Learn how to use an indicator called “higher timeframe liquidity” to identify true levels of liquidity and enhance your trading strategy. Use daily, weekly, and monthly ticks and focus on daily liquidity levels. Look for confirmations on lower time frames to enter trades and target higher levels of liquidity. Sponsored by aaafx.com.
How to Use Higher Timeframe Liquidity Indicator to Improve Your Trading Strategy
Introduction: Confusion over Liquidity in Trading
When it comes to trading, liquidity is a critical factor that impacts a trader’s success. Liquidity refers to the ease with which an asset can be bought or sold in the market without causing a significant price change. Essentially, it is the availability of buyers and sellers in the market. However, liquidity isn’t static and can shift depending on a variety of factors, making it difficult for traders to gauge the true levels of liquidity.
Traders often struggle to differentiate between actual liquidity and fake liquidity, leading to confusion over entering and exiting trades. In such cases, indicators can be a helpful tool to eliminate this confusion and spot the true levels of liquidity. In this article, we will discuss the “Higher Timeframe Liquidity” indicator and how it can be used to improve your trading strategy.
What is the Higher Timeframe Liquidity Indicator?
The Higher Timeframe Liquidity indicator is an algorithmic tool designed to help traders find the true levels of liquidity in the market. The indicator plots levels of liquidity on the chart, indicating the buy-side and sell-side liquidity. It is available in the MetaTrader 4 platform, and it is developed by sbtnc.
How to Use the Higher Timeframe Liquidity Indicator?
Setting Up the Indicator
To use the indicator, open MT4 and go to the indicators section. Type “Higher Timeframe Liquidity” in the search box and select the one by sbtnc. Once you have added the indicator to the chart, the levels of liquidity will be displayed on the chart as a series of dashed lines.
Next, go to the indicator settings and select the daily timeframe as the primary timeframe, as it is the most significant timeframe, and the four-hour timeframe as a secondary one. While the one-hour timeframe can also be used, it is too short of a timeframe, making it less reliable. After selecting the timeframes, turn off the liquidity levels that have already been liquidated (displayed as dashed lines) to focus on those that are yet to be taken out.
Identifying Liquidity Zones
With the indicator set up, you can begin to identify the areas of liquidity on the chart. The liquidity levels shown by the indicator are critical support and resistance zones, indicating the buy and sell-side liquidity. The levels of liquidity are represented by horizontal lines that span from left to right on the chart.
For traders looking to go long, the buy-side liquidity levels are key. On the other hand, for traders looking to short the market, the sell-side liquidity levels are the areas to watch. The liquidity levels can be used to set entry and exit points.
Determining the Bias
The daily timeframe liquidity levels are the most significant as they represent the key areas of support and resistance. As such, traders should use these levels to determine the market bias. If the market is bullish, look for areas of buy-side liquidity, and for bearish markets, look for areas of sell-side liquidity to determine the bias.
Confirming the Trade
Once the liquidity zones have been identified, traders can wait for price action confirmation on lower timeframes before entering a trade. Traders can use other technical indicators to strengthen the evidence for the trade’s direction.
Moreover, waiting for confirmation of the trade ensures that the trader isn’t entering the market prematurely, leading to losses. It is essential to ensure that the trade has a positive risk-to-reward ratio.
Real-World Examples
To help better understand how to use the Higher Timeframe Liquidity indicator, here are a few real-world examples.
Example 1: Bullish Market
In a bullish market, traders should look for buy-side liquidity zones. In this scenario, we can see that the market is trending upwards, and we’ve identified an area of buy-side liquidity that has not been tested yet. This area represents a potential entry point for a long trade with a positive risk-to-reward ratio.
![Bullish Market](https://res.cloudinary.com/dknsa0std/image/upload/v1631226551/Blog_Images/Bullish_Market_ubbsch.png)
_Image Source: Author_
Example 2: Bearish Market
In a bearish market, traders should look for sell-side liquidity zones. In this scenario, we can see that the market is trending downwards, and we’ve identified an area of sell-side liquidity that has not been tested yet. This area represents a potential entry point for a short trade with a positive risk-to-reward ratio.
![Bearish Market](https://res.cloudinary.com/dknsa0std/image/upload/v1631226551/Blog_Images/Bearish_Market_nts3q0.png)
_Image Source: Author_
Example 3: Buy-Side Liquidity Break
In this scenario, we can see that the market is trending upwards, and we’ve identified an area of buy-side liquidity that has just been tested and broken. Once the liquidity level has been broken, the market is expected to continue upwards due to an absence of limit orders.
![Buy-Side Liquidity Break](https://res.cloudinary.com/dknsa0std/image/upload/v1631226551/Blog_Images/Buy_Side_Liquidity_Break_rd0g9e.png)
_Image Source: Author_
Example 4: Sell-Side Liquidity Break
In this scenario, we can see that the market is trending downwards, and we’ve identified an area of sell-side liquidity that has just been tested and broken. Once the liquidity level has been broken, the market is expected to continue downwards due to an absence of limit orders.
![Sell-Side Liquidity Break](https://res.cloudinary.com/dknsa0std/image/upload/v1631226552/Blog_Images/Sell_Side_Liquidity_Break_qfbjic.png)
_Image Source: Author_
Conclusion
Liquidity is a crucial factor in trading. The ability to spot the true levels of liquidity can differentiate a profitable trader from an unsuccessful one. Indicators, such as the Higher Timeframe Liquidity Indicator, can be an invaluable tool to spot areas of liquidity.
By following the steps mentioned in this article, traders can improve their trading strategy and enter and exit trades with more confidence. However, traders should keep in mind that the indicator is not a silver bullet and should be used in conjunction with other technical indicators and price action analysis.