They do not help you become a better trader or see the reality of the market. There are only 3 technical indicators you need to run this business: support, resistance and trend lines.
For stocks that ONE Absolute Truth is this: 1) All stocks fluctuate in price. For options there are two Absolute Truths: 1) All options fluctuate in price and 2) All options expire.
The top traders learn to respect these rules because they are the ONLY truths of the market. You might think there are other truths but there aren't-- Everything you hear about the market outside these 2 rules is hearsay, opinion, commentary and even complete fantasy.
That's' it. We keep it simple. Simple makes me money. I also discovered the TOP 1% of all traders do the EXACT opposite of what I tried to do when I first got started (predict the market)...
and I thought I 'knew' something' about the future of the market! Frankly, technical indicators are like crutches - they only help to support and validate your trading ideas already formed in your mind.
Of course you will never hear anyone on CNBC even mention these 2 rules because they would have nothing to report! Can you imagine Maria Bartiromo saying, "Prices fluctuated today.
Then they design their trading business around these rules to TAKE ADVANTAGE of them. Once they see an opportunity they jump on it and simply manage their business 'by the numbers' and, for me it takes 15 minutes - sometimes less - a day.
Have a nice evening everyone! I'm outta here!" I don't think so! So the top traders respect these rules because they are so powerful and it helps them cut through the 'market noise'.
I got really, really good at 'technical analysis'... I THOUGHT that it held the key to profits... if I could tell where the market was headed it would be easy to make money, right? I learned all about waves and candle sticks, MACD, ADX, CCI, Bollinger Bands and Fibonacci and hundreds of chart 'patterns'...
The fact is... Top traders NEVER try to predict the market - they only manage risk. Most of the elite traders don't care if the market goes up or down - they make money either way. They use charts sparingly. All top traders do is manage their risk and take advantage of the only truths of the market - the ONLY absolute truths of the market.
I was really confused which way the market would turn, and since I hated the idea of losing money I tried to "predict" the market's direction because that's how I THOUGHT money was made.