Book? There’s a book? Where can this book be found?
Hi phydaux,
You can download Andy’s 3 Ducks e-book for free at his website, Captain Currency. Just under the header, look to the right: “Free E-Book.”
Happy Duck Hunting,
Norm
Hi Clint,
Just a little note to add to my recent post: When I was speaking about trading 3 Ducks “on the higher time frames,” I wasn’t referring to thousand year - hundred year - decade, or even MN1 - W1 - D1, which you and others counseled against. What I had in mind was D1 - H4 - M30.
Take care,
Norm
[quote=“phydaux, post:7, topic:82034, full:true”]
Clint, that right there made getting out of bed today worthwhile.[/quote]
[quote=“NormanA, post:6, topic:82034, full:true”]
Hey Clint,
Nice running into you again.
I was just gearing up to massively demo 3 Ducks, and the top quote directly resolved my perplexity on the matter though I couldn’t believe that on a 5-minute chart one would set a SL and TP that would be consistent with a swing trade. After all, the price crossover to the wrong side of the MA would occur waaaay too soon for swing. The proportions would be way out of whack. Thank you for confirming this for me.[/quote]
The statement you both quoted is clearly accurate, but it could use some elaboration.
In the course of elaborating – writing up some additional thoughts on triple-screen trading – I got deep in the weeds, and wrote way too much. But, I’ve decided to post all of it, anyway. Some of it may seem simplistic to you, but it’s really intended for a wider audience – brand-new newbies who don’t yet have your level of understanding.
I’ve divided my elaboration into two posts, which follow.
Take from it what you will.
Selecting the Primary Time-Frame for Your Personal Trading Style
Trading Styles - defined by how long you intend to hold your trades
Ask ten forex traders to define all the trading styles employed in this game, and you will get at least ten different answers. Opinions vary. There’s no verifiably right answer. Here is my answer to the question. You may, or may not, agree with the way I define holding periods – from seconds to years. But, have a look, and see what you think:
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Hyper-Scalping. A hyper-scalp is a trade in which the entry and exit are expected to occur mere seconds apart. (Typical profit target: 1-5 pips.)
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Scalping. A scalp (or scalping trade) is a trade in which the entry and exit are expected to occur seconds or minutes apart. (Typical profit target: 5-30 pips.)
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Day-Trading. A day-trade (or intraday trade) is a trade in which the entry and exit are expected to occur within the same trading day. (Typical profit target: 30-100 pips.)
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Short-Term Trading. A short-term trade is a trade in which the entry and exit are expected to occur within 2 to 5 trading days. (Typical profit target: 100-300 pips.)
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Swing Trading. A swing trade is a trade in which the entry and exit are expected to occur a week or more (up to several weeks) apart. (Typical profit target: 300-1,000 pips.)
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Position Trading. A position trade is a trade in which the entry and exit are expected to occur weeks, months (or even years) apart. (Typical profit target: 1,000 pips or more.)
Note that trading styles are defined by their holding periods, not by their profit targets.
Typical profit targets are shown for reference only.
Time-Frames
The purest price chart is a tick-chart with two continuous price series: a BID tick-price series, and an ASK tick-price series.
Our beloved candlestick charts are adapted from these pure price series by:
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selecting either the BID price series, or the ASK price series, and ignoring the other price series
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selecting a time period (1-minute, 30-minute, 1-hour, 1-day, etc.) and establishing this period as a “unit” of time
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collecting the open, high, low, and close prices (OHLC) occurring during each “unit” of time, and displaying those four prices in a single candle, and
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ignoring all the other ups and downs in price that occur between the open and the close in that particular “unit” of time
The result of all this selecting, collecting and ignoring is a candlestick chart in a particular time-frame. Our candlestick charts are totally artificial constructs; and yet, when properly selected and correctly read, they can be extremely useful tools.
Theoretically, there are countless possible time-frames, including all of the time-frames commonly offered in broker trading platforms, plus time-frames built on any other periods of minutes, hours, days, etc. We could, for example, construct a 17-minute time-frame, or a 35-day time-frame, if there were a good reason to do so.
