What it is
Multi timeframe traders usually flip between charts to see what the bigger candle is doing. This overlay puts the bigger candle directly behind your small ones, so you can see where you are inside it: near its high, its low, its open, or in its wick.
The candles are built from the chart's own candles, so they match exactly what that timeframe would show. You can choose 3, 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, 1, 2 or 4 hours, 1 day, or your own number of minutes, and draw them as outlines or filled, with or without wicks and time labels.
How it is calculated
Group your chart's candles into blocks of the chosen timeframe. For each block, the open is the first candle's open, the high is the highest high, the low is the lowest low and the close is the last candle's close. Draw that candle behind the group, spanning its full time. The block still forming is drawn dashed across its whole time, so you can see how much of it is left.
Settings
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| timeframe | 15 min | 3 min, 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 1 day, or your own | Which bigger timeframe is drawn behind your chart. |
| minutes | 10 | 2 to 1440 | Your own timeframe in minutes, used when the timeframe is set to your own. |
| body | outline | outline, filled | Draws the bigger candle bodies as outlines or filled. |
| wicks | on | on, off | Shows or hides the bigger candles' wicks. |
| time labels | on | on, off | Labels each bigger candle with its start time. |
How to read it
How to trade it
- 1
On a 1 minute gold chart, set the overlay to 15 minutes.
- 2
Bias: if the current 15 minute candle is above its open and the previous one closed bullish, look only for longs.
- 3
Entry trigger: a 1 minute pullback towards the 15 minute open that holds, with a 1 minute candle closing back up. Enter on that close.
- 4
Stop just below the 15 minute candle's open or its low so far, often 2 to 5 points on gold.
- 5
Target the previous 15 minute candle's high or 2 times the stop.
A 1 minute close back below the bigger candle's open cancels the long bias for that candle. If the bigger candle closes bearish, the bias resets.
On WickSpeak, the higher timeframe candles write a plain-English reading on the live candle: where price sits inside the bigger candle, which way it is building, how to trade it and what would prove it wrong. The overlay is WickSpeak's own indicator, drawn faintly behind your candles so it never hides them.
Best markets and timeframes
Built for fast charts: 1 to 5 minute gold, US30 and NAS100 with a 15 minute or 1 hour overlay. It also helps on forex scalping charts during the London and New York sessions.
Common mistakes
- Choosing an overlay timeframe so large that only one or two bigger candles are on screen.
- Trading against a strong bigger candle because the small candles look reversed.
- Forgetting that the forming bigger candle can still change until its time is up.
Works well with
Questions traders ask
What are higher timeframe candles?
Candles from a bigger timeframe, such as 15 minutes or 1 hour, drawn on a smaller chart so you can see both at once.
Can I set my own timeframe?
Yes. Choose your own and type the number of minutes, from 2 to 1440.
Does the forming candle change?
Yes, the bigger candle that is still forming updates with every small candle and is drawn dashed until its time is complete.
Why use higher timeframe candles instead of a second chart?
You see both timeframes in the same place, so you know exactly where your entry sits inside the bigger candle without switching charts.