Strategy Tester 

As traders, it's essential to evaluate our strategies; without testing, we can't determine their effectiveness. TradingView recognizes the significance of this process, which is why they offer a comprehensive strategy tester—completely free—alongside their other features. This tool enables you to assess strategies and access various performance data.

Given that it’s a free tool, the tester is surprisingly comprehensive. I’ve used several paid testers in the past, such as Ninjatrader and Forextester 4, and this one nearly rivals them. While it doesn’t include every feature they offer, it comes very close and even surpasses them in some areas, I would argue.

The tester displays all the key information in a straightforward window at the bottom. Here, you can view net profit, maximum total drawdown, Sharpe ratio, the ratio of winning trades to losing trades, average risk-to-reward ratio, and other critical metrics. By clicking on the "List of Trades" on the right, you can even see a detailed breakdown of each trade, providing further insights into your strategy.

For those of us who focus on price action trading, this tester may not be the most beneficial tool, as our strategies are too subjective for automated back-testing. However, for traders who rely on indicator-based strategies, it’s definitely worth exploring.

Trading Panel 

If you’re a fan of MT4, you might regret not having this tool, since it's one of the few genuine advantages MT4 has over many other charting platforms. Constantly switching between your broker and charting platform can be quite frustrating, but on Tradingview, it’s seamless. Like MT4, you can connect your broker to trade directly from the chart interface. Just go to the trading panel, select your broker or exchange, and link it to your account.

After you've connected, right-click anywhere on the screen and choose "trade" to execute a trade at that price. You can then manage the trade using the trade menu located at the bottom.

It's true that the list of supported brokers is somewhat limited, which could be an issue for some users. However, all the major brokers and exchanges, such as Oanda, FXCM, and IG, are fully integrated, so you shouldn't encounter too many problems.

How to Set Up Your Charts Like Mine

Any professional trader will tell you that how you configure your charts is just as important for your profitability as your trading strategy and risk management. So it makes sense to set them up correctly, right?

Earlier, I shared a basic chart setup for beginners, but now I'll guide you on how to configure them like mine. For the most part, the settings will remain the same, so don’t disregard my previous advice. Use those as your default settings, even if your chart setup differs from what I'm about to outline. The adjustments I’ll be making are mostly minor tweaks to eliminate unnecessary information or details we don’t need to focus on.

Regardless of how you decide to configure your charts, always remember to apply the default settings I mentioned earlier.

Step 1: Eliminate All News Tabs and Boxes

I prefer to keep my charts very clean and simple. I want to avoid distractions that could take my focus away from what truly matters: the price. Therefore, I always remove the watch-list, details, and headlines tabs from the right side of the chart window.

These three tabs offer valuable insights, but much of the information is unnecessary during trading, taking up precious space on the chart. If you want to restore them, you can easily do so by clicking the button in the upper right corner.

Step 2: Eliminate ALL INDICATORS 

As a price action trader, I felt it was important to include this. Indicators have NO PLACE on your chart unless they assist in making price-based decisions. Keep them OFF. Using them for anything beyond confirming a signal or observing a trend can quickly lead to failure, as many unsuccessful traders can attest.

However, not all indicators are ineffective. Some do provide useful insights or help identify patterns that are hard to spot manually. A good example is the swing high/low indicator from PatternSmart.

This custom indicator automatically identifies and highlights all swing highs and lows for you. No prior trading experience or knowledge of price action is needed. While it may not be particularly beneficial for seasoned traders like us, it’s an excellent resource for beginners, simplifying the process of locating and marking swing highs and lows. TradingView offers several helpful custom indicators like this one. I’ll be sharing a post soon that highlights some of my favorites and how to utilize them in trading.

Step 3: Change to a Candlestick Chart 

When you first access a chart on TradingView, it might appear as a line graph, and occasionally as a bar chart. Be sure to switch to a candlestick chart instead. While the line graph has its merits, it doesn’t provide the detailed price information we require for day-to-day trading. In contrast, candlesticks convey all the essential information. So, remember to make this switch right when you open the chart.

Step 4: Remove Volume and Change the Background to White 

A quick note: if you are proficient in using volume, keep it on your charts. My skills in reading volume aren’t quite strong, which is why I prefer to remove it. However, if you're knowledgeable about volume, it can enhance your understanding of price movements. Additionally, changing the chart background to white is advisable. A white background offers the best contrast with the chart colors mentioned earlier, making everything more visually distinct and easier to interpret.

To alter the color, go to the Appearance menu in the chart settings (you can access this by right-clicking on the chart) and set the chart color to white. Once you've done that, you're good to go.