Does Tick Size Matter? Chart Example

#1

Trading the TF today seemed to be a bit slow on the 14 Tick. There were some moves to scalp and a few APEX’s that lined up. There were def a lot of Momentum Scalps to play as well but they weren’t as apparent on the 14 Tick as they were on the 6 Tick.

When Darrell showed his chart in the trade room today I noticed he had a lot more trading opportunities on the 6 Tick than I had on the 14 Tick. See images below…

My 14 Tick Chart

14 Ticks - TradeNumberz’s library

Darrell’s 6 Tick Chart

6 Ticks - TradeNumberz’s library

One thing I also noticed is that it took a long time for the 14 tick Diagnostic Bars to print but that’s a question for another time. The question I wanted to ask here is weather or not Tick Size should vary based on the condition of the market.

Hypothetical: Lets say that TF was moving fast today could one use the 14 Tick DBars to slow things down or if the market was slow as it was today could one use the 6 Tick DBars to get more find more entries. Or does it not matter which Tick Size one uses?

Of course there were a few Momentum Scalps on the 14 Tick but there were a few APEX’s that I could have played on the 6 Tick as well.

Thanks!

#2

I would think that since the 14 tick bar are more than double the 6 bar, the 14 bar would take longer to form because they require 14 changes in ticks, as opposed to the 6 bar only require 6 ticks. The 6 bar were better today since the 6 bar expanded more on trends then the 14 tick bars did, which allowed for more entries. Even though there were more APEX formations and reversal on the 6 tick, some of them would just break to a loss due to 6 bars having more choppiness in them. The 14 bar filters out more of the choppiness and gives you smoother trends. You just have to adapt to the market, but keep you bar size consistent. For example, you don’t see as many entries so you switch to 4, then the next day to 8, and then to 14.

Here’s a video I recommend that you watch:
http://apexinvesting.net/module-1/diagnostic-bar-sizes/

Hope that answered your question!

#3

Yes bar size matters. The 6 tick chart does not represent anything special you can load your own chart with 6 ticks :slight_smile: That was just showing trades and showing that if one where to implement all systems and go beyond that even there is plenty of action in a single hour. Of course you will get more entries on a smaller bar size. More does not mean better.

We do list 6 ticks on the bar size page for TF.
http://apexinvesting.net/diagnostic-bar-size-and-settings/

It was a simple comment from a larger conversation we had to day in the elite room about flat days (ie previous to FOMC) etc… that have say LARGE moves etc… and how that impacts that chart and ways to trade around it.

Arandhawa, perfect recommendation on the course this shows you how to find bar sizes for each instrument. Also its important to understand the apex pattern (which ties a lot into the mvp and bar sizing video). So the larger the bar the less noise but also the slower the apex will flip from long to short and vice versa. The smaller the bar the more it will flip and the more likely you are to be stopped out on false trends.

#4

OK that makes sense. Thanks for the help and advice from the both of you. Gives me a better perspective of bar size and how they correlate to the market conditions. I’ll be taking at the video training that aran shared. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Thanks again for the help!