Breaching highs or lows of pin bars

Hey guys, I was wondering, which do you think is better, setting your order at the lows or highs of the pin bar depending on bias direction, when price is at a key level so that when a candle breaches the order it starts the trade, or instead actually waiting for a close of the candle breaching the highs or lows of the pin bar then placing the trade on the open of the next candle after the one that breached the highs or lows?

Thanks!

Let’s start the convo here— What does a pin bar tell you about the underlying order flow, and, given the incredibly varying market conditions, how many different ways can you interpret that price action and make a trading decision against it?

In terms of order flow, I see for example on a bullish pin, that the market initially had some short orders which drive prices down but a lot more buy orders cane into the market later during the candle’s session and drive prices back up. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

As for interpretation, if the move shows that it has a lot of momentum by having a really long wick and a very small body I think, thee is momentum on the long side and I’ll interprete it as a buy signal if the market is not volatile, but if it is volatile, it might likely be a fake pin bar and I’ll interprete as to stay out.

comparing only the break of the pin bar’s high/low vs the close of the breaking candlestick the first one is a better entry

What is a “bullish pin”?
Short orders are not the only thing that can “drive prices down” :slight_smile: (same for “buy orders”)

The biggest thing to realize when analyzing price action: A single candle is absolutely meaningless without context, 100% of the time.

“Pinbars” form hundreds of times per day, across every single time frame.
If you tried to trade each one simply on the fact that it is a pinbar, you would 100% lose your shirt.

I think you’re putting the cart in front of the horse.
A pinbar is not the reason you enter a trade- it could be 1 of many signals.
The greater price action context lays the foundation.

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I understand that they have to be traded in context and i do that. I am just wondering which approach you think is better placing trades on the break of the highs or lows of the pin bar or placing trades at the close of the breaking bar.

Btw, please what else drive prices down? I’d love to know more about this as i thought it was short orders that drive them down in terms of order flow.

Thanks

Thanks @Mr_Piece I was also thinking so, but sometimes it happens that the high is broken by another pin bar or by an indecision candle with long wicks and after it goes in the opposite manner which is what initially drew me to the type and close of the breaking candle which also seems to have its own set of drawbacks such as the candle going too far.

I was thinking of not taking the trade if the breaking candle has gone too far if I go with the close approach, what do you think?

Thanks

The answer to your question on “which is better” depends on the context leading up to the formation of the pinbar.

Markets are comprised of limit orders (bids and offers).
“Short orders” can translate into sell at market activity (e.g. hit the bid).
If the bid evaporates, price will need to move to a level where liquidity exists.

Price is a representation of orders executed on the bid or the offer (someone had to actually hit one or the other).

There can be many different combinations:

  • Very long tail
  • not so long tail
  • inside bar
  • the pin bar is an outside bar
  • breaking the high or low only to create another pint bar in the opposite direction
  • there is a gap
  • the breaking bar starts with no tail
  • more…

What @FOREXunlimited is telling is also true. Conditions must exist prior to the formation of the pin bar. Pin bar with conditions is better than a pin bar only :slight_smile:

Wait for a complex signal.

You must also take into consideration that when the pin bar appears everybody from BabyPips forum will buy/sell based on it :slight_smile: And this won’t end well

Why do you think it won’t end well? Since there is consensus on the move.

I understand this, thank you .
It makes a lot of sense, as to why prices fall and rise.

You tell me. Think about the average trader here? What makes him/her buy or sell?