Price Action v Indicators: A Straw Man

I thought this needed to be explicitly said. New traders to BP may get confused especially with some members apparently indicating that there are 2 different trading camps at war with each other over the above. [B]There is not. [/B]Clearly some individuals are having differences between themselves that the mods are trying to sort out. That aside, consider this. There is pure price action (as defined by your candles, OHLC bars, line charts etc) and there are indicators (all derivatives of price action). What combination of these things you use is up to you - knock yourself out as one of my internet friends says. If you are going to use indicators it is worth studying them so that you truly understand their uses and flaws in different markets. In truth no user of indicators ignores price action and no trader who focuses on price action (I am one) decries others who use indicators. In fact you will occasionally see an SMA, stochastic or even fib retracement marked on my charts (I know horror of horrors). BPips should be about us focussing on trading and learning from each other and if necessary staying away from each other if we cant have a constructive dialogue with each other. It certainly shouldnt be about erecting the proverbial straw man

Well said Tony. I posted this earlier, but it looks to fit your thread better.

Why does it always get so fussy about techies vs naked trades. Does fundamentals or sentiment matter anymore? Or is it just “naked or go home!” or “tech or go home!”

It doesn’t matter who’s or what system or style is better. What matters is “does it fit you?” and can you use it to produce consitent gains over and over again with minimal downside risk.

Find what fits you and use it. I enjoy being mostly loose and naked and don’t have to “pinpoint” to the pip an entry. Some enjoy spaghetti charts with indicators all over the place with exact rules to the chicken bones and stars in order to place a trade. Some only guage and keep up with fundamentals and sentiment. Each personality type uses what they use because it works for them.

Practice, practice, and more practice with a few hard lessons is the only way to get to where you want to be. There is no particular style or system that will fast forward you there.

With that being said, it is a common theme that most “pros” or “veterans” have all used indicators at one time and dumped them one by one as time went on and became more naked if not completely naked. It doesn’t mean they don’t work. They just found out it’s about the trader and not the indicator or system that produces gains.

If you want to see a working indicator system. Check out Pip Surfers Cowabunga system. It’s a 100% indicator driven system that has produced consitent gains for years. So see, us naked traders are not right all of the time. That’s why we shouldn’t be biased and fuss over differences. The world and this profession has learned how to make many things work the same that are different. It’s the people and attitudes, not the system.

Excellent post Tony. Well said.

As pointed out, well said. One would think that at sites such as Babypips and others, that we are here to learn from one another and grow lasting friendships that will benefit us all at different levels and at different times. What works for you, works for you. What works for me, works for me… and what doesn’t work, doesn’t.

The real key that everyone seems to be ignoring is money management, in my opinion. Having a solid business plan should be a key part of any successful strategy I think. Beyond that, everyone has winners and losers. The key is identifying losers as early as possible and cutting, or being willing to except the consequences, should the trade never turn back in your favor… (it always comes back, but you may not have a few years to wait). I have a very low tolerance for pullbacks these days, but that hasn’t always been the case. I’d rather take a 15 pip loss and move to another trade than wait the half hour or more for the price to return, depending on the size of my trade. But the key word in trading should be Risk. That’s my two cents worth.

Good pippin,

Chubs