[ptcman]

Hey guys, your answers are being very useful.

Like I said at the beginning, I've always used minute charts, and those are the ones that I always felt good trading.

Having said that, we are in a constant learning process when dealing with the markets. Always searching for new tools to enhance our system/strategy.

I liked the idea of having tick charts to help us reading the volume that has been traded, and here is where I've been stuck for the last couple of weeks.

It's been hard to read and understand the concept of tick charts.

Maybe the fact that I always associate price movement with time is blocking my perception towards tick charts.

[Nbkid]

the one thing good about tick charts is that we sometimes want to remove time ---especially in off hours when volume is lower than the day session. This can help maintain the "pattern" or wave look of price performance ---- without time skewing it.

[maxr]

Am I right in saying that if one uses tick charts on spot FX data (you can do this on e.g. tradestation with no 'true' volume available), then each 'tick' represents one line on Time & Sales, ie one deal, whether it's one lot or 20? Do ECN or Currenex based accounts (e.g. the interactive brokers ECN system) show true volume for that particular ECN?

Max

[ScottB]

Currenex shows volume at the levels like the futures and will report trades that happen on its platform but there is no way to know what trades or even what prices are on other venues.

One thing that works just fine though is using the futures as a proxy. The arbs won't let prices get truly out of sync with the cash for more than a second, therefore, once you abstract out the interest rate differential (the futures/cash spread that particular day), you can line up futures volume with the cash.

It won't be perfect but it is very close if done correctly.

[brownsfan019]

Originally Posted by Tradewinds »

Let's look at the objective of trading, and then work backwards. The objective is to determine when the trend is going to reverse. That's the objective. Yes the objective is to make money, but you can't do that unless you are on the winning side of the price move.

Or when a trend is still in play and you can just hop on that train.

[MightyMouse]

Originally Posted by maxr »

Am I right in saying that if one uses tick charts on spot FX data (you can do this on e.g. tradestation with no 'true' volume available), then each 'tick' represents one line on Time & Sales, ie one deal, whether it's one lot or 20? Do ECN or Currenex based accounts (e.g. the interactive brokers ECN system) show true volume for that particular ECN?

Max

You can estimate volume (relative volume) with Market Profile if you are hell bent on trading currencies.

[trade101]

Tick charts or minute charts doesn't matter Fib's works on levels.

[zeke]

i use minutes time frame because thats the average time i hold my trades. If you hold your position for days or weeks i dont think there is a point to look the 1minutes chart....

thats my advice !