Time frames are probably more important than most people give them credit for. First, it is the time frame that determines our “comfort zone” in trading. Second, it is our “workspace” that we base all our trading decisions off.
Many new traders don’t understand the “higher order” of time frames and forever suffer frustration not knowing why. Each time frame is governed or “controlled” by the next higher time frame. Since we trade the Daily, which is our workspace, we will start there.
The Daily is governed or controlled by the Weekly, which we call the BOSS. As long as we only trade from the Daily, then these two are all we really need. We can look at the Monthly for a longer, further out view, but as regards our trading decisions on the Daily, since the Monthly is two time frames higher (and controls the Weekly), we can disregard this.
Each time frame consists of waves or cycles or whatever name you want to give them and WITHIN those waves or cycles are smaller waves or cycles – these are our smaller time frames. So when you look at a BOSS chart you can see the large, major swings. Within those large, major swings are smaller swings – these are our Daily swings. From this, you should now understand that the BOSS controls EVERYTHING the Daily does. (Within the Daily swings are smaller swings which are your H4 swings).
This means that a BOSS swing controls several Daily swings.
If you have understood everything so far, you should realize that the BOSS support and resistance levels are those which the Daily moves up and down against. These then are YOUR major support and resistance levels. We qualify it as “YOUR” because they may not be the same as another trader’s major levels.
A BOSS bar consists of 5 Daily bars if the penny has still not dropped.
Hopefully this will help you understand why you cannot use information from a lower time frame to trade the higher time frame. For example, you cannot use support and resistance levels from H4 to trade the Daily since there are 6 H4 bars in a Daily and as many swings meaning that eventually you will be stopped out mid – bar. It is OK to find an entry on a lower time frame AFTER first identifying the opportunity on the Daily, PROVIDING you go back to trading the Daily.
If you want to find really strong, powerful levels of resistance and support, then pull up a Monthly chart and where the Monthly levels coincide with the Weekly levels is where you will find super powerful major, major support and resistance. If you do this, do not draw other lines in as you will end up with more horizontal lines than price bars!
The higher order of time frames also tells us that the higher the time frame, the more reliable, accurate are price action and technical analysis. So, a hammer on a BOSS chart is very meaningful and if you look back on your charts, you will see that many huge moves have come off these bars.
The higher time frames are easier to trade because there is less “noise” and trends are longer BUT you need very large accounts to handle the Stop Loss levels.
The one area which is not black and white is during a trend change. We can struggle with inter – time frame trend changes as sometimes the Daily has to change before it’s BOSS does. However, when we look in detail, it can be seen that the BOSS has changed first. The trick is to know what the immediate trend is or the momentum of the last couple of bars.
There is much more to time frames than this but this should be sufficient to help you along your way.
Same Currency Different Timescale
Look closely and see how the Big Boss ( monthly ) controls the Boss ( weekly ) which then controls the Worker ( daily ).
Time Frame Selection
I never cease to be amazed that the selection of time frame is never considered in trading discussions. After being told, and then finding out for myself, that brokers, system sellers, auto robot sellers etc., and other scammers target wishful thinking wannabe traders with their M1, M5 and M15 time frames, it is hardly surprising that the majority blow their accounts within weeks, sometimes days.
To just arbitrarily choose a time frame to trade is like choosing the first girl you date to be your wife. For many, that decision is made by the ads that suck you in with their $1200 per day M5 scalping system. There is far more to consider when choosing a time frame to trade.
Jacko’s trading partner, Mark, used to be a broker and has witnessed first hand, the longevity of traders trading short time frames. Their trading life is very short and painful as you would expect for someone sat in front of the one eyed monster all day long trying to wring out 10 pips on M1. Similarly for those on M5 and M15. Just like a revolving door, he has witnessed them come and go. Add into this that many short time frame traders have more than one monitor, sometimes up to five. Is it any wonder that these guys are highly stressed mental wrecks?
For me, the time frame controls your trading destiny. I rank it as high as trading psychology and in fact, that is probably where it belongs.
How many traders consider the impact that time frame has on their profits? I will bet there isn’t one. Consider a trader using a “successful” scalping system on M1 time frame. These guys are looking to make 5 pips or 10 pips at the most per trade. The effort, stress, mental anguish to reward ratio on this is horrendous. When you consider that they are “in the hole” for 2 to 3 pips (spread) the second they put on that trade, it puts tremendous emphasis on the accuracy of exits and entries to come out in profit. To be successful on M1, you have to be in the top 98% of everything – method, entries, exits, psyche, etc.
If you haven’t realized by now, then, the shorter the time frame, the more accurate your method has to be, meaning that there is little leeway in your entries and exits. Miss them by a couple of pips and you are in the red.
Conversely, the longer the time frame, the more leeway there is in both entries and exits. Entries and exits on weekly time frames do not have to be as accurate as those on the daily time frame which in turn, do not have to be as accurate as those on H4 and so on. When we are boarding our train on the daily express, it doesn’t really matter whether we are in the first carriage or the tenth carriage. We all arrive at the final destination with plenty of time (relatively speaking) to get off.
Another factor in time frame selection that I have never seen discussed, or I will bet, thought of, is our personal suitability and compatibility. We must never forget that the markets are energy. We traders are energy. Energy is governed by the Laws of Nature and, as such, can be broken down into different forms, states and matter. One of the properties of energy is it’s vibration and harmonics. The market, and each one of us as traders have vibration and harmonics which revolve around our personal natural frequencies. Yes, like it or not, we are just matter constantly vibrating in everything we do at our natural frequency. The markets are there, always vibrating at their natural frequency.
There is a state called resonance which occurs when two bodies of the same natural frequency come together. What happens then is that these natural frequencies excite each other causing large amplitudes and vibrations which continue to expand and vibrate until they both explode. I have witnessed this many times in my studies and experiments.
What has this to do with time frame selection you are asking? Everything. If you are familiar with the dating service e-harmony, it is the same thing. We are trying to find our partner (time frame) whose harmonics are compatible with ours. We need a partner (time frame) whose harmonics ideally have a sine wave 180 degrees opposed to ours so that their peak harmonic is at the same time as our valley harmonic.
Still lost? In simple terms, you may say that you are going to trade M15 because you know of a method/system on that time frame which is proven to be successful and profitable. Yet, when you trade that system, you cannot get it to work for you, no matter how hard you try. Usually, the harder you try, the more difficult it becomes. There is nothing wrong with the system, it works, it has been proven by others. What is wrong is YOU. YOU are not compatible with that time frame. YOU have to find a time frame which complements YOUR harmonics. Until you work on a time frame that compliments and is compatible with your harmonics, you will never be successful, comfortable or happy.
This has nothing to do with the longer the time frame being the more comfortable for you. It is about matching a time frame that you feel comfortable with, that allows you to trade easier and better with the lowest amount of stress and anguish.
In my case, I know my time frames are Weekly and Daily. I am so comfortable with them that I feel “as one” with them. I would love to trade H4, yet, as soon as I drop down to H4, I get an uneasy feeling, I just don’t feel as confident or as powerful as I do on the daily and weekly time frames. For me to trade H4 would put me at a disadvantage before I even put on a trade. This is exactly what happened when I tried to do M5 and M15.
Pay attention to time frames and find the one which is compatible with you.