thrill of quick intraday profits also comes stress, something many realize over time.
What's more, with many time-frames to chose from, many new-traders find
themselves confused about which charts they should be looking at. Here we will
attempt to clarify what timeframes work best in Forex trading - for daytraders -
while also attempting to recognize the stress that comes with moving in and out of
positions quickly.
Defining Daytraders
There are really three types of traders: daytraders, swing traders and position
traders. Position traders attempt to move in and out of currencies with a longerterm view (like weeks, or months) in mind. Swing traders usually hold positions
for days, or week, but aren't really trying to build a larger position to capitalize on
a macro trend. Conversely, the conventional definition of a "daytrader" is someone
who attempts to book quick profits several times over - all in one session, or
sitting.
With the latter in mind, daytraders will usually look at 60-minute, 30-minute, 15-
minute, 10-minute, 5-minute and 1-minute "tick" charts. And with so many
choices, even on an intraday basis, the stress of "what time frames work best" can
be incredibly cumbersome.
What traders must realize is that there is no true "holy grail" timeframe for intraday
trading. In other words, there isn't one particular timeframe that will constantly
show profitable trade opportunities. However, by overlapping several timeframes,
intraday traders stand a better chance of seeing real trade setups.
Macro to Micro
It's always important for traders to know the macro trend, before ever trying to zero
in on a trade. Imagine this as similar traveling with a compass. If one were lost in
the woods, he, or she would stand a much better chance of finding their way out if
they knew what direction they were heading when they started hiking and may be
able to simply reverse directions to find their way out. And the macro trend is
exactly that, a guidance tool to help traders find their way. Thus, it's important to
look at monthly, weekly, daily and 4-hour charts (if even for a moment) to have
some idea of the larger trend. While we won't cover breaking down the larger trend
in this article, it is something that traders need to be aware of. Now, we will look at
the pros and cons of shorter-term charts, evaluating each for optimum intraday
profitability.