Changing look of charts confusing

[Sparrow]

Hi,

I browsed for some threads and had a look a couple of attached charts.
Looking at candle stick chart with white and blue candles, i was amazed by the clean look of it. So i changed the setup of my charts to resemble the ones i had seen.

The result was that i totally couldn't make sense of the charts anymore. I'm used to green/red candles and it amazes me that my brain had a hard time recognizing the patterns with different colors. As a consequence i reverted to the old setup.

It's just a funny observation.

[brownsfan019]

mojo - I agree 100%. Changing the look and feel of your charts can affect your decision making easily. If nothing else, your brain is trying to decipher the new look and for some (myself included) that can cause disruptions. My candle charts are blue and red candles. Why? Well, blue is my fave color and red is standard bearish candles. Red and blue work well together in my opinion. I've had it that way since I can remember. Going back to green and red would just be 'weird' to me.

I'll add this as well - in addition to the coloring of your charts, the size of the candles, the length of the X and Y axis, etc. can also produce different pictures for me, even though it's the same info! I've actually found that having large monitors can HURT my view and trading b/c everything looks so exaggerated. And then when I see that it's just a 3 tick candle, things change.

This is actually important, esp for newbies to trading, to understand. How your charts look and are setup can impact your trading, whether you are conscious of this or not.

Here's a quick example:

ES CHART #1 (15 MIN CHART)



ES CHART #2 (SAME 15 MIN CHART)



Believe it or not, those are IDENTICAL charts, just different Y axis.

[Sparrow]

Thanks for pointing that out brownsfan, i haven't thought of that myself but it totally makes sense to me.

I'd like to add that imho the size of the widest candles should be the same on every time frame. Same goes for other instruments.

It's only a theory, but i guess traders are probably adjusting their charts in that way subconciously.

[james_gsx]

I like light blue and red on a black background, it just works with my eyes the best and I see things better. Thats just me, not everyone.

When we had a ton of volatility I increased the size of my Y axis to better scalp breakouts. It did exaggerate things, but I found more small breakouts that way, now if I use the same size I get screwed up every time.

[brownsfan019]

	Quote:	james_gsx
	I like light blue and red on a black background, it just works with my eyes the best and I see things better. Thats just me, not everyone. When we had a ton of volatility I increased the size of my Y axis to better scalp breakouts. It did exaggerate things, but I found more small breakouts that way, now if I use the same size I get screwed up every time.

One note James (and I realize you are younger) - a dark background will create more stress on your eyes over time. I liked the look of the black background as well, but quickly found out from the eye doc that's not such a good idea. The dark background forces your eyes to focus more and creates unnecessary strain. And that extra focus is not a good thing. That does not equate to being more focused on your trades, it just creates more stress on your eyes to watch your charts. I don't use white, just a very faint/light blue.

I wasn't convinced at first, but after reading up on it, it makes sense - just about everything you read (magazines, books, websites, etc.) all have a white or light background. It's easier on the eyes and your eyes have been trained to be able to read easily with that background. Now, when an advertiser wants to attract your eyes, they can do so w/ a dark background b/c it forces your eyes to pause and focus on the object.

Just an FYI.

[TinGull]

I've used red/blue candles for a while as well, and I've always had a greyish background. The black background was always too "militant" looking to me for some reason.

[james_gsx]

That's interesting that black would cause more strain, even if I have very bright colors? I have always had excellent eyes and for some reason white always makes it difficult for me to see.

I should play around with some different background colors and see if I can get used to anything.

[brownsfan019]

	Quote:	james_gsx
	That's interesting that black would cause more strain, even if I have very bright colors? I have always had excellent eyes and for some reason white always makes it difficult for me to see. I should play around with some different background colors and see if I can get used to anything.

The black background forces your eyes to focus on the other colors, regardless if bright or not. It's just the way our eyes operate and it's how we've trained them - for many years, you've trained them to look for a light/white background and black text.

Same theory holds for the charts that you stare at for many hours each day.

[Reaver]

	Quote:	brownsfan019
	One note James (and I realize you are younger) - a dark background will create more stress on your eyes over time. I liked the look of the black background as well, but quickly found out from the eye doc that's not such a good idea. The dark background forces your eyes to focus more and creates unnecessary strain. And that extra focus is not a good thing. That does not equate to being more focused on your trades, it just creates more stress on your eyes to watch your charts. I don't use white, just a very faint/light blue. I wasn't convinced at first, but after reading up on it, it makes sense - just about everything you read (magazines, books, websites, etc.) all have a white or light background. It's easier on the eyes and your eyes have been trained to be able to read easily with that background. Now, when an advertiser wants to attract your eyes, they can do so w/ a dark background b/c it forces your eyes to pause and focus on the object. Just an FYI.

That's an interesting concept. I had always heard it was a bad idea, but never gave it much thought....It's never bothered me, but then again, I'm only 25...maybe I should look into a different format...