Why simply not trade Forex using one favorite time frame?
Why do we need screening several time frames?

Many beginners start trading Forex looking at one chosen time frame. They bring along or develop an approach and start testing their knowledge and skills.

Sooner or later traders discover that despite all efforts results seems to be random: at one time their trading system would work well, while the other time, seems like under the same conditions, it would fail…
What’s going on?
multiple time frame

One of the potential answers may lie in the narrowness of the research done by looking at one time frame and never knowing what is going on at the more superior level.

The higher the time frame the more importance it carries.
E.g. 5 minute time frame (TF) is more important than 1 minute frame.
1 hour TF is more important than 5 min.
Daily TF is more important than 1 hour.
Weekly TF is more important than daily etc etc.

The key to successful Forex charts analysis lies in the habit to screen time frames higher than the one you normally trade with.
Two superior time frames is just the right number. Screening more than that could overload traders with information, less than that might be not enough, but still better than nothing.

Let’s avoid philosophy again and go straight to common time frame pairs.

Fist is the one you trade, second and third are suggested time frames to check market major trends, important price levels and forming patterns on:

1 min => 5 min => 30 min
5 min => 1 hour => 4 hour
1 hour => 4 hour => daily
4 hour => daily => weekly

The main approach here is to start with a superior time frame, conduct the analysis, identify the main trend and market turning points. Then go 1 step lower, continue the analysis while referring now to the major frame. Then descend to original chosen time frame and identify trading opportunities that fit the analysis done on the global scale.

Seeing things from larger prospective help traders increase the rate of winning trades in Forex.