If you are a forex trader, you have probably come across harmonic scanners and harmonic patterns, mainly if you use Fibonacci retracements, extension levels and geometric price changes.
In a nutshell, Harmonic scanners are the tools that help traders detect harmonic patterns to use the marks to place trades accurately.
A good harmonic scanner gives accurate signals whenever a harmonic pattern appears or forms. It is also easy to interpret, especially for forex or stock trading beginners.
Using a harmonic scanner, a trader can understand the market price fluctuations, detect chart patterns and correctly predict future market price direction, especially during trend reversal fluctuations.
This article will discuss the common types of harmonic patterns, the most reliable harmonic scanners used to detect those patterns and how to best use these harmonic scanners.
Harmonic patterns
Harmonic patterns naturally form on the financial market charts based on geometric price movement and a Fibonacci retracement or extension levels. If correctly identified, these patterns help traders to understand the price movement and accurately predict the future direction of the market price movement.
Harmonic patterns are generally reversal patterns, meaning they mostly form during trend reversals. Therefore, they help traders to open profitable positions in a high probability reversal zone.
Types of harmonic patterns
Several harmonic patterns include the butterfly harmonic pattern, the Gartley harmonic pattern, the bat harmonic pattern, the crab harmonic pattern, the cypher harmonic pattern, and the harmonic shark pattern.
In this article, we shall major on the three most common harmonic patterns: the Bat harmonic pattern, the harmonic crab pattern, and the Gartley harmonic pattern.
Bat harmonic pattern – was discovered by Scott Carney, and it shows a temporary reversal of a trend before continuing in its original trend direction.
Crab harmonic pattern – Scott Carney discovered it. It is a reversal pattern that consists of four legs denoted as A-B, B-C, C-D, and X-A. It is the most effective harmonic pattern.
Gartley harmonic pattern – Harold McKinley discovered this, which forms right after the prices have gone to a significantly low or high. It can either be a Bearish Gartley Pattern that creates an “M” shape or a bullish Gartley Pattern that forms a “W” shape.
Crab harmonic pattern – Scott Carney discovered it. It is a reversal pattern that consists of four legs denoted as A-B, B-C, C-D, and X-A. It is the most effective harmonic pattern.
Gartley harmonic pattern – Harold McKinley discovered this, which forms right after the prices have gone to a significantly low or high. It can either be a Bearish Gartley Pattern that creates an “M” shape or a bullish Gartley Pattern that forms a “W” shape.
Harmonic scanners compared
Traders can use several harmonic scanners to detect and display harmonic patterns. However, in this article, we shall only major in the top three best harmonic scanners: the IM harmonic scanner, the MT4 harmonic scanner, and the HarmonicPattern.com scanner.
IM harmonic scanner
The IM Harmonic scanner is a technical forex trading indicator in the IML academy. It plots harmonic patterns on the trading platform. It portrays a dashboard that shows you a list of all the patterns across all the assets/securities. You can apply filters to focus on specific pattern status, asset class, design, timeframe, and pattern type.
Pros
- The IM Harmonic scanner can identify and plot eight harmonic patterns: Bat, Alternate bat, Butterfly, Crab, Cypher, Deep Crab, Gartley, and Shark.
- The IM harmonic scanner can be accessed using any device, including a desktop and a smartphone.
Cons
- The main disadvantage is that the IM harmonic scanner is not available for free, although it has a seven-day free trial period.
Pricing
You can get the FRX base package at $234.95 for the first month and $174.95 per month for the subsequent months. An ELITE package also goes for $324.95 for the first month and $274.95 per month for the subsequent months.
Conclusion
IM harmonic scanner is a powerful harmonic pattern indicator despite being too expensive.
MT4 harmonic scanner
The MT4 harmonic scanner is the most popular harmonic pattern scanner, and it operates on the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platform, the most commonly used trading platform. It was one of the first automated harmonic scanners to be developed and released in 2014. It can detect 11 harmonic patterns.
Pros
- MT4 harmonic scanner shows well-defined trading entries and stops.
- MT4 supports Pattern Completion Interval, Potential Reversal Zone and Potential Continuation Zones.
- MT4 also supports other powerful features like the Japanese candlestick detection.
Cons
- The only disadvantage is that it can only work on the MT4 trading platform.
Pricing
The basic plan of the MT4 harmonic scanner goes for $15 per month and only comes with pattern recognition and real-time market news. The premium version includes API access, M&A deal data, and companies’ fundamentals, costing $40 per month.
Conclusion
If you are looking for an affordable harmonic scanner on the MT4 platform, then the MT4 harmonic scanner is a good choice.
HarmonicPattern.com scanner
The harmonic scanner is an all-in-one harmonic pattern scanner that combines all the necessary tools in one place. It is powered by machine learning technology to recognise patterns for forex, equity, futures, and cryptocurrencies.
Pros
- It can be used to trade a wide range of financial markets.
- It detects eight harmonic patterns.
- It provides access to a vast fundamental data library.
Cons
- It is a bit complicated, especially for beginners.
Pricing
The harmonic scanner is an all-in-one harmonic pattern scanner that combines all the necessary tools in one place. It is powered by machine learning technology to recognise patterns for forex, equity, futures, and cryptocurrencies.
Conclusion
HarmonicPattern.com is best suited for experienced forex, equity, futures and cryptocurrency traders.
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Summary
If you like trading market reversals, getting yourself a harmonic scanner is vital to help you detect harmonic patterns. A reliable harmonic scanner provides accurate trade signals whenever a way appears.
You can select from the above three mentioned harmonic scanners depending on your experience level and your trading assets.