When you look at charts, do you prefer 3 month or 6 month charts? When you refer to a pattern, are you looking at a daily chart, hourly, other?

We look at charts from all different time frames: 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, 1 month-it keeps us from getting tunnel vision with respect to what has just recently happened. We need to put it all in the perspective of the big picture, but we also need to see the subtleties of the more recent moves. Looking at various time frames gives us the bigger picture. Sometimes you can find yourself focusing on the last two weeks, but when you back up, you see the stock is about to breakout of a base or is approaching resistance, etc.

As for patterns, it is important to note that whether you are looking at a daily chart, a weekly chart, or a 5-minute chart, the patterns are the same. When we are watching a stock during the day with a 5-minute interval, we look for the same type of pattern that we would look for when looking at a pattern that spans several days, weeks, months. When we see volume dry up as the trading range narrows, for example, it is a sign that the stock could be ready to break out to the upside.