Candlestick Low and High Prices

[objectively]

On a candlestick chart are frequent candlesticks with one or both of a -
Low price which price moved no lower than before moving up to a candlestick High price enough pips away for a desirable long profit to have been possible.
High price which price moved no higher than before moving down to a candlestick Low price enough pips away for a desirable short profit to have been possible.

Knowing what should have been done to have gained the most pips profit is easy to recognize after the chart price movement has occurred.

Making any pips profit from using any chart is very difficult, without knowing and only being able to guess where the chart price will soon move to and when.

Knowing where the chart price will soon move to and when might be helpful, such as knowing in advance the Low price and High price of the current candlestick and next one candlestick.

[objectively]

Candlestick (desirable) Low and High prices (reached) -

Candlestick chart picture example 1

[objectively]

Candlestick (desirable) Low and High prices (reached) -

Candlestick chart picture example 2

[objectively]

Candlestick (desirable) Low and High prices (reached) -

Candlestick chart picture example 3

[objectively]

Candlestick (desirable) Low and High prices (reached, before price moved away into potential pips profit)

Candlestick chart picture example 4

Many more could have should have would have opportunities.

[objectively]

Candlestick (desirable) Low and High prices (reached, before price moved away into potential pips profit)

Candlestick chart picture example 5

Many more could have should have would have opportunities…

These 5 candlestick chart pictures posted above are somewhat self explanatory…

Candlestick Highs with a red circle are not beyond the previous candlesticks High price.
Candlestick Highs with a red square are beyond the previous candlesticks High price.

Candlestick Lows with a blue circle are not beyond the previous candlesticks Low price.
Candlestick Lows with a blue square are beyond the previous candlesticks Low price.

Aim for the stars, might just reach the moon.

Trying to guess / predict / track future price movement as closely and accurately as possible.

Trying to gain enough or as many pips profit as possible.

Recognizing that the trees make up the forest.

All recognizable on a blank candlestick chart with no lines or indicators.

Chart based trading involves guessing what may happen next, whether zero or ten lines and / or indicators are added to a chart. The accuracy of such guesses is likely to vary.

The current candlesticks existing High and Low prices may remain its final High and Low prices once that candlestick closes.

The most desirable place to enter long at on a candlestick always occurs at the candlesticks Low price.

The most desirable place to enter short at on a candlestick always occurs at the candlesticks High price.

As long as a maximum pips stop loss is not reached, gaining pips profit is possible, whether an entry is taken exactly on or after a candlesticks Low or High price.

[tommor]

"The most desirable place to enter long at on a candlestick always occurs at the candlesticks Low price.

The most desirable place to enter short at on a candlestick always occurs at the candlesticks High price."

It would be interesting to hear how you make this work in real time.

[objectively]

Greetins tommor.

Here is my present perspective, but please don’t let it limit or shape your thinking -

Some guesses are accurate, other guesses are less accurate.
No matter how many indicators and lines we put on our chart, and how much we know about things like Japanese candlestick chart patterns and shapes, lets accept that we do not know what will happen next, and can only guess.

The five candlestick chart pictures that I posted above show somewhat perfect / optimal possibilities in terms of tracking actual price movement very closely.
Requiring no knowledge or use of indicators, lines, trendlines, Japanese candlestick shapes and patterns or many other “popular” chart based trading “tools”. So could not be much simpler.

As per the blue and red squares and circles, if one is able to track price movement closely enough through accurate enough guesses / predictions enough of the time, one can hope to be able to make enough pips net profit from live trading.

Watching live price movement unfold on a blank candlestick chart can teach one a lot.
Perhaps live chart time intervals between 3 and 60 minutes are most suited for live inter day trading.

After many hours days weeks months and years research, consideration and live trading experience, I think this blank candlestick chart candlestick Low and High prices approach is as useful as any other chart based approach, and perhaps better than most chart based approaches, in the pursuit of trying to make enough pips net profit from live trading, which as I stated in the opening post - making any pips profit from using any chart is very difficult

[tommor]

Thank you for this.

What I was really wondering is, in real time, how do you know when a price bar has made its high/low?

For example, if you’re looking at an hourly chart and price goes higher in the first minute than the previous bar’s range, is that the high? With 59 minutes in the bar still to run, how do you know?

Same issue no matter how short the time-frame, how can you define high and low before the time-frame period is finished?

[Old_Navy]

You are really looking at trees and not forest. Remove guess work from your charts.

Great trader Alexander Elder said 6 bullets max. Also his tripple screen method is basically looking at three different timeframes. Open them next to each other and watch price when it creates low or high.

