Look let’s be honest with indicators, the only reason that so many “traders” knock them is because they feel that should they be able to trade without indicators they are skilled and better than other traders who are actually trying to use them. Indicators have a stigma attached to them in the retail trading community as aiding tools, tools which are used to help you, almost like stabilisers on a young child’s bike. You don’t want stabilisers for the rest of your life, you want to prove that you now have the skill required without support – For some reason which I really find hugely entertaining is this same stigma applies with trading indicators.
[I]“I don’t trade with indicators, they are pointless”[/I]
[I]“All indicators are lagging, they are pointless”[/I] – In fact 100% of all trading is lagging as everything you see is historical from the moment it’s pained onto your chart.
It’s a funny business trading, almost ego driven by people who will twist any type of trading terminology to make them sound more educated and skilled; when the fact is that they really don’t know what they are suggesting and entertain those who do!
I think that as usual with everything, your bias towards or against indicators depends a lot on your back ground. Besides making your job a lot easier, they save a lot of time. I think for someone new or for someone who is having trouble understanding a particular a part or parts of a trade indicators are very useful. And like jezzode said “like stabilisers on a young child’s bike. You don’t want stabilisers for the rest of your life,”
Another great use of indicators especially when you first start out, is by learning what a particular indicator does and how to use it properly you also learn about the subject. Example when you are looking at a trend indicator operly, you don’t learn about the indicator you also learn about a lot about trends.
I used this indicator in the beginning called the “greedy pig” it took 3 or 4 periods of ATR (the average true range) and gave you a number which indicated if a market was: trending, ranging or going sideways. I don’t use it that much anymore but it was a great learning aid in the beginning. Another use. When I first started someone for only $100 a month (roughly) was trying to sell me the one of a kind, super secret, you’re one of the lucky few to get this offer than normally retails for more than $500 but for you $100 a month signal indicator. With this indicator you’ll have the jump on all traders, retail, institutional and the big money guys. All you do is one easy step of telling the indicator what currency you want to buy and what price you want to pay. I don’t know maybe I’m wrong sounds to me no different than placing a pending order on your platform.
Most traders agree you can not remove risk from trading, but buy trading the trend, having momentum and cycle on your side and verifying with support and resistance, in most cases you can reduce risk. When you learn about: trend, momentum, cycle, volatility, volume and support and resistance lines indicators, you not only learn about indicator and its use, you learn about the parts of a trade that will help you in most cases to reduce risk.
I am sure that some indicators do work if used correctly. I am using pure price action and fibonacci 50-61.8 zone for extra confirmation. That`s all I need my charts are clean not like Christmas trees.
Exactly. So by using both to confirm each other. you should be better off. And yes each one by there selves can get the job done. By for the amount it takes to have one confirm the other, my personal opinion is it’s foolish not to do so.
What do you think those employees do when analyzing currencies use a crystal ball, or weather reports or wet finger in the wind to find a direction or just fundamentals? The people you are talking about use a combination of information that is available to help them to make decisions, which includes indicators.
Thank you for illustrating the point of this thread useless information. Since it’s your statement originally you prove they don’t. Now since I limit myself to one useless conversation a day, don’t feel an obligation to continue down this road
I personally know (have met and spent a great amount of time with) six full time forex spot and future traders… That is all they do for their income and two of those made over $250k last year doing it. Not a single one uses any technical indicator whatsoever… I have been to several exclusive (invite only) trader conventions and only a tiny percentage of discretionary traders that I rubbed shoulders with used any technical indicators. The ones that did used the 100 and 200 hourly and daily sma as dynamic lines of support and resistance.
Conclusion… Most successful traders that I have met find technical indicators to be useless. The only indicator that seems to have merit is the 100 and 200 period SMA.
I have the up most respect for your posts and apologize in advance if I offend you. But your conclusion is on the boarder of useless information, again with all due respect. You added the words “Most” and" I have met" which doesn’t make it as bad as “all indicators” you can’t possibly believe that the 6 traders you met are most successful traders? Without even thinking about it, go and check trade accounts of: Chris Capri, Avramis Despotis and as many as you want to in https://www.myfxbook.com/ there are all kinds that in addition to MA’s, use: Stocastics, CCI, RSI, Candle sticks.
Now are some indicators useless, of course and it doesn’t matter how experienced you are or what you want to use it for: but not all or even most fit under useless. Although even most is a broad statement. As to how useful or not useful a tech indicator is depends on what you use it for plain and simple. But broad inclusive statments are more usless than any tech indicator in my opinion. Again no disrespect intended and my apologies in advance if I did
I think [U]THEY[/U] HAVE A GOOD OLD CHUCKLE AT PEOPLE FOLLOWING LITTLE LINES AND DOTS A SQUIGGLES ON THERE SCREENS ALL DAY.
HOW DO YOU THINK [U]THEY[/U] TRADED BEFORE THESE INDICATORS WERE CREATED?
Reuters introduced during June 1973 computer monitors, replacing the telephones and telex used previously for trading quotes.
A basic understanding of statistics would lead to the conclusion that if I have six people who I intimately know their trading methods and are part of the 5% in this business… And they are NOT using indicators… And that I have spoken face to face with probably over a hundred other 5 percenters with only a handful using indicators… that I have a large enough sample size (typically 30 is judged as an adequate sample size in the world of statistics) to make statistically significant conclusions.
So I think what is happening is you have a very entrenched opinion ( and that’s ok) hence anything said to the contrary is poo poo’ed. To the others reading… I think I have had a unique opportunity to actually be around real successful traders and to get a feel for common practices… Poo poo at your own risk
P.s.
The examples of gurus you used who use indicators, make their living TEACHING trading to new traders… And new traders naturally gravitate to indicators… So by catering to new traders preferences by using indicators they may happen to increase their enrollment and thereby their revenue
Those who can’t perform a profession simply teach the profession. This then asks the following question:
“If we are being taught by “professionals” who can only teach as they can’t perform the profession, is there a clear break in the material being taught to new traders from these teachers”
Read that above question again to make sure you have understood it.
Teachers are never ever teaching from their own profitable experience because they have not been profitable or they would not be teaching. It’s a strange thought, but this is what is missing, the golden piece of information which is kept hidden by all successful traders. If you were successful then why would you teach it to others when it’s taken you years of work and dedication to understand.
It’s like being told how to drive a car by someone who can’t drive, you’re going to be told inaccurate information at some point which will effect your own driving when you take the test and result in you failing.
This is exactly what happens when you are paying for courses by supposed professional, professionals who have failed to make constant profits, professionals who are now feeding you with there own failed information, and finally professionals who have never actually been professional or they would be creaming it in the markets.
Here’s a description if you’re not familiar with it 
