What is the best technical analysis tool?

Vicorka said:
The best is the one that helps you to make money. For me it is volume and volatility + nice charts
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D*mn people, can you please be more specific?

Tired of advices like: "Oh, live your life with no regrets, do what you love and find your special one". Yeah, ok, everybody wants that, but HOW? Specifics?
 
The best technical indicator is your brain. Indicators are a nice psychological cushion, but the actual magic is in that immense neural network parked in your head.
 
spiderbyte87 said:
The best technical indicator is your brain. Indicators are a nice psychological cushion, but the actual magic is in that immense neural network parked in your head.
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Sorry DPD, I fully agree with the above. I struggled for many years breaking even trading EOD because data was free. After 10 years trading like that on and off I am positive account wise but not enough to retire on. I now have been day trading and profitable after intensely working at it for the past year. I used all the moving average type indicators I could find and gave up on them. Automating a backtest will show you that for a MA crossover to be nearly profitable over time you have to use very short periods and in the end you will not succeed. The number of trades will be huge also so your broker will be very happy.

I personally use my own programmed charts which I keep very clean looking with high contrast colors and no extra lines. I use a chart based on the DOM, another based on a combo of DOM and price and a standard volume chart. I use a candlestick chart for price movement on 5 and 1 minute bars. Then I have another screen used for order entry when I do them manually. I based everything on my own personal decisions and would not expect my setup to work for anyone but myself.

I think trading is a very personal endeavor and it just takes a lot of time to find a way to trade that suits.

Cheers
 
To add to my comment, I must say that just like any computer-based neural network, you have to train you brain to see the patterns.. The patterns are there, but it takes many many many successes and failures to wire your personal neural network to see them. Additionally, they are pretty much so complex that no amount of training can get you 100% there. Training can get you off on the right foot, but the rest is up to you.

With regard to technical indicators, some are better than others (price action and volume based to be specific), but I kind of think you have to follow your own path of discovery to find the ones that help you see the patterns that your brain picks out as successful.

Remember: the indicators aren't the key, your brain is. You can have them on your screen, but learn to ignore them and focus on the bars themselves. The indicators will become this background trigger that you'll subconsciously use when the price action alone cannot tell you what you need to know.
 
the best indicator is your brain & finger. what your brain think is what your finger will click buy or sell.. haha..just kidding.

ok, for me.. the best indicator that will make you happy..

1- horizontal support & resistance line + price action bar.
2- EMA 8 & EMA 21 to hold the position.

always trading at higher TF. Daily is recommended.
 
spiderbyte87 said:
To add to my comment, I must say that just like any computer-based neural network, you have to train you brain to see the patterns.. The patterns are there, but it takes many many many successes and failures to wire your personal neural network to see them. Additionally, they are pretty much so complex that no amount of training can get you 100% there. Training can get you off on the right foot, but the rest is up to you.

With regard to technical indicators, some are better than others (price action and volume based to be specific), but I kind of think you have to follow your own path of discovery to find the ones that help you see the patterns that your brain picks out as successful.

Remember: the indicators aren't the key, your brain is. You can have them on your screen, but learn to ignore them and focus on the bars themselves. The indicators will become this background trigger that you'll subconsciously use when the price action alone cannot tell you what you need to know.
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I'd go further and say that the indicators actually hinder the ability of your brain to see and learn what you need to learn.
 
Shakone said:
I'd go further and say that the indicators actually hinder the ability of your brain to see and learn what you need to learn.
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I agree.

A technique I sometimes use is to select a couple of indicators to act as filters to trawl for the sort of setup I'm looking for, but not to display them. This enables you to concentrate on what the price has/is/might be doing -- and if you have chosen your filters/indicators appropriately then you have probability on your side. If your practice has been to cover the chart with indicators and lines you may possibly find this suggestion quite liberating!
 
DitterPD said:
What is the best technical analysis tool you use? :shuriken:
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Tech analysis tools are very much an individual preference mate. The most commonly used I guess is Moving Averages (MA), MACD and Volumes but like I say these are all personal preferences. One thing I would say is that you shouldn’t just use one indicator. You should use a few when deciding on an entry/exit point of a trade.
 
yellowfloyd said:
Tech analysis tools are very much an individual preference mate. The most commonly used I guess is Moving Averages (MA), MACD and Volumes but like I say these are all personal preferences. One thing I would say is that you shouldn’t just use one indicator. You should use a few when deciding on an entry/exit point of a trade.
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I still use only MA & Fibonacci. Don't see any reasons to add/remove anything more/less. But If I hear concise and reasonable argument, I may change my mind and give it a try. :smart:
 
Shakone said:
I'd go further and say that the indicators actually hinder the ability of your brain to see and learn what you need to learn.
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I would say that if you are suggesting here that you can look at a price chart, or even better, a table of numbers, and devise a winning trading strategy... My hat is off to you Sir!!!

Myself, I use indicators because I cannot absorb all the data I see and calculate into my brain and figure the answer. I also cannot backtest theories or forward test them without building the theories into a concise indicator. Another reason I use indicators is because I programmatically analyze the DOM and thus make use of information I wouldn't otherwise be able to see because of the shear speed at which information crosses in front of my eyes.

I guess we must be trading different methods. I wish I could do it the easier way.

Cheers
 
numbertea said:
I would say that if you are suggesting here that you can look at a price chart, or even better, a table of numbers, and devise a winning trading strategy... My hat is off to you Sir!!!

Myself, I use indicators because I cannot absorb all the data I see and calculate into my brain and figure the answer. I also cannot backtest theories or forward test them without building the theories into a concise indicator. Another reason I use indicators is because I programmatically analyze the DOM and thus make use of information I wouldn't otherwise be able to see because of the shear speed at which information crosses in front of my eyes.

I guess we must be trading different methods. I wish I could do it the easier way.

Cheers
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Well there's not only one way to do things.

I don't think it's easier though. I just think it's more accurate.

To me it would be nice and easy if I had a simple indicator which tells me exactly what to do and when. And I think this ease, is why that doesn't work so well.

If your way works well, and you like indicators, carry on making money. It's all that matters.
 
I met a guy who spent a couple months in a prop shop with little to no prior exp. with trading. He played around with indicators, and eventually removed all price charts. He basically learned to trade in his own fashion purely by using MACD (if I recall correctly). He made roughly 75% in 3 years doing that.

So, hey, if indicators work for you, all the more power to ya!

But as for me, I use S/R and my own price patterns. Not much else to it.
 
Nothing works all the time, but it is good to be consistent in whatever you use. incorporate money management and discipline to whatever indicator you use. I use BB, stoch and pivot lines and I trade only one pair at a time
 
VielGeld said:
I met a guy who spent a couple months in a prop shop with little to no prior exp. with trading. He played around with indicators, and eventually removed all price charts. He basically learned to trade in his own fashion purely by using MACD (if I recall correctly). He made roughly 75% in 3 years doing that.

So, hey, if indicators work for you, all the more power to ya!

But as for me, I use S/R and my own price patterns. Not much else to it.
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Was it Schneider trading?
 
VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) is a reliable indicator for me. It is what the institutions are using and usually always creates price action when the relevant levels are hit. Hard to get this data unless you have a professional system for indices trading. I've programmed esignal based on FTSE 100 futures trading volumes.
 
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