Are Technical Indicators useless?

[nara1892]

Technical indicators are nothing but predicting the future movement of the market based on past movements but it doesn't mean the market will move exactly in the way you predicted. Even the results will change for different sets of indicators which is enough to prove that it is not accurate in predicting the movements. So when you tested the market favorably for you but it didn't when you implemented it in real time but it doesn't mean the strategy is not working.

It may work in future trades so it all depends on how long you can survive in the market which is subjective with the capital you have and the amount you allocated for trading.

Well that's true and in my view, indicators are not a tool to bring you to a definite profit because these tools work according to the market conditions that are happening, and they give us a little idea of where the market is going to go next, for example what we often see is the support and resistance points, some indicators have shown it to you. This is not something that can give you a definite profit but with this tool it will be able to help you more in doing analysis, especially technical and some clues from indicators that you can match with the strategy you have to then achieve your profit target. But sometimes like there are some traders who are like deceived by this tool, therefore before you use it as a reference material you also have to learn how this tool works to help you, and my advice is not to use too many indicators on your screen because it will only make you confused to make a choice between buy or cell, so just use one or two that you think have a more important role to help you.

And yes it's true as you say even though using indicators but still for the problem of the results it will not always match what you want, the market is very volatile so maybe this is just a tool to be used as a reference only to make it easier and give you full confidence to open an entry, I think that's all.

[EarnOnVictor]

I quite understand your frustration and this is one of the reasons why I advise traders against backtesting, it's just fake, and it doesn't work. The candle pattern or indicator you are backtesting would appear perfect, but before they look the way you see them, they might have passed through some indecisive conditions that would be hidden from backtesting, hence the reason why people fail with it. The best is to forwardtest any strategy you want to use, it helps better that way as you can know how it works and get to manage its weaknesses in real-time.

Also, you might want to tell us the indicator you are using that failed you, it would have helped better in advising you. Nevertheless, from my vast trading experience, I will advise you to shun most indicators, especially those that move with the market price, they will mislead you. Just learn only the good support and resistance strategies and it shall be well with you.

[macson]

Hi everyone.

I've examined indicators for very long time. Especially if you are trading often, they would increase your winning possibilities.

While some months i've learned how to code Pine Script on Tradingview and backtest with it. But i can't get good results even if many combination of indicators.    When i look at past data manually, it works smoothly but this data retrospective and indicators can't drawn in future.

I wonder is there anyone who succeed on trading with indicator/combination of indicator/special strategy.

I'm open to discuss all ideas.  

In trading there are no professors, everyone is required to learn and increase their knowledge to be able to remain calm in making every decision so don't give up just because the back test you did on the indicator you are using is not successful at the moment, apart from that i also remind you to focus Just stick to a few indicators that you feel comfortable with, the more you use various indicators, the more difficult it will be for you to determine which indicator is suitable for you.
i'll give you an illustration, when you sharpen a knife to make it sharp, focus on that one knife, don't change it, you will only make more knives that are not sharp if you keep changing knives, the same goes for indicators, just focus on the few that you feel are suitable for you, continue to develop and sharpen your instincts when using those indicators.

[tvplus006]

I've examined indicators for very long time. Especially if you are trading often, they would increase your winning possibilities. ..

Yes, the use of indicators increases the chances of getting a profit, but at the same time it cannot guarantee 100% compliance with the result. You should understand that even if all the indicators you use indicate that the price of the coin should increase, but if negative news breaks, its price will move in the opposite direction.

[teosanru]

Hi everyone.

I've examined indicators for very long time. Especially if you are trading often, they would increase your winning possibilities.

While some months i've learned how to code Pine Script on Tradingview and backtest with it. But i can't get good results even if many combination of indicators.    When i look at past data manually, it works smoothly but this data retrospective and indicators can't drawn in future.

I wonder is there anyone who succeed on trading with indicator/combination of indicator/special strategy.

I'm open to discuss all ideas.  

Individually and apparently yes. They are wasted when used in solace but if you can combine the relevant indicators into a trading system or strategy then obviously it can be a game changer. But yes obviously very few people can actually make it profitable.

[stomachgrowls]

Hi everyone.

I've examined indicators for very long time. Especially if you are trading often, they would increase your winning possibilities.

While some months i've learned how to code Pine Script on Tradingview and backtest with it. But i can't get good results even if many combination of indicators.    When i look at past data manually, it works smoothly but this data retrospective and indicators can't drawn in future.

I wonder is there anyone who succeed on trading with indicator/combination of indicator/special strategy.

I'm open to discuss all ideas.  

Individually and apparently yes. They are wasted when used in solace but if you can combine the relevant indicators into a trading system or strategy then obviously it can be a game changer. But yes obviously very few people can actually make it profitable.

