One of the Biggest Mistakes Traders Make — And How to Avoid It

A common mistake many traders fall into is obsessing over lower timeframes like the 1-hour or even the 15-minute charts. They end up reacting emotionally to every single red or green candle—flipping their bias from bullish to bearish (and back again) multiple times a day. One red candle, and the bears start shouting “dump incoming!” One green candle, and the bulls scream “pump!”

This kind of reactive trading is exactly how people lose their hard-earned money. They're jumping into trades at the worst possible times, not because of a well-thought-out strategy, but because they're caught up in short-term noise.

So, what’s the right approach?

The answer is simple: focus on what the higher timeframe (HTF) is telling you. Let the high timeframe trend be your guide, and then use that directional bias to frame your setups on the lower timeframes.

Take a look at the attached images.

The first shows what we often see—traders trying to look smart by calling price movements up, down, then up and down again, all within a single day or week.

The second image reveals what’s really happening on the high timeframe: practically nothing. The market is consolidating, yet lower timeframe traders are acting like it’s a rollercoaster.

Instead of constantly switching your bias based on every minor fluctuation in the 1-hour or 15-minute charts, learn to zoom out. If the high timeframe trend is bullish, stick with that bias until the structure actually changes. If it’s bearish, respect that trend—don’t fight it just because of a few green candles on the 15-minute chart.

The key? Reduce the noise.

Stop letting short-term price action cloud your judgment. Let the high timeframe trend anchor your bias, and only then refine your entries and exits using the lower timeframes.