We don’t see this discussed much (maybe for a reason??? lol ). Anyrate, I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts/ideas/strategies/etc. I greatly prefer looking at an HA candlestick chart instead of the conventional candlesticks.
Potaire
load a HA chart up to a conventional candlestick chart, you will see the inherent delay.
Fine for swing trading and to manage exiting a trade but you’ll get in late.
Yes, I agree on the delay, San. It is usually about a one-candle delay. I run a HA next to a conventional sometimes, on same timeframe, to compare. My thoughts are more on swing trading, as you said. That’s why I put the topic in this catagorey. The HA makes momentum swings pretty obvious, I think. A general outline I’m pondering is playing the color change, on a 30min or more chart, targeting 20-30 pips. Maybe throw in a MACD and/or Slo Sto. Thoughts???
Potaire
Have a hunt around on google but IMO, HA would be much better suited to exiting a trade.
Use support and resistance for your entries and HA for your exits.
Alternatively, use SR as the areas for a possible trade and wait for a candle colour change on HA for the entry then a HA colour change for the exit.
If you demo it a while, you will see what I mean about the delay but that’s fine for swing trading.
Demo it properly though, at least 2 weeks before you go live with it or give up on it. Indicators should be used sparingly and when you do you need to learn them properly, the market is not driven by indicators.
Thanx for the input, San.
Potaire
I used to use them when I first started trading. They are good tools but they are a lagging indicator and must be treated as such.
If you get serious about HA, you need to take a look at Heiken Ashi Smoothed. It gives much better signals, but I would still avoid taking entries with it. I found HA more helpful to keep me in a trade when it stalls or pulls back and I am tempted to get out.
Different things work for different people. I use HA and that’s how I make my living. Though I scalp with them. 5M and 1m charts, 3-5 pipes per trade. Some people say scalping doesn’t work which is just ignorant. That’s like me saying the 1 hour chart doesn’t work because it doesn’t work for me. But the higher timeframes do work for a lot of people and scalping does work for me and a lot of people. Anyway, I use HA and I know it lags a little but I find that to be a good thing. It keeps me from prematurely entering a trade and I avoid making a bad trade. By using HA like this and going for small gains I have very few losses, and the multiple small gains really add up. I will admit this style is not for everyone, just like trading higher timeframes doesn’t work for me because it doesn’t fit my personality. Sorry for going off on a tangent but I just wanted to make a point that one of biggest reasons people lose in trading is because they listen to all the “experts” and end up blowing all their money trying to trade a style that really doesn’t fit them.
Max, I wonder if you are doing something similar to what I just began discussing in another thread. I am using HA candles (which always intrigued me) with a pair of MAs acting as a filter. I’m also scalping, using the 5m and 15m charts.
Your opinion (and everyone else here) is appreciated: [B]Randy Candles[/B]
Thanks for pointing out your Randy candles thread. I basically use HA with a 2 and 5 SMA with a weighted close. I use the 5m for direction and the 1m for entries. I just took a glance at your first post on there and it looks interesting. I’m going to read over everything when I get a chance tonight or tomorrow and I’ll try and give my opinion. Looks promising so far though.
I’d definitely like to hear more about how you interpret the candles in relation to the MAs, either in this thread or the other one. I’m still trying to get the hang of it but believe there is potential there. Virtually every time I follow the rules I am getting wins, which is unusual in this TF (5m).
The HA has being very helpful to me especially when trading trend continuation strategy, using multiple time frames just like i learnt here in babypips.
Its quite straight forward, when i see an uptrend on a larger TF( say M1), i jump down lower charts below(say W1 or D1) for my entry exactly when the HA changes from red to green, my entry is supported by ADX(note the formation of the ADX lines). See attachments.
This is the most successful strategy in my trading system and it works on well on most TFs but i prefer the higher ones
I am glad to give something back here where i have learnt alot. Hope this is useful and i welcome inputs and criticism. Thanks.
Charles.
Ok, we had some good trades today from my preferred pairs E/U, G/U, E/J, E/G. based on the system proposed.
The Euro was the weaker currency, as it weakened against the pound and lots of pips were waiting to be grabbed. Very good for trading 1-2-3 chart formations.
Take a look at the pictures. 
Hey cfxland, That’s an interesting trade idea. How long have you been using this method and how profitable has it been?
Hello smile, been trading this strategy for just over 4months now, but i knew about this a long time ago.
Charles.
Hi cfxland,
Can I ask you how you deal with contrary signals.
EUR/USD
Weekly is up since 19 Sept 2010
Daily is now down sin 27 Oct 2010
H4 is UP and I suppose you wait for the first red candle to short it, but are are against the weekly trend - so how you deal with the situation and for lower time frames.
I guess that your exit is simply on a candle change of colour, am i right? and where do you set your stop loss
Also, would you mind to elaborate how you deal on entries that are happening during your sleeping time (for lower time frames if you are trading them)
How would you deal with the signals on the attached chart.
Thank you for your reply
Gerry
Hello Biker,
Sorry 4 the late revert, been learning new things, you know with forex everyday is a new experience, which is fun.
To answer your Qs.
Q1- How to i resolve contrary signals?
Ans- I use a signal and a trigger charts, So when the HA changes color on the signal chart(say Daily) go down 2 charts below on the H1 for your entry. See table below.
SIGNAL TRIGGER
M1 D1
W1 H4
D1 H1
H4 30M/15M
H1 5M
Q2- You guess my exit is when the color changes
Ans- Yes that is the simply rule, but as i also use a trend indicator, i normally close 70-80 % of my lot size then.
As you know, knowledge of Fibonacci and S/R can really help with profit target. Look out for price when they reach round numbers .25, .50, .00. Trading is really an art.
Q3- Where do i place my stoploss?
Ans- Above swing highs and below swing lows. .
Q4- How do i deal with trades that happen when i sleep.
Ans- Well since i live at a GMT+1 timezone i am favoured to watch the London and US market in the day. But it all depends on the type of trader you are. Once you spotted a confirmed HA candle on the signal chart am sure you can work out the timing on the trigger chart. So if u are waiting for the trade on H1 chart come around evry hour and check, 15M check every 15M. If u miss it move on.
Thank you.