All broker trading platforms offer 10 commonly used times-frames: tick, m1, m5, m10, m15, m30, H1, H4, D1, and W1. Some platforms also offer one or more of the following: m2, m3, m20, m45, H2, H3, H6, H12, and M1.
So, there’s potentially a lot to look at in any trading platform, most of which is of no use to a trader who has established a personal trading style. A scalper, for example, has no use for a Weekly (W1) chart. And a position trader has no use for a 1-minute (m1) chart.
Choosing the Chart Time-Frame to Use
As technical traders, we rely on price patterns to point us toward promising trades. Such price patterns are called set-ups, and they are seen on all time-frames. This characteristic – similar price patterns occurring on multiple time-frames – is referred to as the fractal nature of price patterns.
Newcomers to chart analysis are often amazed at the similarity of price patterns on different time-frames. That is, price seems to move in similar patterns on all time-frames, and it’s difficult or impossible to tell the time-frames apart merely by looking at price patterns.
To illustrate this similarity (this fractal nature), consider the folowing charts, from which I have masked the identity of the currency pair, and the time and price data which normally appear on the x- and y-axes of the charts.
The following 5 charts show the same currency pair in 5 different time-frames.
The time-frames are: m1, m5, H1, D1, and M1 – but, not in that order.
Can you tell which is which?
Chart #1
Chart #2
Chart #3
Chart #4
Chart #5
The time-frames shown above will be identified in the next post.
How do you choose the chart time-frame that is best suited to your trading style?
As an example, suppose you are looking for a particular price pattern – say, a consolidation within a trend, suggesting a potential break-out in the direction of the trend. And, suppose you want to enter trades that will develop and mature in a certain time period – say, 1-2 days.
You observe consolidations within trends on many different time-frames, so how do you choose the time-frame that’s best for your preferred holding period (1-2 days)?
To answer that question, let’s work backwards. Let’s say that you already have the perfect time-frame for your 1-2 day break-out trades, and let’s say the following chart is a typical example of your perfect time-frame:
This chart displays a recent downtrend in USD/CAD, followed by a consolidation. If you were watching this pattern develop in real time, you might judge the consolidation to be a pause in the downtrend, and you might prepare to get short if price were to break below the lower boundary of the consolidation range.
Here’s how the pattern played out:
If you traded this set-up, you were rewarded with a 220-pip break-out to the downside, of which you would have done well to capture 60%, or so – say, 130 pips.*
Let’s define what makes this chart better than others for your particular trading style – that is, for the preferred 1-2 day duration, or holding period, of your trades.
Overall size
We observe that this chart covers enough time (from left to right) to display the entire set-up of this trade. In this case, the downtrend and consolidation occurred over a period of about 27 trading days, and the chart covers a period of 35 trading days. So, it was possible to see the set-up develop without having to zoom out to a higher time-frame. In other words, this particular time-frame is large enough.
Resolution (or granularity)
We observe that this chart contains a little more than 200 candles. This means that, when the chart is maximized to full-screen, both the set-up and the trade can be seen in detail, and candle formations are easily visible. When this USD/CAD break-out occurred, and you were in the trade, you could have managed your trade using only this chart (although you probably would have zoomed in to a lower time-frame in order to see more detail as the trade played out). In other words, this particular time-frame is not too large.
An appropriate chart time-frame can be selected for any trading style and any trading strategy using the criteria described above: overall size, and resolution.
The chart time-frame selected in this fashion should be one of three charts used in your analysis. The use of three compatible charts is referred to as the triple-screen trading methodology.
In the next post, we will discuss the triple screen trading methodology as taught by the Babypips School, by Dr. Alexander Elder, and by Andy Perry (Captain Currency).
Also in the next post, I’ll identify the charts in the fractal chart puzzle, above.