I stopped using indicators and am reading price pure naked. No indicators, no support resistance levels, no trend lines just candlesticks. You don’t need anything else.

If you will be looking at one timeframe only you are again looking at trees and not forest.

Your analysis starts with Daily and you work it down to your execution timeframe. If your execution timeframe is Daily then you start with Monthly.

[objectively]

Again, just my present perspective here -

One can only guess and not know what has not yet happened.

Some guesses will be more accurate than others.

One has to guess accurately enough, often enough, to make enough pips net profit overall, from the pips of price movement that occurred that one could have should have would have profited from.

One cannot know what the final Low and High price of a candlestick will be until the candlestick closes.

60 minute candlesticks last for 45 minutes longer than 15 minute candlesticks, so more new Low and High prices are likely to occur on 60 minute candlesticks.

Multiple charts creates more analysis and reason to become confused or have opposing opinions.
No matter how many - charts we use, indicators we add, or lines we draw, we are still guessing about what has yet to occur, as we cannot know.
So for me, using only one blank candlestick chart is enough.

[Old_Navy]

One can only guess and not know what has not yet happened.

Here is where ICT work will tell you which way is price likely to move.

One has to guess accurately enough, often enough, to make enough pips net profit overall, from the pips of price movement that occurred that one could have should have would have profited from.

Back to ICT style.

One cannot know what the final Low and High price of a candlestick will be until the candlestick closes.

This depends on what level of experience you have and what do you do with that knowledge.

60 minute candlesticks last for 45 minutes longer than 15 minute candlesticks, so more new Low and High prices are likely to occur on 60 minute candlesticks.

And you could be wrong here as per Alexander Elder, you need to see at least 3 different time frames and make your decision based on the highest one. If you are confused, don’t take trade as if you don’t know you GAMBLE! You might as well go to casino and play roulette.

Multiple charts creates more analysis and reason to become confused or have opposing opinions.

You need a reason to get in and if you don’t have it confirmed you are again GAMBLING!

No matter how many - charts we use, indicators we add, or lines we draw, we are still guessing about what has yet to occur, as we cannot know.
So for me, using only one blank candlestick chart is enough.

True enough, except that guessing, as indicators are unnecessary clutter on your chart hiding price action you need to see to take reasonable trade.

[Old_Navy]

I’m sorry guys. I didn’t realize you are talking about scalping here. No where close to what trading should be. I prefer to make 10% a month and then just walk away from charts and enjoy life. Risking less than 1% of my Equity is sufficient. If I make that 10% first week I then do something else for 3 weeks. I see trading as interest on my hard-earned cash and love to spend it on holiday and for presents on Xmas etc.

[objectively]

My present perspective -

On this thread I have pointed out things about the reality of how price moves on a candlestick chart and what would be somewhat perfect / optimal entry locations, based on the profit enabling price movement that followed. This we can all recognize and agree upon. Somewhat of an elephant in the living room.

Regardless of time interval of candlestick chart, or how often one places a trade, trading is done on a live price basis.
I know that none of the following have proven beneficial to me in trying to track actual price movement as closely as possible with my trades -
Multiple charts in a desktop
Indicators added to charts
lines added to charts
Knowledge of Japanese candlestick shapes and patterns.

Even when using only one candlestick chart, there are advantages and disadvantages to displaying more or less than for example 25 candlesticks on the chart, in terms of simplicity versus having extra past OHLC based candlestick information available.

I prefer OHLC candlestick charts to OHLC bar charts, but both basically display the same thing.

[tommor]

I respect your drive towards simplicity with this. Along these same lines you might also want to look into

“the S&P daytrade” as in The Ultimate Trading Guide by Hill, Pruitt & Hill

single and two candlestick patterns at thepatternsite.com by Thomas Bulkowski.

It seems that even using a single day’s OHLC data it ought to be possible to have an edge over the next day’s price action. Maybe the only serious problem is low win rate.

[objectively]

Candlestick (desirable) Low and High prices (reached, before price moved away into potential pips profit)

Candlestick chart picture example 6

Blue circles below candlestick Lows mark price movement that occurred up and away towards the occurrence of the next and later and possibly yet to occur / be confirmed red square above a candlestick High.

Red circles above candlestick Highs mark price movement that occurred down and away towards the occurrence of the next and later and possibly yet to occur / be confirmed blue square below a candlestick Low.

On these six candlestick chart pictures posted above, one can recognize that somewhat optimal / perfect entry opportunities occur on most candlesticks, based on the profit enabling price movement that followed.

