How to Nail Entries with Multiple Timeframes

Combining the 15, 5, and 1-Minute Charts for Better Trades

Ever wonder how to align multiple timeframes for the perfect entry?
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David, a trader who reads these emails, asked me this very question…
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​“Mark, I still don’t get how you combine the 15, 5, and 1 minute to get an entry… can you explain with some examples?”
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​Great question, so let’s break it down…

HIGHER TIME FRAME CONTEXT

The idea of using the higher timeframe is all about getting context, right?
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If you’re trading a choppy directionless market like Lumber above, what are the chances of being chopped around intraday?
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Very high.
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But if you’re trading something with a bit of action, then you can align with that sentiment and use it to your advantage on the lower time frames.
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So, in David’s question above, how do we combine the 15m with the 5m to get an entry?
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Well, firstly, you don’t need to go down the timeframes.
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If you see something on the higher timeframe then by all means stay there and do everything on that chart.
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But when you want to fine-tune an entry, dropping to a lower timeframe can be beneficial.
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Let’s look at a classic flag example.

THE BULL FLAG

I’m using the China 50 as a really nice example – I get that it might not be the most popular trading vehicle, but the patterns have been pretty clean lately.

Ok, so the market gaps up, it has a bit of a think before clicking into gear and driving hard to the upside.

It then forms a consolidation right at highs.

Classic bull flag pattern I think you’ll agree.

Pole + Flag

Any momentum trader will want to get long here, so what are the options?

  • Buy a break of the flag highs
  • Buy a dip under flag lows
  • Front run a break using the lower timeframe for guidance

Let’s focus on #3.

Assume you want to get long, and so drop down to a 1-minute chart to fine-tune the entry.

You already know the setup, a bull flag, but the 1-minute gives you more detail.

And this is what it looks like:

It looks like a range, right?

Of course! That’s the flag section, and why it’s so important to look at higher TF context.

So from a technical perspective, you now have a few more options:

  1. Buy a bullish ignition candle AFTER the failed break to the downside (like a range break fake play)
  2. Buy a breakout of the short-term swing high

The 1-minute chart gives you the precision you might miss on the 15-minute, allowing you to time your entry with more accuracy.

Once you’re in, you can cycle back to the 15-minute chart to manage the trade accordingly.

This is the foundation of top-down analysis.

Your trade direction decisions are made on the higher timeframe, and you execute on the lower.

If you want to dig deeper into this approach, my webinar ‘Build a Trade Idea Generation System’ might help add more context. Check it out HERE.

Until next time.