As the title suggests I’m wondering what I should focus on in terms of technical analysis under the notion I want to trade intraday on 1-15 minute charts.
What indicators should I familiarize myself with?
Are lagging indicators like moving averages and MACD worthwhile when looking at 1 minute charts?
Should I look to better identifying and charting wedges, pennants; or should I instead focus on eyeing up Elliot waves and harmonic patterns?
The question really boils down to, what analysis is worthwhile on such a short timeframe?
IMO, and I don’t trade low TFs, closeness to support/resistance levels would be important. MACD 3-10-16 works surprisingly well in identifying retracement opportunities, as does PSAR 01-04.
But it’s what works best for you that matters most.
You can use 15M chart. Follow price action and familiarize yourself with Fibonacci retracement. Fibonacci levels such as 61.8 and 38.2 are really handy in short time frames. Wishing you all the very best.
I personally don’t think that there is any benefit of trading on shorter time frames because they are full of noise and interference. You better go for higher time frames.
I personally suggest that you may want to use price action trading if you are to use 1M-15M chart. Using ABC pattern to trade on short time frame is handy. On the other hand, trading on indicators on short time frames may go horribly wrong in most cases.
As a day trader, you must make it a habit to check the price action every day and how you can implement the best strategies on the basis of the day’s conditions. You need to be quite active with your analysis if you want your trades to work for you.
I advise you not to go for 1 minute or 5 minute time frames as they give so many false signals and you will probably ending up losing the trades most of the time. You can trade on 15-minute TF, follow price action.
Had you tried all these strategies and queries on a demo trading account, I bet you wouldn’t have been asking these queries. Usually many of us underestimate the demo accounts thinking they’re just a waste of time. But finding solutions to the problems and retrying them with a better and a new strategy always boosts one’s confidence and makes for a better trader. So, it’s never too late. Just take a break and start demo trading.
Risk management should be your top priority. With price action moving so rapidly in the lower timeframes you could easily blow up your account. Also properly scrutinize you trades before taking them.
I’d suggest you go for combined indicators. MACD + R&S + Stochastic oscillators. This combo for me has worked wonders. But before you try anything like this on live trades, do demo trade once.
Certainly. However I don’t personally think that it’s wisely to sty on demo too long, you know. Some traders have such a “sin”. They stay on demo too long hence it makes them less effective and they don’t want to move on a real account because they choose such a comfort zone. I believe that demo account, as you said, is preferable only for testing new strategies, or if a trader edits already existing strategy. In such cases demo is the best option I guess, but everything depends on circumstances. If a trader sees that he/she has a big string of losses, then he/she is able to move back on demo to sort out why it’s like that.
Learn the “price action” system. All events that have already occurred in the Forex market or currently occur, the trader is watching at the price schedule. Analyzing it, he sees how the price behaved, and what actions took market participants in one or another period of time. Any global events occurring in the world have a huge impact on the market. Its reaction to them can be traced on the price schedule, where the plans, hopes and emotions of all market players are reflected in each candle. Method of analysis of the Price Action will help to see and analyze all the actions of market players.