How many candles does it take to confirm a trend? I am just learning to read candles and I need a little guidance.
I don’t think there’s an answer to that especially since you have multiple timeframes available and it all depends what timeframe you trade. If you trade 15M look at the 4H TF as a reference to determine the trend, if you trade 4H look at the Daily TF as a reference.
Basically it’s like open a chart and if it starts in the lower left corner and ends in the higher right corner, it’s an uptrend and vice versa.
Adapting to Market Conditions: Master Candles | Forex Blog: Art of the Chart
Try this. This is an excellent post by Nick B on candles and should help you get started!
Also, we have a pretty good lesson on candlesticks as well:
Forex Candlesticks: An Introduction to Japanese Candlestick Trading
Good luck and happy trading!
I usually use the 15m timeframe, depending on the history of the fluctuation, I wait for 3 or 4 long candlesticks, besides using the indicators.
I also use 15m tf and 5m tf. I agree saying 2 or 3 candles may show a trend but maybe not that strong enough to make a decision. A trend should have more than an hour back on the trade. Which simple indicator would you advise?
Well, in my little experience I�ve found Bollinger Bands to be very reliable. Is a trend indicator in MT4
I know what you mean, in the beginning you want to know everything at once, but what people said here is totally the true, you cant know that in one answer. That depends of your indicator or your strategy, so check yours and that�s the answers. Some of them you have to wait weeks, but also you have to care about the TF, so some indicators use different.
I�ve using some indicators, I wanted to test some. I�ve realized those work on it doesn�t matter which timeframe you are using, which matter is your ability to interpret them according to the tf and what the indicator shows
You can try some indicator to increase your strategy, there are a bunch of them that use the last 5 or 3 candles to know the trend, maybe this can be useful for you.
It depends on the time frame and the set up used.
I’ve been through quite a few systems lately.
Most of them look for between 6-10 candles going strongly in one direction. The more like a stair case the better. Or, the more candles with the open above the last close the better. They don’t all have to be the same color, but if they are it means the trend may be stronger. Then they will add an indicator for support. For instance a 10 EMA and the candles supporting against it or riding above/below it.
These sort of trend spotting things hold up better on longer time frames.
Also, if you are looking to trade trends, get in after it’s well developed and after a retrace. Don’t try and trade the end of a move and get in at the very start of another, you’ll get hurt. And it’s just simply way easier to find one after it’s developed.
There are some indicators that need just 5 candles to get ready for the next step, you know about the lowest and highest price or something like that.
I’m learning more on candlesticks as well and am currently going through Steve Nison’s Japanese candlesticks book. I haven’t finished it yet but it comes highly recommended and is worth a read if you want to know more on candlesticks.
Sometimes it only takes 2-3 candles to signal a trade entry. E.g. A doji / hammer that comes on the bottom of a bearish trend, followed by a bullish candlestick. Depending on that bullish candlestick’s strength, this could be a signal for you to enter long. But this is a greatly simplified example of course. It depends on many other factors, such as your trading strategy (whether you are a scalper, intraday, swing, etc), and if your other indicators can confirm the trend. I’m currently exploring using candlesticks with S+R and trend line indicators.
I also use the heikin ashi candles sometimes. Much easier to read but also a bit lagging compared to standard candlesticks.