This past week I've had a bit of a realization, in part to my interaction with james_gsx in the candlestick corner... what you pick for your chart timeframe is so incredibly vital that I think it's easy to overlook.
Allow me to ramble...
In my opinion, the lower the timeframe you go, the more focused on that specific chart(s) you become. For example, I recently had my ES chart down to a 2000 VBC. For those not familiar with the VBC, a 2000 setting can literally print candles in SECONDS. 2000 contracts traded in a quick moving market is nothing. It's actually quite amazing to take a step back and watch. To see what I mean, turn a 2000 VBC on during the first 30 minutes, the last 30 minutes or around econ news (esp Fed). My point being that I literally could only trade the ES at this level. It required my undivided attention.
Now, that was/is not necessarily a bad thing; however, I soon realized that I really narrowed down my potential trading targets to one market. As some here might recall, I used to post about the EC (Euro Fx) and we had a thread about the CL (Crude Oil) going as well. Well, those markets became a distant past with a 2000 ES VBC Chart.
So my question/dilemna as I think about my trading biz currently is: is focusing exclusively on the ES with a small timeframe (and many, many trades as a result) more or less advantageous for me vs. kicking up the timeframe on the ES to then open the doors to the other markets once again....
There's no quick and easy answer (at least for me right now). It's hard to complain when the ES is treating you well with your current setup; however, this is all about exploiting as many opportunities as possible while they are there. And if I am glued to the ES while the EC and/or CL are producing incredible trading opportunities, what is my cost? Again, not an easy answer and more rhetorical than anything.
In the end, I wanted to get this out there so others could learn from my struggles currently to find that balance of exploiting the opportunities as they arise. In a perfect world, I could have a computer do all this for me, and before we go there, I am not interested in that. Whether it's old fashioned or what, I enjoy trading and doing it myself. That may be an opportunity cost that I have to deal with.
So I would highly recommend that all traders, seasoned or new, to at least glance at other chart timeframes occasionally so you do not become get a case of 'tunnel vision' as I have.