work with. I’ve tried the 20 min charts, well, I’m trying them now. The only problem I’m having with them is sometime needing to hold my trades over night. Trial and error I guess. Thanks guys.
Why not try gold? XAUUSD (: If you’re looking to hold positions longer than normal, might as well go for a trending one (;
Yeah, I dont know if I can hold a position that long. I can’t stand holding one over night and refuse to do it over the weekend. I know Gold is in a strong positive trend but that would require a more fundamental approach to trade. Im a technical guy, I get bored with news. I think I’ll be ok with the 10 and 20 min charts. Im up about $700 since this morning on AUD/USD, GPB/USD and USD/CAD. Also, I live in the US so commodities are nearly impossible to trade anyway. Thanks for the input though 
I would really try to build towards holding positions longer if you can’t monitor and can’t trade during the day. When my other businesses take me away from Forex for a few days, I trade solely end of day off the Daily chart (for my Entries, I look at higher TFs for an indication of trend) and it still brings in nice pips. Scalping can be pretty tough - doing it after a day at work at a time when you yourself don’t ideally want to be doing it, that seems to be heaping a fair bit of negative pressure on to your trading, which is never a good thing. I know that it is easier said than done, and we all have different styles, but I really think that end of day trades held over a few days (not necessarily over a weekend) sounds like the best fit for you. Perhaps try demo trading it for a while, see how you do? If it goes well, you might feel more comfortable holding trades overnight live.
Just my thoughts, I understand that one trader’s ideal setup is another trader’s no-go!
One thing I really do want to comment on, though: you say that you would ideally like to take at least one or two trades a day. I really think that that is looking at things the wrong way round. If you don’t have an ideal setup, you really shouldn’t trade. Over the long term, sitting out the odd day if the market is not giving you setups is much more profitable than simply trading because you want to be trading and taking less-than-ideal setups. So with apologies for sticking my nose in (you did not ask about that aspect of your trading) I would not set out with a target number of trades per day. Frequency is not what will make you serious money over the long haul - consistent quality, mechanical setups are the key.
ST
I am experimenting a little with the 20 min charts. I was able to clear 780.14 dollars today with 2 shorts and a longer trade I initially intended to go a few days with but closed it after I was happy with its results. There are alot of times I get out early and the price would have kept moving for me. Sometimes I just take the profits and run though, well, most of the time. I’ve decided that I would have at most 1 long and 1 short or 2 shorts up at a time.
Dont worry too much about me trying to trade something everyday. I probably sit out more days than trade, but when I see my signals I jump in and ride it out until Im happy with the results then bail. Im not impatient, yes, ideally I would love to be able to make a couple of trades a day but if I dont see my signals I dont trade. Thanks for the input though. I do have access to my laptop at work so around 0900 - 1300 I try to find a reason to be at my desk. Im conservative with my stops and limits, maybe too much but when Im trading short and not at my desk I want to increase my chances of hitting my limit as much as possible. Most of the time the price will continue to move the way I initially anticipated after my position has closed but Im ok with that. Profit is profit. Thanks again… sorry for rambling a little.