How do you define a Swing High/Low?

For example, it seems that having only two higher low bars (or candles) on each side of the low is too noisy.

 

A low is a low and the numbers of bars involved in it's forming depends on the time frame you are looking at.

 

I learned about swing trading from books by Marc Rivalland and by Alan Farley.

Rivalland was very specific about defining a swing high/low. See here for a summary -
https://download.sharescope.co.uk/doc/Training_Zone/TZ_36.pdf

Alan Farley has produced a wide range of strategies for swing trading. His writing is tough to read and his methods can be complicated but he has to be worth studying.

 

Thanks for a solid reply. I think that even for a discretionary strat you need to define swing points objectively. Because if you just look back at a chart and say o here he was a swing low and see how nicely it worked with my method but then later you the same kind of a swing low you dismiss as not being one because your method wouldn't perform on that one ... well, that intrdouces all sorts of a mess, doesn't it? All of these price action "educators" love the whole higher lows, higher highs thing - ok, great but how many of them bother to actually define it? without defining it, it's just bullshit in my opinion.

 

It has to be defined in the context you are trading. A one hour bar or candle may have a number of swing lows or highs relevant to someone trading lower time frames. That same bar would be irrelevant on a weekly chart. A trader is looking for reaction points and that recognition comes with experience.

 

"In a downtrend, the standard Gann swing chart turns up and registers a mini-correction (a swinghigh) only when there are three consecutive days of higher highs. Furthermore, the resumption ofthe downtrend is only confirmed after three consecutive down days. Gann’s rationale for this was totry and avoid false signals but, in doing so, he reduced the potential yield of the swing trade."

okok

 

anyway, it's obvious gann's method sucks.

 

%%
The stronger + longer the better;
once you have that profit, you can always change it , if wanted.,

 

Swing high: Up move
Swing down: Down move

Search in google "Zig zag" and apply this in your chart

 

Yes, but there is a little setting there (number of bars to decalre high/low) which is what I'm asking about.