I’ve seen some brokers offer 2 and 3 hour charts. If the norm is 1hr, 4hr , 1 day time frames, what is the benefit in using these odd time frames?
I opened a demo account with one broker that offered 3 hour charts and it just confused things.
The choice of chart time frame is strictly a personal one based on the type of trade duration you’re looking for. The broker charting options are often just a function of breaking down days into a certain number of periods.
Which brings me to another related question … why is the 4hr time frame so popular?
Well for me it’s good for seeing the long-term trend and zones of support and resistance while also getting some idea of the intra-day moves that made up that trend. Different people will get different mileage out of various timeframes so just use whatever you find works for you.
While i can’t say why it became popular i think it remains popular as everyone uses it, if you are seeing the same thing everyone else is and basing your trading decisions of the same chart then there is a much better chance of others getting on the band wagon and same trade.
this is what i was suggested always look at what everyone else is looking at.
I think it’s just worth noting that while charts up to 1hr are pretty much identical from broker to broker, 4hr and daily charts, differ since they can be different 4hr slots and different daily closes.
I have always thought of it really as a bridge between the longer timeframes and the intraday timeframes. I don’t trade directly off the 240, I generally place off either the Daily or the Hourly, but I really consider the 240 important. It helps understand the relationship between the charts either side of it, and helps me figure out whether I am looking at retracement or trend. Without the 240, it would probably be like viewing the Hourly and Daily in a bubble distinct from one another. So to me it is just a helpful research tool when assessing the probability of a setup I have spotted on either the higher or the lower timeframe.
Good point. Which brings me to another question (sorry for the slight deviation from the original topic): for those that trade off the 1 hr and 4 hr charts and use robots, surely there will be most volatility at the hour point of the day eg 10am,11am etc as opposed to 10:05am… (putting aside news events etc)