*NOTE — Regarding the capture of 60% (130 pips) of a 220-pip price move:
To paraphrase Bernard Baruch, the legendary early-twentieth-century speculator,
You can have the first 20%. And you can have the last 20%.
I'll take my 60% out of the middle.
3 Likes
The Triple-Screen Trading Methodology
The core concept in the triple-screen trading methodology is that – regardless of trading style or trading strategy – a trader’s primary time-frame should be supplemented by two other time-frames: a higher time-frame for determining prevailing trends (if they exist), and a lower time-frame for fine-tuning entries, trade management, and exits.
Zooming Out to a Higher Time-Frame - in order to identify an overall trend
Whether you consider yourself a trend trader, or not, you should be aware of the larger context in which your set-ups occur.
If that larger context is a trend, you need to know that.
It’s possible to trade successfully in the direction of a larger trend, if you factor that trend into your plan and your execution. And it’s possible to trade successfully against a larger trend, but only if you are aware of that trend and factor it into your timing.
On the other hand, if the larger context is a bounded price range, you need to know that, as well.
It’s a recipe for loss to attempt any trade, long or short, without knowing that price is trapped between S/R levels on the higher time-frame. On the other hand, studying the range on that higher time-frame can present opportunities to the trader who is skilled at range trading.
Zooming In to a Lower Time-Frame - for fine-tuning
The small ups and downs in price evident on lower time-frames can provide opportunities to capture more pips by improving entry prices, fine-tuning stop-loss placements, and optimizing exits. This is true whether entries, exits, stops, and limits are placed manually, or with pending orders.
So, the primary (optimum) time-frame described in the previous post is now seen as the intermediate (or middle) time-frame in a trio of three time-frames. And the question becomes: How much higher should the higher time-frame be, and how much lower should the lower time-frame be?
Opinions differ on this question. But, the most frequently stated answer is that a factor of between 4x and 6x should be used. That is, your higher time-frame should be 4 times to 6 times your intermediate time-frame, and your intermediate time-frame should be 4 times to 6 times your lower time-frame
Babypips
In the Babypips School of Pipsology, several trios of three time-frames are suggested:
- 1-minute, 5-minute, and 30-minute
- 5-minute, 30-minute, and 4-hour
- 15-minute, 1-hour, and 4-hour
- 1-hour, 4-hour, and daily
- 4-hour, daily, and weekly
Notice that all of these combinations follow the 4x-6x rule-of-thumb, with the exception of the second one, in which the 4-hour time-frame is 8 times the 30-minute time-frame.
The 4x-6x rule-of-thumb is not a hard-and-fast rule. In fact, Dr. Alexander Elder stretches it to 24x, in one case, as we will see in a moment.
Dr. Alexander Elder
As you may know, Dr. Elder is a Russian psychiatrist who jumped ship off the coast of Africa, and escaped to the U.S. He became fascinated with the psychological aspects of trading, and subsequently made trading psychology the focus of his practice. He became an accomplished trader in his own right, and went on to become a successful author and teacher on the subject of trading.
Some of you may be familiar with Elder’s first two books: Trading For A Living (Wiley, 1993) and Come Into My Trading Room (Wiley, 2002).
Dr. Elder claims to be the developer of the Triple Screen Trading System. He claims that his 1986 article in Futures magazine introduced his system to the world. His claim is probably accurate as long as “screen” – as in computer screen – is part of the claim. But, the recognition of three different time-frames on which to base trades goes all the way back to Charles Dow at the beginning of the 20th century, and Dr. Elder acknowledges this.
I’ve taken some screen-shots* of pages 235-237 from Trading For A Living, where Elder talks about his Triple Screen Trading System –
Note that on page 237, Elder gave the example of a trader who wants to hold trades for days or weeks, and he suggested that this trader would use the Daily chart as his intermediate screen (or middle screen). Let’s deconstruct that suggestion.
First, when I hear “days or weeks”, I think “anywhere between a few days and a few weeks, but not a few months”. To put numbers on it, it sounds to me like 2 to 30 days.
