Trading 4 Hour Forex Charts
In my opinion, nothing beats 4-hour Forex charts.
You may be wondering why I would make such a claim. Is it something to do with some “esoteric secret”? Or maybe “the world’s top traders are doing it”? Perhaps it’s “some secret ploy to sell you my latest product that relies on a 4-hour chart”?
The real reason I believe the 4-hour Forex chart is the best time frame ever is simply because of my lifestyle, how I personally trade, and how I make time for trading in my life.
I lead a pretty hectic life, running Prestige Trading Software, looking after my partner, and raising my beautiful little girl. There are always a hundred things to do each day. Trying to fit trading into my life used to be difficult, especially when trying to keep the important people in my life happy. But with the 4-hour chart, I manage it.
For some people, trading may seem like a daunting idea, especially if you already have a full-time job and can’t afford to give it all up to become the ultimate day trader. If that sounds familiar, keep reading to learn why I claim the 4-hour chart is the best chart out there.
Trading can be very time-consuming. Many people try to trade daily or even weekly charts, but this can feel like waiting forever for setups to align. You might wait days or even weeks between moves, which only adds to your frustration.
My Average Day-to-Day Schedule Using 4-Hour Forex Charts
The best thing about 4-hour forex charts is that they fit my lifestyle perfectly.
Here’s how my trading works on a day-to-day basis and why I’ve started trading Forex over stocks using a 4-hour chart. I still monitor a few stocks, but for those, I use a daily time frame.
07:00 am: I wake up, switch on my trading computer, and load up TradeStation. I check all open positions and spend about 10 minutes seeing what the markets are doing.
07:30 am: I shower and get ready for work. Some days I even hit the gym first. On the way to the office, I check Twitter and news feeds to get a sense of what’s happening in the markets.
09:30 am: I get to my desk, check my charts, and go through the hundreds of emails I receive each day. Then I start working on my various projects.
01:00 pm: I take lunch and get back to my desk around 2:00 pm.
02:00 pm: Naturally, I check my charts again. I manage stops and positions, look for setups, and enter trades that meet my criteria. Then I continue working on my projects for the rest of the afternoon.
05:30 pm: I start wrapping up for the day, and of course, I check the charts again before leaving work. By the time I get home, have dinner, and spend time with my family, it’s around 8:00 pm.
08:00 pm: I spend about an hour doing research and analysis, looking at new ideas and setups for the next trading day. I check all my positions again, then try to relax for the evening. Before bed, around 11:00 pm, I take one last glance at the charts.
So you can see how, with 4-hour Forex charts, I never miss a bar. I prefer the 4-hour chart because it’s much faster than a daily chart, and best of all, I can live my life without being glued to the screen 24/7.
Each bar develops as the day progresses, allowing me to open and close positions when opportunities arise, while still getting everything else done.
If your lifestyle sounds similar and you’re wondering how to fit trading into your busy schedule, take a look at the 4-hour chart and see if it can work for you too.
If you use 4-hour Forex charts, drop a comment — I’d love to hear from you.
