Daily Chart

Identify major support and resistance levels. Mark at least three key highs and lows that have held over the past week.

4-Hour Chart

Confirm whether price is above or below your chosen daily levels. This tells you if you should bias long or short on shorter timeframes.

1-Hour Chart

Add 50 and 200 SMAs. Look for crossovers or confluence of SMA with your levels.

15-Minute Chart

Wait for a retracement into a confluence zone (for example SMA and horizontal level intersecting).

5-Minute Chart

Set up alerts on price reaching that 15-minute confluence. When alerted, switch to 1-minute to nail down your exact entry candle (pin bar, inside bar, or engulfing candle).

This layered method might take a bit longer but your win rate will improve because you only take trades that align across every timeframe you watch.

I personally use a three-layer framework. On the 1-hour chart I determine the overall trend direction. Then on the 15-minute chart I look for pullbacks to moving averages or pivot points. Finally on the 5-minute chart I fine-tune my entry when I see a clean reversal candle pattern.

For example today on ETH/USD the 1-hour was clearly in an uptrend, the 15-minute pulled back to its 50-period SMA with volume contraction and then expanded again. On the 5-minute I waited for a bullish engulfing candle above the previous bar high before entering. This multi-timeframe approach reduces false entries and gives me confidence that I am trading with the larger momentum instead of against it.