dr. alexander elder triple screen trading system the factor of five in choosing timeframes. decide which timeframe you want to trade and call that intermediate timeframe. the long-term timeframe will be 5 times longer and the short-term timeframe 5 times shorter than the intermediate timeframe. first screen (long-term timeframe) � market tide the first screen uses trend-following indicators to identify a long-term trend. the original system uses the slope of the macd-histogram to identify the market tide. the slope is defined as the relationship between the two latest bars. the upturns and downturns that occur above or below the centerline give better signals than the opposite. you could also use a simple 13 candles exponential moving average to define where the trend is going. the principle is the same: first screen enables you to decide if you will go long or short on second screen. second screen (intermediate timeframe) � market wave the second screen applies oscillators to the intermediate timeframe chart in order to identify deviations from the first screen chart. when the long-term timeframe trend is up, intermediate timeframe declines point to buying opportunities. when the long-term timeframe trend is down, intermediate timeframe rallies point to shorting opportunities. force index and elder-ray are good oscillators to use with triple screen, but stochastic and williams%r also perform well. third screen (short-term timframe) � intraday breakout the third screen uses intraday price action to pinpoint entry points. the third screen does not require a chart or an indicator. it uses a trailing buy-stop technique when the long-term timeframe trend is up while the intermediate timeframe is down to catch upside breakouts. on the other side, it uses a trailing sell-stop technique when the long-term timeframe trend is down while the intermediate timeframe is up to catch downside breakouts. so technically, when the conditions you are looking for are met on the first and on the second screen, place a buy (or a sell order) on the third screen one tick above (or below) the high (or the low) of the last closed candle on the intermediate term timeframe. keep moving your buy-stop (or sell-stop) for each subsequent candle until stopped in or until the trend on the long-term timeframe reverses therefore cancelling its initial signal.