Let’s say that our charts are adjusted to display 200 candles, as in the USD/CAD example in the previous post. In the case of the Daily chart, we would be seeing 200 trading days of price data in one view. That equals 40 weeks (at 5 trading days per week), or about 9 months (at 22 trading days per month, on average).
So, for the trader in Elder’s example, the suggested middle screen would display between 7 times and 100 times as many days as the trader’s anticipated holding period (assumed to be 2-30 days). Compare this to the “optimum” chart size in the USD/CAD example, in the previous post.
Also, note that Elder suggests a factor of 5 times between charts, but promptly violates his own rule-of-thumb, suggesting this trio of charts: Weekly-Daily-Hourly, in which the multiple between the Daily and the Hourly is 24. As mentioned, the rule-of-thumb is not a hard-and-fast rule.
Andy Perry (Captain Currency)
Andy Perry, who posts here (and elsewhere) as Captain Currency, posted his 3 Ducks Trading System in this forum in September 2007. In addition to describing the 3 Ducks System in the first few posts of his thread, he has detailed his system in a free ebook which he published in 2007, and revised in 2012.
You can find his 3 Ducks thread here –
https://forums.babypips.com/t/the-3-ducks-trading-system/6430?
And you can find instructions for requesting a copy of his ebook in this post–
https://forums.babypips.com/t/the-3-ducks-trading-system/6430/105?
Andy’s 3 Ducks System is based on classic triple-screen trading, using the H4-H1-m5 trio of time-frames, with a 60-period simple moving average on each of the three charts. More on this trio of time-frames later in this post.
Over the past (almost) 10 years, Andy has answered numerous questions in his thread, many of them regarding how to tweak, modify, embellish, or otherwise reconfigure his elegantly simple and efficient system. The most common of those questions involve changing the time-frames, and adding indicators to the system.
I’m gong to go out on a limb here, and teach a quick lesson on how to apply Andy’s 3 Ducks Trading System. If I stray off-course, and put words into Andy’s mouth inappropriately, I trust that he will chime in and set me straight.
So - ahem - here goes:
Application #1 - trade the trend the way Andy Perry does
This is so simple – Use the time-frames Andy suggests to find intraday trend-following opportunities. If an intraday profit is all the market is willing to give you, take it. If the market is willing to give you a longer-term profit, stay in your trade (or, in a portion of it), and ride it for a multi-day, or multi-week, profit.
That’s it. Three time-frames, each with a 60-period SMA, and nothing else to clutter your charts (or your mind). Entries, exits, stops and limits chosen to suit your personal taste.
Notice that longer-term trend-following trades (up to and including swing trades and position trades) can be launched from this simple system, without stretching Andy’s recommended 4-hour time-frame to Weekly or (gasp!) Monthly.
Application #2 - use the 3 Ducks to guide your own system in the direction of the trend
As mentioned in the previous post, knowing the direction of the current trend is essential, for whatever trading system you use. If you trade your own system intraday or short-term, the 3 Ducks can be your most important “indicator”, telling you whether there is a bias in the market, and if so which way that bias is pointing. Add that information to your existing system, and you have an added edge.
But, understand that you are not trading the 3 Ducks System. You are trading some other system – your own system – and you are using the 3 Ducks’ ability to identify trends to augment your system.
Application #3 - use the 3 Ducks as a model for trend-trading on larger time-frames
The 3 Ducks Trading System was designed for trading intraday or short term. What if you want to trade longer-term? What if you don’t want to enter intraday trades hoping they will develop into swing trades or position trades? What if you consider price-action at the intraday time-scale to be essentially “noise”, and you don’t even want to look at it?
The answer is to replicate the 3 Ducks System on higher time-frames, understanding that you will not be trading the 3 Ducks, per se. You will be trading a system modeled on the 3 Ducks.
