Which chart timeframe to use?

Yes every trader likes different time frames according to his style and targets. Scalpers see low time frames I see hourly time frames rather than day . My short term style needs some hours charts to see market position. I can estimate at what move I should enter in market according to market trend.

If every person is different why would it better to start with the longer time frames?

Well, so how you determine the market trend? Based on the
hourly time frame?

H4 is favorite time frame of mine . I also use other charts for market trend but H4 is shows very strong moves Or we can say it will tell real idea about trend within last hours. Mostly traders use indicators on h4 time frames. rat of analysis is up to a trader what time frame he likes for his trading style.

I did read this when it was posted and decided not to respond to it then , but I have to admit this has been nagging at my conscience ever since…so I thought I would add a few comments, afterall! :slight_smile:

I am definitely one of those that are guilty of “so much silly talk in forums about “noise” in faster time-frame charts.” and I do believe it is an important and decisive factor in selecting which TF(s) to use with respect to the trading method and style being implemented.

Intraday TFs, being divided into regular, repetitive, meaningless time segments like 1m, 5m, 15m, are totally irrelevant in terms of identifying an underlying main trend. They are only useful in identifying a current, short-term price move opportunity that hopefully might continue long enough to allow snapping a profit from it before the next turn.

Daily TFs, by definition, almost exclude intraday traders and scalpers as their trades are aimed at the busiest sessions such as Londen and NY. Therefore the daily closing price is more representative of what the longer term view is of swing and position traders. The daily bar retains nothing of the intraday spasms except the OHLC.

I agree that there is just as much “noise” on a daily chart than on say a 15m chart but I believe that there are big, and very critical, differences between longTF noise and short TF noise. I disagree that one cannot tell the difference between different TFs on a naked chart - one only has to look at the typical candle lengths to know which is a daily and which is a 5m chart!

As one famous current president, reknown for his tweets, might say when comparing a daily with a 5m chart:

“Yes they both have “noise” but my “noise” is bigger than your noise!”

In addition, daily “noise” can last for even several days whereas “noise” on a 15m chart catches you out even almost instantaneously.

In the chart below the Daily is on the left and a 15m on the right. I have added a common MA type trading approach to both charts with 2 EMAs of 10 and 20, periods purely as a example. There is plenty of noise on both charts but the daily chart shows typical potential moves measured in hundreds of pips (red lines) whilst the 15 min chart gives potential moves of only 5-50 pips - which also demonstrates how critical are precise entries and exits in the short term moves. In addition, that spike on the 15min which probably caused a lot of intraday traders some heartache does not even register on the daily.

Certainly, there is “noise” on all charts. But I believe there is a difference in the size and duration attributes of “noise” on various charts and that “noise” is far more manageable, and even exploitable, on daily charts than with 1m, 5m, 15mcharts etc.

But that is just my view (as an ex-intraday trader who often slips back into his old ways! :slight_smile: )