I have a system on the daily candle so far has been profitable for a few years. I used the same exact system on the minute candles. (I had back tested it to have an edge on lower timeframe too, but when I actually use it in real life I kept losing a lot). I know it could just be a very bad losing streak, but when I think about it could it possibly be that my stop loss is tighter and I'm stop hunted? In the daily timeframe stop loss is much further so it's unlikely for me to be stop hunted. That's the only logical conclusion I came to besides a disastrous losing streak. Has anyone experienced something like that? Should I just go back to being a longer term trader/investor?
The smaller the timeframe, the smaller the trading range. So the smaller the potential profit. If you have a formula that uses let's say a 10 bar range for calculations, the 10 bar will be 10 days in the daily and 10 minutes in the 1 minute charts. A hell of a difference. It can completely change the results.
main difference would be cost of business and slippage. I assume 1 min trades a lot more often. This could be the culprit.
It doesn't make sense that you developed a trading system that works in a certain time frame yet, you used the same trading system in a different time frame? Like apples to oranges. The approach to day trading is different compared to swing trading compared to trend following. While, there could be similarities to each trading system, they are not actually, the same due to the time frames involved. Also, did you backtest your trading system using different time frames as parameters or did you just assume it would work just the same?
Testing is fine if all you want to do is find out whether a strategy tests well. But the only real test that matters is live trading. I sure don't want to get on a plane with a newbie pilot that tested well on a simulator but had never piloted an actual jet up in the air.
Yes, timeframes are very important. Also, a system that works well for swing trading probably isn’t going to work for scalping or higher frequency trading. Two different beasts. Just my 2 cents, YMMV and I wish everyone good fortune !
7 minutes works better than 5 minutes, even adjusting for range difference. The longer the time frames act as a noise filter.
Market dynamics in different time frames can and often are very different. There should not be a surprise that results greatly differ. Not just are dynamics different, transaction related cost are very different, margin considerations, borrow rates, and a whole host of other issues. I personally design and create strategies that fit certain observations I make in the markets over the years, not the other way around...