Would really be lots of trial and error i should say because even how good or relevant the indicator is but if you dont know on how to make use of it then it would be still useless.It would really all matters on how well you do

mix up a set of indicators for you to be able make your own analysis on which you would really be able to take advantage even though it wont really be giving out assurance for it to be precise but at least you do really know on what you should gonna do. Its not useless and you would see its relevance on the time that you would step your foot into this market, we cant really be always having that news and sentiments on which you could really use on your analysis or would really be applied into it.Therefore, you would really be still end up on making use of those common indicators which it is ideal rather than on having nothing at all.

It wont really be useless on the time that you would be deciding on going into this market. You would see its relevance and usefullness on such situation on predicting price
on where it could potentially go.

[Learn Bitcoin]

I guess I have posted this somewhere else. Recently, I found a free technical indicator, and I thought it was a scam because they usually ask for a premium subscription, which is why I always think those are scams. I followed their signals and thought those signals would be 100% correct, which was later proved wrong. I don't blame them since they also say they do not guarantee all trade wins.

Now answer to your thread title: No. Those are not useless. It can increase your winning possibility, but nothing is guaranteed. You have to do the money management, and you have to use your strategy when lost trades come.

[BenCodie]

As with all things, the more things that you take into account, the more you have rationalizing and reasoning your decision.

If you are making trades based on a single technical indicator, the reliability is a lot lower than finding multiple technical indicators telling a similar story.

Taking into account short term fundamentals and multiple technical indicators can be a lot more reliable than just trading on what you see from one or two technical indicators.

[wxa7115]

Hi everyone.

I've examined indicators for very long time. Especially if you are trading often, they would increase your winning possibilities.

While some months i've learned how to code Pine Script on Tradingview and backtest with it. But i can't get good results even if many combination of indicators.    When i look at past data manually, it works smoothly but this data retrospective and indicators can't drawn in future.

I wonder is there anyone who succeed on trading with indicator/combination of indicator/special strategy.

I'm open to discuss all ideas.  

I really think you are falling victim of overfittting, also called curve fitting, basically you are using the many different indicators to create a strategy that fits too closely to the past data and it may seem to give you incredibly predictive abilities, but when you actually test it you notice it has not predictive ability at all.

How to counter this? Simple, stop creating strategies that have a very high degree of accuracy, use less indicators and leave a portion of the price data out so you can use it to test your new strategy, so if for example you have 5 years of data, then use the first 4 years to create your strategy and use the remaining year to test how your strategy would perform at the time.

[traderethereum]

Trading indicators estimate where the price will move, but it does not guarantee accuracy because it is difficult to know the actual direction of market movements.
But with this indicator, especially if you draw a line based on movements in the previous day, week, month or year, you can find the pattern of the direction of the movement.
Usually, traders only master a few indicators in trading and master them more deeply to determine when to enter and exit the market.
I still can't determine the direction of market movement so I often experience mistakes in trading, but I think that's okay because I can still learn more.
But be careful when using indicators because we know that the current direction of market movements is not easy to predict.

[LogitechMouse]

~
I wonder is there anyone who succeed on trading with indicator/combination of indicator/special strategy.

I'm open to discuss all ideas.  

There are many successful crypto traders out there. I don't know what they're using, but I believe it's a combination of both the indicators, plus the news that's happening globally.

So to answer your question, yes I believe there's many successful traders out there who are using indicators, but I don't think that they're only using indicators because the fundamentals can also be a factor when it comes to price movement.

To answer your question regarding indicators being useless, if it's useless then no one would've used it when they're trading. In short, it's still useful. There are some traders out there who are solely using technical indicators whenever they're trading, and there are some who are also using the fundamentals then they're deciding base on it. However, the problem with some traders is that, they think Technical Indicators as like the answer to their problem. Like if they use these indicators, they will have a 100% chance that they will always get profit whenever they're trading. Technical Indicators increases your chances of getting profits in trading however, it isn't guarantee that you will win even you use it.

[Hypnosis00]

Trading indicators estimate where the price will move, but it does not guarantee accuracy because it is difficult to know the actual direction of market movements.
But with this indicator, especially if you draw a line based on movements in the previous day, week, month or year, you can find the pattern of the direction of the movement.
Usually, traders only master a few indicators in trading and master them more deeply to determine when to enter and exit the market.
I still can't determine the direction of market movement so I often experience mistakes in trading, but I think that's okay because I can still learn more.
But be careful when using indicators because we know that the current direction of market movements is not easy to predict.

We often commit mistakes because of the nature of the market. Even though we have in trading for many years, mistakes still happen but it is not that bad when compared to those traders who have less experience and knowledge about using indicators.

Yes, I certainly agree that we don't need to have a lot of Technical indicators but what we need is the indicator that we think is applicable to us. By mastering it and applying it to our trade, we can also expect different results.

[sarmrakib]

Hi everyone.

I've examined indicators for very long time. Especially if you are trading often, they would increase your winning possibilities.