Regardless of the time interval of a candlestick chart, the live price remains between 0 and 100. For example 1.2617 is between 1.2600 and 1.2700.

[objectively]

Candlestick (desirable) Low and High prices (reached, before price moved away into potential pips profit)

Candlestick chart picture example 7

Perhaps one may prefer a candlestick chart displaying less candlesticks.

Clearly pointed to on the 7 candlestick chart pictures posted above, somewhat perfect / optimal tracking of live price movement on a candlestick chart is possible, and can be achieved IF AND WHEN guessed at well enough.
Could have should have would have best case scenarios, based on the profit enabling / maximising price movement that followed on and / or after that candlestick.
Highlighted by a blue square or circle at some candlestick Lows and a red square or circle at some candlestick Highs.
In trying to gain as many as possible of the pips of price movement that become available for profit, one may be able to make “enough” pips profit.

From a candlestick chart one can only guess and not know what price will soon do.
Some guesses are likely to be more accurate than others.
Candlestick (and bar) charts show price movement over time, divided into intervals of time or ticks.

Live trading is difficult, and requires attention and concentration throughout.

Some brokers guarantee that losses cannot exceed initial deposit. Hence a trading account balance cannot become less than zero.

[Hasturen]

Candlestick patterns play a huge role in forex trading and your strategies are dependent on these pattern. Every candlestick tells a story about the price action in a particuloar period of time. You need to command these patterns for getting success. Thanks

[objectively]

Candlestick (desirable) Low and High prices (reached, before price moved away into potential pips profit)

Candlestick chart picture example 8

Many more could have should have would have opportunities, which commence on most candlesticks, after which maximum pips profit were possible based on the profit enabling price movement that followed.

In order to gain enough pips profit from live chart based trading, all one needs is to become good enough at guessing where price will soon move to and when.
A candlestick cannot offer a price location better to enter long at than at its Low price, which may become that candlesticks final Low price.
A candlestick cannot offer a price location better to enter short at than at its High price, which may become that candlesticks final High price.

One can try to maximize pips profit gained versus pips profit that were available within the profit enabling price movement that followed, throughout the candlesticks which made up a trading session.
Aiming for maximum pips profit, is a worthy aim and guide, which may help one to at least make enough pips profit overall.
Within a structured and disciplined approach that involves a stop loss to control the number of pips lost in any one trade.

Spent many hours days weeks months and years in trading, looking for a perfect live chart based trading approach that does not and cannot exist.
But this approach outlined in this thread is the simple logical and fact based approach to live chart based trading, within which “somewhat perfect” exists and is there for all to recognize on a blank candlestick (or bar) chart.
One just needs to be able to guess where “somewhat perfect” will occur accurately enough in advance.
It is so simple clear and obvious.

Yet trading forums are full of people rushing around in a big panic as if adding something else to a blank candlestick chart or some extra knowledge to one’s mind will enable them to know where price will soon move to and when, which one cannot know from a chart and can only guess.
So using technical analysis indicators, drawn lines, multiple time intervals of charts, knowledge of Japanese candlestick shapes and patterns, or whatever else in whatever combinations, are all unnecessary distractions which cannot tell one where price will soon move to and when.
One just needs to accept the fact that one cannot know from a chart where price will soon move to and when, and that none of these items enable one to know this.
Then one won’t need to try to hide behind any such items, which are basically used due to the fear of not knowing where price will soon move to and when.

[objectively]

For obvious reasons, the blank candlestick chart based and somewhat self explanatory approach outlined by me in this thread, is the best known to me for chart based trading. In terms of –

Buying low.
Selling high.
Being able to get involved on the current candlestick and most candlesticks.
The simplicity of a blank candlestick chart.
Aiming to gain as many pips profit as possible, from all that became available, within the profit enabling price movement that followed.
All trading is done on a live price basis regardless of time interval of chart used.
Not complicating things, by being wise enough to accept that one does not know and can only guess where the live price will soon move to and when. This acceptance brings peace of mind.
Adding indicators to a chart does not help one to know where price will soon move to and when.
Using multiple time intervals of charts does not help one to know where the live price will soon move to and when.
Etc. Etc.

Also mentioned –
Some brokers guarantee negative account balance protection.
The use of a stop loss to limit the size of losses.
Etc. Etc.

Any chart based traders who consistently makes enough pips profit overall, shows the ability or fortune to guess accurately enough often enough where the live price will soon move to and when.

For me this thread is one of the very best threads possible, on any trading forum, about chart based trading.