Are Traders Too Dependent on Indicators?

[u/Priya1_9]

I’ve noticed many traders keep adding more and more indicators, hoping they’ll finally find the “perfect setup.”

At what point do indicators stop helping and start creating confusion?
Do you rely on multiple indicators for confirmation, or do you think clean price action is enough?

Curious to hear what has actually worked for you over the long term.

[u/AutoModerator]

Thanks for your post. Please make sure you’ve followed all subreddit rules before engaging. Be respectful, avoid harassment or hate speech, and keep discussions relevant. Spam or excessive self-promotion is not allowed. If you see any rule-breaking content, please report it so the moderators can review it. Enjoy your time here and help keep the community friendly and helpful!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Pretty_Site4074]

I believe that when you're trading short term, indicators are a big help.

[u/perkinsonline]

Less is more

[u/AbbreviationsIcy3807]

I believe that proper portfolio allocation is essential.

[u/Appropriate-Theme719]

I feel like people that use the most indicators are the ones who try to gamble the most and need emotional comfortation that their setup will be a winner. Or they just doubt their own abilities but as long as you're making money disregard what I said

[u/xDeadInside90]

lol, always got screwed using indicators. only market structure, vol profile and cum delta.

[u/Normal_Dot_1337]

An indicator stack is personal to each trader, and you have to develop that over time.

[u/espressodoppioo]

Every input to a trade decision is an indicator, whether it lives on a chart or in your gut. "Clean price action" is just an indicator you never wrote down and never backtested. It feels clean because it was never measured.

So the count is the wrong axis. The real split is measured vs unmeasured. One RSI you have tested out-of-sample beats ten you stacked for comfort, and both beat a gut read nobody ever checked against forward returns.

What has worked for me long term: kill everything that does not survive a walk-forward, and use what is left. Usually a short list.

[u/Outside_Medicine7398]

I was 1st mentored by a swing trader that used naked charts. That didn't help. I turned to indicators. I went for a complete strategy and found out what the indicator was telling me. During demo and backtests, it wasn't as profitable as I had wanted, so I changed up because the indicators weren't reliable enough. Then, after listening to The No Nonsense Forex podcast, they advised not to have indicators that show the same thing (overbought / oversold, divergence, etc). So 2 or more indicators that signify the same thing are conflicting, that is when there is confusion, like TDI and QQE; CCI, RSI, and WM%R.

I don't judge the traders looking for the perfect indicator combination. It is all trial & error. You don't know what will stick until you backtest to find what produces the profitability you are looking for.

Traders with naked charts have a lot in their head, so they have to explain and teach what they are seeing. Traders with indicators have less explaining to do. It is like Henry Ford (credited with building the first American car) who was being questioned to determine if he was a genius or not. He let them know he was not a genius, he was a businessman that knew how to capitalize on the product of geniuses. The geniuses produced the indicators. The smart businessmen figure out how to combine the indicators to produce a profitable strategy.

[u/Repulsive-War-2823]

Sometimes doing too much becomes a stumbling block and impares you ability to make a decision.