While some months i've learned how to code Pine Script on Tradingview and backtest with it. But i can't get good results even if many combination of indicators.    When i look at past data manually, it works smoothly but this data retrospective and indicators can't drawn in future.

I wonder is there anyone who succeed on trading with indicator/combination of indicator/special strategy.

I'm open to discuss all ideas.  

Only technical indiactor isn’t useful to give good return on trading .We all know trading is a difficult way of earning .Crypto trading is much and more difficult than any other trading .We all know crypto is always volatile so that if you depend only on technical analysis ,it won’t help you much to get a good return .I think you should also try to learn fundamental analysis ,price action etc. If you gather everything and apply before trading the accuracy will be high to give you a positive result on trading .So that don’t depend only on technical analysis .

[stadus]

If it's useless, then it shouldn't have been created.

You are in charge of your own strategy. If you believe that certain technical indicators are not necessary for your success, then they are indeed useless to you. However, take a look around and study how successful traders operate. They use technical indicators and analyze them effectively, which is why I would say they are very useful for achieving profitability.

[traderethereum]

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We often commit mistakes because of the nature of the market. Even though we have in trading for many years, mistakes still happen but it is not that bad when compared to those traders who have less experience and knowledge about using indicators.

Yes, I certainly agree that we don't need to have a lot of Technical indicators but what we need is the indicator that we think is applicable to us. By mastering it and applying it to our trade, we can also expect different results.

Making mistakes because of changes that occur in the market is normal.
That is why we must continue to improve our analytical skills by learning more about using indicators.
But we don't need to study all of these indicators, especially if we only use a few indicators that traders commonly use.
Studying these indicators until we really master them can help us to analyze where the market will move.
And it will be useful for us in following changes in movements that occur in the market.

[darewaller]

They are not useless, you just need to find which ones work for you the best .People think that there are indicators that could make you profit easily, but the reality is that we are talking about a situation where it will take a while to get that done, and it is not that way and it is different.

I personally believe that we are going to end up with a situation that would be different, and I hope that it can get to a point where we could make our personalized versions. One indicator could work amazing for me, but terrible for you, and meanwhile another indicator could work amazing for you and bad for me. This means that you need to find what works for you the best and you could make a good strategy based on that one.

They are useless if you don't know how to use them. Indicators are only a small part of trading, so those who think indicators alone can make them rich quick are crazy. Trading is still far from investing. Maybe you will have tons of delays to perform a trade if you are still a beginner, but don't worry because every pro traders do also start with that.

We have lots of indicators. I think this is because like you said, a few might work for some while the others won't. Trial and error is the only way to figure it out. I am not sure if we can create and add our own personalize indicator to the existing ones but even if not, we can still promote it on other place so that others can try it.

[poodle63]

If it's useless, then it shouldn't have been created.

You are in charge of your own strategy. If you believe that certain technical indicators are not necessary for your success, then they are indeed useless to you. However, take a look around and study how successful traders operate. They use technical indicators and analyze them effectively, which is why I would say they are very useful for achieving profitability.

This much is what i can agree with, technical indicators isn't entirely useless, it might really useful for knowing current circumstances that majority of coin were in, and seeing what trend is currently on a market is also one of the most essential thing.
its just I guess market are becoming more and more strange, i think most of the time right now market are straying away from the general text book about technical analsis in which it could means that we need to make some improvisation here and there considering the fact that technical analysis might not fully determine which direction market will move.
therefore I guess there gonna be differing opinion.

[GreatArkansas]

Trading indicators estimate where the price will move, but it does not guarantee accuracy because it is difficult to know the actual direction of market movements.
But with this indicator, especially if you draw a line based on movements in the previous day, week, month or year, you can find the pattern of the direction of the movement.
(....)

In short, it is really important when you are trading.
The fact that we can trade even if we don't use any technical indicator or without analyzing at all, it's fine. But it's like you are just gambling, you don't have any basis. Because you can just easily open a trade.
I rather have a reason why I opened a trade than nothing, and technical indicators is another way for it.

[heartbit.offical]

Of course, it's possible. I have been achieving an annual return of over 60% through my metrics for the past 5 years.

We must use metrics for the following reasons:
1. Data doesn't lie.
2. Forgetting the past will lead to disgrace.
3. Data is necessary for managing risks.

[taufik123]

In short, it is really important when you are trading.
The fact that we can trade even if we don't use any technical indicator or without analyzing at all, it's fine. But it's like you are just gambling, you don't have any basis. Because you can just easily open a trade.
I rather have a reason why I opened a trade than nothing, and technical indicators is another way for it.

Technical indicators or technical analysis are the main foundation for knowing the direction of trading.
Trading without analysis is like a blind man walking without a stick, without knowing the way and not knowing where to go.

There are even many beginners who do it just by guessing like gambling and they usually use futures trading which we know is more risky than spot trading.
It's risky enough when beginners don't know what they're doing, just wasting their money on a bad experience without any research.