Your system might substitute the Daily chart for Andy’s 4-hour chart, and you might substitute the 4-hour chart for Andy’s 1-hour chart. Doing this changes the factor between the intermediate chart and the higher-time-frame chart from 4 (the 3 Ducks factor) to 6 (in the system you are creating). But, this difference is minor.
However, now you have to decide what to do about the lowest time-frame.
There’s a factor of 12 between Andy’s lowest time frame (m5) and his intermediate time-frame (H1). Do you want to preserve this factor, or do you want to modify it to be closer to the commonly offered rule-of-thumb, which is 4x to 6x? If you choose to use the 12x factor, then your lowest time-frame will be the 20-minute time-frame, if available; otherwise the 15-minute or 30-minute. If you choose to use the 4x to 6x rule-of-thumb, then your lowest time-frame will be the 1-hour time-frame (or the 45-minute time-frame, if your platform offers such a thing).
After you have set up your longer-term time-frames, you will add the 60-period SMA to each – and you’re now ready to trade a much slower, much longer-term replica of the 3 Ducks.
Will it work for you? That will depend largely on you. There is plenty of historical evidence to indicate that the moving averages will work as well, or better, in your larger time-frames (as in the classic 3 Ducks time-frames). But, all the other success-factors present in longer-term trading will come into play, as well – money management, trade management, patience and more patience – in determining whether you succeed.
If you have a knack for somewhat intense, online trading, it would be entirely possible for you to simultaneously trade both methodologies – the classic 3 Ducks Trading System exactly as Andy designed it, and your own longer-term replica of the 3 Ducks. Being able to do this would depend on your available screen time, and your ability to switch “hats” from intraday trading to swing (or position) trading. Not everyone can pull this off.
Answers to the fractal chart puzzle in the previous post:
- Chart #1 - EUR/NZD Daily chart
- Chart #2 - EUR/NZD 1-hour chart
- Chart #3 - EUR/NZD 5-minute chart
- Chart #4 - EUR/NZD Monthly chart
- Chart #5 - EUR/NZD 1-minute chart
(screen-shots taken shortly after 7 pm New York time, 6/28/17)
*NOTE — Regarding the screen-shots of pages 235-237, above:
I tried to upload my digital copy of Elder’s Trading For A Living, but it’s too large a file for this forum to handle as an upload. I got an error message suggesting that I upload it to a cloud file-sharing site, and then link (here in this post) to its hiding place in the cloud. But, I haven’t set up an account for file-sharing in the cloud. So, I’ve had to resort to a work-around — screen-shots.
Free gypsy downloads of both of the Elder books mentioned above are available on the internet. Wiley (Elder’s publisher) doesn’t seem very diligent about defending their copyrighted material. I’m not advocating gypsy downloads, but I am recommending both of Dr. Elder’s books for serious students.
Okay. Two “walls of text” is more than enough. I’m not up for a third.
8 Likes
Great clarification, Clint.
I am humbled by the effort you put into your responses. You are a true teacher.
Just a thought: I’ve had a good math background, but it took much struggle on my part to get a handle on forex math. Two reasons: 1. The presenters present their explanations in very divergent ways, if they explain at all, and 2. Many of these presenters are just plain lousy teachers.
If I remember correctly, you have an engineering background; and judging from your previous posts, you’ve got a good handle on forex math; and, in my humble but irrefutable opinion, you are a very good teacher. Again, in my opinion (humble or otherwise), what the forex world needs is a first class book on forex math that treats the subject in a systematic, cut and dried way, but with all the required clarifications and explanations.
Ever think of writing such a book? I think you could pull it off and that it would be very well received.
