should i trade on the one-hour timeframe?
So, guys i have been trading the 5-minute timeframe for some months now and i must say it can be overwhelming, having to check the charts every 5 minutes to see how the last candle formed.
Lately, i began studying the one-hour timeframe and i noticed i can see some candlestick patterns there too (although not as many i see on the 5-minute timeframe). So, my question has anyone here traded the one-hour timeframe and what are the advantages or disadvantages?
I trade the one-hour timeframe, and the advantage is that any signal you see on it is surer than those on the 5-minute timeframe. In other words, the H1 timeframe gives fewer fake signals.
On the 5-minute timeframe you can see a candlestick pattern and think the market will move a certain way, only for you to be disappointed as it turns out to be a fake signal.
The disadvantage of trading the one-hour timeframe is that there are fewer candlestick patterns/opportunities and you need to set a wider stop loss which might be impossible if your account balance is small.
I trade the one-hour timeframe, and the advantage is that any signal you see on it is surer than those on the 5-minute timeframe. In other words, the H1 timeframe gives fewer fake signals.
On the 5-minute timeframe you can see a candlestick pattern and think the market will move a certain way, only for you to be disappointed as it turns out to be a fake signal.
The disadvantage of trading the one-hour timeframe is that there are fewer candlestick patterns/opportunities and you need to set a wider stop loss which might be impossible if your account balance is small.
As @kemi said, the H1 timeframe gives you a Birdseye view of the market so any signal you spot has a higher tendency to be correct. Setting the stop loss is the problem because it has to be at least at the bottom of the preceding H1 candle and you will need a healthy account balance to do so. Placing an inadequate stop loss when trading the H1 timeframe will likely mean you get stopped out easily.
As @kemi said, the H1 timeframe gives you a Birdseye view of the market so any signal you spot has a higher tendency to be correct. Setting the stop loss is the problem because it has to be at least at the bottom of the preceding H1 candle and you will need a healthy account balance to do so. Placing an inadequate stop loss when trading the H1 timeframe will likely mean you get stopped out easily.
For me, i'd rather trade smaller time frames like the 5-minute because there are more setups and i do not have the money to place a wide stop loss as required for higher timeframe trading.
If you are wrong on a lower timeframe, you can always re-enter the market again because your loss will not be too significant.
However, if you are wrong on a higher timeframe you may need to stop trading for the day because the loss will be significant.
You can trade the H1 timeframe, you just have to be observant. See the attached image of the H1 eurusd chart during the Asian session. A bullish engulfing pattern can be spotted meaning the next 1-hour candle may probably be bullish.
You can trade the H1 timeframe, you just have to be observant. See the attached image of the H1 eurusd chart during the Asian session. A bullish engulfing pattern can be spotted meaning the next 1-hour candle may probably be bullish.
You can see from the image of the H1 chart that the next 3 hours were bullish so if you were to go long after spotting the bullish engulfing pattern, you would place your stop loss below the first bullish candle.
Trading higher timeframes requires a large account balance because your stop loss will need to be set very far away from entry. If you are to trade H1 time frame i suggest you use 15-minute candle to pick your entry before returning to H1 time frame.
Higher timeframes are more accurate with less noise and meaningless candles but risk management is more difficult on higher time frames as stop losses will hve to be huge
Higher timeframes are more accurate with less noise and meaningless candles but risk management is more difficult on higher time frames as stop losses will hve to be huge
It is about the value of your loss. If you are okay with taking a $100 loss, and your SL has to be 100 pips, then you just trade 1 mini lot.
But if your SL has to be 10 pips, then you can trade 10 mini lots.
On the higher timeframe, you would be capturing a bigger move. You just adjust your lot size based on your SL. You would not suddenly risk a $1000 to place a bigger SL, when you are used to risking only $100.