Swing trading AND time frames

[nesmithdj]

Hi everyone,

When swing trading, has anyone looked at different timeframes to determine where the market might be going to establish a position? What I have been doing in my demo account is to look at a 1 hour chart to determine what the trend is, and then I look at a smaller timeframe (5 min) to enter a position.

I would appreciate anyones insights and suggestions.

[pipbull]

Originally Posted by nesmithdj

Hi everyone,

When swing trading, has anyone looked at different timeframes to determine where the market might be going to establish a position? What I have been doing in my demo account is to look at a 1 hour chart to determine what the trend is, and then I look at a smaller timeframe (5 min) to enter a position.

I would appreciate anyones insights and suggestions.

This is a good practice, that is, to determine the trend using a longer time frame, then time the trade with smaller time frames. They say the difference between the 2 time frames you are using should be at least a multiple of 4. So, if you are using 1 hr chart to see for trend then you should drop down to 15 minute chart to time it. In fact, babypips uses such a process for their Cowabunga system. See their website

Myself personally, i have been using the daily time frame to look for trends and significant support/resistance, then dropping down to 4 hr and 1 hr to time entry and exit. It's been working very nicely over the past few months (demo of course). It is generally understood that the longer the time frame the more reliable the trend and/or support resistance. The shorter time frames, such as 5 minutes, are more subject to whipsaw action

[nesmithdj]

Thanks. I will try to change the smaller time frame to 15 minute chart instead of the 5 minute chart.

[honeb]

im a swing trader and i trade with the 1 day (to get the large picture of the trend), i use the 4 hour to pick a possible position and i use th 1 hour to pinpoint my exact position.
personally the 15 minute chart is more suited for day traders or short positions. i would suggest looking at a big picture with the 1day or 4 hour chart and use the 1 hour and 15 minutes to break down where you will open a position make an entry order.

[nesmithdj]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate everyones insights and suggestions. I am still learning more about the Forex market and am still determining what works for me as a Forex trader.

[rhodytrader]

If you're swing trading - meaning holding positions for days - you probably don't want to use charts shorter than an hour, and maybe even more like 3-4 hour, to time your trades. If you use a 15 you're going more toward day trading.

Using the daily charts to get the bigger picture is good. Heck, you can even use the weekly ones depending on the trading method(s) you are using.