I’ve written my own personal systematized (well, sort of) forex math file for my own personal reference, and here are the topics in their systematized (well, sort of) order:
EXCHANGE RATES, BASE & QUOTE; ASK, BID & SPREAD; ENTRY & EXIT LEVELS:; SPREAD VS. RISK; A PIP, VERTICAL AXIS; PURCHASE PRICE, “PRICE” CHARTS & “PRICE” LEVELS; COST PER UNIT; RISK AMOUNT; PIP VALUE OF A CURRENCY PAIR: A. PIP VALUE DEF & FORMULAS; B. IN USD FOR X/USD FOR STANDARD LOT SIZES; C. PIP VALUE OF EUR/USD IN USD FOR NON-STANDARD LOT SIZES; D. RISK, STOP SIZE & PIP VALUE;
CONVERT UNITS TO STANDARD LOTS, X/USD; STOP ZONE VALUE; STOPPED OUT MATH; POSITION SIZING; LEVERAGE AND MARGIN MATH: LEVERAGE; TRUE LEVERAGE; MARGIN DECIMAL; MARGIN REQUIREMENT; ITEMS ON MT4 BALANCE LINE IN TRADE TAB: EQUITY; FREE MARGIN; MARGIN; MARGIN LEVEL; MARGIN CALL; SPREAD COST; COMPENSATE FOR THE SPREAD; PROFIT & LOSS, X/USD.
Well, there you have it. You get the idea. I think you could do it.
For the sake of anyone “listening in,” please don’t suggest that I do it. I have yet to earn a penny in live forex trading, and I’d be willing to bet my entire set-aside account $ta$h that it contains errors.
Just some food for thought. I hope it doesn’t give you indigestion.
Thanks again, Clint.
Take care,
Norm
3 Likes
A great contribution indeed! Really, time frame depends on traders trading style! Although, I am a scalper but I use mainly higher time frames like H4, D1 for identifying market trend status, and I select my entry and exit points from lower time frames like M5; M15.
1 Like
You’re a treasure, Clint, and we’re damn lucky to have you.
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You did it again @Clint!
An out-and-out terrific set of posts, posts of great scope and grasp of MTF Trading! #MustReads
Andy
Captain Currency
@NormanA, @Peter_Siddle, @phydaux, and @Captain_Currency
Thanks for your kind words.
No plans to write a book, Norm.
I think I write more than enough (way too much, some would say) in this forum.
But, thanks for the encouragement.
Clint,
Please don’t feel like you write too much in these forums or that you’re upstaging other participants. Your contributions are in a class of their own, and they’ve helped many aspiring and seasoned traders. When I see your name and mug shot in a thread, I stop dead in my tracks and read; so as far as I’m concerned, keep on keeping on.
Best to ya,
Norm
Very nicely analyzed. Thanks a lot for taking the time to share your knowledge. I’m a newbie to Forex and grudgingly admit to still having a whole helluva lot to learn about trading successfully even though I’ve attended the school of hard knocks for about 8 years now in the regular stock market. Typical learning curve. Blew out my account multiple times and quit altogether for about 18 months. Coming back into the game now on a much smaller scale with a Forex account to test the waters before I give up completely. I’ve never participated in forums before, but I now see that I was missing out on some easy pointers from more experienced hands. Thanks for the brain candy. I’ve still got a lot to learn.
Welcome to the forum, stressed1, and thanks for your comments.
As you have already taught yourself, trading in position sizes large enough to blow up an account is a sure-fire way to become “stressed”. Here’s a plan for becoming stress-free, instead:
• I suggest you learn the nuts-and-bolts of the forex market in a demo account, trading modestly and conservatively, mimicking the way you will trade later with real money. In other words, if you intend to fund a live account at a later date with, say, $1,000, don’t start practicing on a demo account trading multiple standard lots with a funny-money balance of $50,000 or $100,000. Instead, trade your demo account as if it is a $1,000 live account, and use this approach to teach yourself to adopt position sizes, and manage risk, appropriate to the actual live account you intend to open later.
• Then, when you have mastered the nuts-and-bolts – the concepts, the terminology, the forex math (as Norman calls it), and the mechanics of your trading platform – then, move on to live trading with a tiny account in which you will trade tiny position sizes, strictly limiting your risk, until you have taught yourself to be consistently profitable.
