Multiple timeframe analysis
Also called: Multi-timeframe analysis, MTF analysis, Top-down analysis, Triple screen, Çoklu zaman dilimi analizi
Looking at one market on several timeframes: direction on the higher chart, the setup in the middle, entry and stop on the lower one.
4 min read · one puzzle on the page
What is multiple timeframe analysis?
The same pair can be falling on the 5-minute chart and rising on the 4-hour chart. Both are true; they're just viewed from different distances. Multiple timeframe analysis means looking at the market from a few distances before you trade.
Three charts are typical. The higher timeframe shows direction and the major levels. The middle one gives the setup, the trade idea. The lower one refines the entry and the stop. For an intraday trader that might be H4, H1 and M15; for someone holding a few days, daily, H4 and H1.
A gap of roughly four to six times between timeframes works well; Alexander Elder's triple screen method made the idea popular. M1 and M5 are too close and say the same thing. M5 and daily are so far apart that connecting them gets hard.
How do you do it?
Work from the top down. Start with the higher chart. GBP/USD on H4 is making higher highs and higher lows, and price has just closed above 1.2700, a resistance it couldn't clear for weeks. The big picture favours buyers.
Drop to H1. After the break price ran to 1.2760, then pulled back to 1.2700. The broken resistance is being tested from above. That's the setup: a retest.
Finish on M15. Candles with lower wicks sit just above the level; price dips to 1.2696, closes back above, then makes a higher low at 1.2704. With an entry at 1.2712, the stop goes under the retest low at 1.2688: 24 pips. Built from the H4 chart, the same idea would need a stop under the last major low, around 80 pips away.
The lower timeframe tightens the stop; it doesn't change the idea. The idea comes from the higher chart, and M15 only shows more closely where it would break. Risking the same money, a tighter stop means a bigger size, and if you're wrong you still lose 1R.
Try it on a chart
This puzzle uses a single timeframe, but the question is the same as in multiple timeframe analysis: what does the bigger picture say, and what do the latest candles show? Look first at the drawn level and how price got there, then at how the last candles closed around it.
Resistance broke; price retested the level from above and held with lower wicks. What's your call?
No sign-up needed. Take a guess; when the chart opens, you'll see why.
The most common mistake: switching charts until you agree
You want to sell, but H1 is rising. You drop to M15, find a small decline and sell. That's not analysis, it's collecting approval: you changed charts to find one that agrees with you, not to test the idea.
Keep the rule simple: the higher timeframe sets direction, the lower one only sets timing. When the higher chart is rising, a decline on the lower chart is usually a pullback, not a reversal to sell.
Opening too many charts. With five timeframes one always disagrees, so you either never trade or decide by whichever chart you looked at last. Three is enough for most work.
And shrinking the timeframe after entry. Watch an H1 trade on M1 and every small pullback looks like danger, so you close by hand instead of letting the stop do its job.
When does it not help?
When the higher timeframe is ranging, it gives you no direction, only the edges. Between them, a trend on the lower chart is just a short wave inside the range.
Reading the higher candle before it closes misleads too. A break in the first hour of an H4 candle can be erased by the close. If the higher chart drives your decision, use its closed candles.
On major news every timeframe changes at once. A single 5-minute candle on a data release can break structure that held for days on H4. In those minutes the top-down order disappears, and you wait for price to build structure again.
Frequently asked questions
Which timeframes should I combine?
It depends on how long you hold trades. A common approach is three charts about four to six times apart. H4, H1 and M15 suit intraday trades; daily, H4 and H1 suit trades lasting a few days. The middle chart is where you build the trade, the higher one gives direction, the lower one the entry. Using the same trio every time matters more than the exact ratio.
What if the timeframes disagree?
Disagreement is normal; the higher chart can be rising while the lower one falls in a pullback. The usual rule is to give priority to the higher timeframe and wait for the lower chart to turn its way. If the higher chart is rising, the lower one falling and price is at no clear level, waiting is often the cleanest decision.
What does top-down analysis mean?
Starting from the highest timeframe and working down. First you mark the trend and key levels on the daily or H4 chart, then look for the setup on H1, and finally pick the entry and stop on M15. Doing it the other way round, spotting a signal on a small chart and checking the big one afterwards, tends to make you ignore the big picture.
