One-second bars: the middle ground that few use

[Shadow Trader]

Charts come in time-based bars: 1 minute, 5 minutes, and so on. Most platforms stop at one minute. But some allow second-based charts, and third-party tools offer them as well.

A 1-second or 5-second chart sits between tick data and standard bars. It keeps the timing of events at a resolution of a second, without the clutter of every tick. For scalpers working on entries of 5 to 30 seconds, it's close to the natural timescale.

The trouble is empty bars. When no tick arrives during a second, there's no bar, or a flat one is drawn. On thin pairs that makes a chart full of gaps. On busy pairs, the bars are legible.

Indicators behave differently on such charts. A 14-period RSI on a one-second chart covers 14 seconds. It reacts to noise, not to structure. Settings that work on a 5-minute chart can't be copied directly.

Some platforms generate second charts from tick data stored locally, so history is limited to what has been collected since the platform started.

The experience of trading on a seconds chart is also more stressful. The picture changes so fast that decisions feel pressured.

Has trading from a seconds chart improved entries compared with one-minute charts, or just added noise?

[Amanhasnoname]

I tried a five second chart on EURUSD for most of last spring, mainly for timing entries after I'd already decided the direction on the one minute. It did help with one specific thing. I stopped buying the top of a small burst, because I could see the burst finishing and wait for the first little pause before clicking.

The downside was the indicators. I had a short moving average on it at first and it was basically useless, flipping every few seconds. In the end I stripped the chart bare and used it purely as a price picture, with the one minute next to it doing all the deciding. Trying to make signals on the seconds chart itself just added noise and a lot more clicks.

It was also tiring, like you say. After about ninety minutes I noticed I was taking worse trades, so I limited it to the first hour of London. Overall my average entry improved by a fraction of a pip, which mattered on my targets, but it is not something I'd recommend to everyone.