Tiny position sizes, in this context, means no more than 1:1 or 2:1 actual leverage. And strictly limiting your risk means risking no more than 1% or 2% of your account on any one trade. This is not a way to get rich. It’s not even a reliable way to earn beer money. But, it is a way to practice, with real money on the line, until you achieve consistent profitability.
• Once you have achieved consistent profitability, you can begin to increase all the numbers – deposited funds, position sizes, dollars risked per trade, etc. Along with those larger numbers, will come larger profits and – inevitably – larger losses, and you will have to teach yourself to handle the psychological aspects of both.
It’s a long learning-curve, and it’s definitely not for everyone. But, if trading is your thing, this market can offer you some exciting opportunities. And alleviate that stress.
3 Likes
Clint,
Thanks for the advice. You must’ve read my mind, because your suggested plan is the one that I intend to follow. I’ve got a demo account right now, and won’t be risking real money for a little while longer. Yep, lesson learned - my money management has been my Achilles heel over the past few years, but to be honest, my recognition of high probability set-ups was suspect as well. Typical learning curve stuff. If you want to slay the dragon, it’s best not to get both arms and one leg chewed off in the first battle. But as the boys from Monty Python would say, “It’s only a flesh wound.” Take care…
1 Like
So let’s further expand on this thought.
I am trading Three Ducks as written in Captain Currency’s e-book. In his book he outlines a 4H-1H-5m screen. From Clint’s statement quoted above, that means that trades made using this system would likely remain open for only an hour before they either hit their profit target or get stopped out.
So in MY mind, that tells me that I should use the 1-hour chart as a guideline for setting my Take Profit & Stop Loss.
Does this make sense to anyone else?
1 Like
[quote=“phydaux, post:23, topic:82034, full:true”]
So let’s further expand on this thought.
I am trading Three Ducks as written in Captain Currency’s e-book. In his book he outlines a 4H-1H-5m screen. From Clint’s statement quoted above, that means that trades made using this system would likely remain open for only an hour before they either hit their profit target or get stopped out.[/quote]
No, this is not what I meant.
The middle screen – the 1-hour chart in The 3 Ducks System – is your “playing field”, if you are looking for intraday trades.
That does not mean that you are looking for trades that last an hour. It means that the “field-of-view” which the 1-hour chart gives you is appropriate for identifying trades that open, develop and close in an intraday time period.
Open any 1-hour chart in your trading platform’s default configuration, and count the number of 1-hour candles displayed on that chart. Unless you have manually adjusted the number of candles away from the platform default, you will see somewhere between 100 and 200 candles. That means 100 to 200 trading hours of market data. Recall that one week (5 trading days) is 120 trading hours. So, your 1-hour chart is showing you a week’s worth of market activity (plus or minus).
That is a large enough view in which to look for, and find, intraday trading opportunites.
Intraday means longer than scalping, but not longer than one trading day. However, a trade that begins as a promising intraday trade might extend into two or more days of profitable movement, and you should be alert to that opportunity, when it presents itself. In other words, a 3 Ducks trade typically runs its course intraday, but is not limited to intraday. If it wants to run, let it run.
You should go back to post #12 in this thread and read the USD/CAD example (regarding a consolidation within a trend). And read the paragraphs that follow, titled Overall Size and Resolution.
[quote=“phydaux, post:23, topic:82034, full:true”]
So in MY mind, that tells me that I should use the 1-hour chart as a guideline for setting my Take Profit & Stop Loss.
Does this make sense to anyone else?[/quote]
That’s what Andy suggests.
On page 12 of his ebook, Andy says:
“Day traders could use technical levels from a 1 hour or 5 minute chart for their stoplosses and profit targets. A swing or position trader may prefer to use technical levels from the 4 hour or even daily chart.”
I think that answers your question.
2 Likes
Thanks for your info CarlosRay! Even, I also didn’t know about this method with details.
Thanks again, Clint. You make my day!
I like the way you explain it, I would like to see some of your teachings since you sound like a person whose been trading for quiet a while. Thank you.
Am a newbie by the way.