Stop Trading With Messy Indicators

You are in the mid of your trading journey. You have read tons of investment and trading books, went for trading seminars. Each of these books and gurus telling you the many wonderful technical indicators like MACD, Stochastic, ADX, etc that gives you a signal that tells you to buy or sell. You thought: "Wow that's easy! Just wait for the cross or signal and the just execute the trade!" You started with one indicator. Oh, it doesn't work, you lost money even the signal is correct but the markets just turned against your favour. You started to ask: "Hmmmmm, this indicator seems to be not working." You then add another indicator to make your chart reading more accurate. Again it doesn't work. Soon you will be adding more and more indicators until your chart looks so "professional". Still your trades are not working and you find yourself slower than the rest of the market.

STOP USING INDICATORS

Indicators are useful for novices who are just starting their trading journey. It's because they have no idea how the market behaves and moves. And these indicators provides them with some info on how to trade. However as one progresses, indicators are not entirely useful at all. There are a few reasons for it:

1) Technical indicators are all lagging the market. Even so called leading indicators are lagging as they need to wait for market data.

2) Technical indicators encourage you to stare at the chart all day. Staring at the chart all day will screw up your thinking and make emotional trades when they fail to work.

3) Technical Indicators take up space in your chart and makes it look messy. 

4) The best traders seldom use technical indicators. Enough said.

The Zen Chart

How does your chart looks like? Does it looks like a complex state of chart that looks like something coming from Einstein, or the zen-like state of simplicity?

This is what a typical chart full of indicators. Taking up spaces in your workspace preventing you from reading a good chart.

This is what a clean chart will look like. Can you spot the turns and movement clearly?

Cut Down Your Indicators

Start removing indicators. Start to read charts in their raw unprocessed state. Start reading about support and resistance. You will find yourself to start reading charts and movement better. Good luck and Happy Trading!