Understanding the True Strength Index (TSI) for Trading

The True Strength Index (TSI) is one of those indicators that actually makes sense when you look at it. It's a momentum tool that smooths out price movements twice to cut through the market noise. Unlike some other indicators that jump around too much, TSI gives you cleaner signals about whether the trend is up or down.

What exactly is the TSI?

Created by William Blau, the TSI measures how strongly prices are moving by smoothing things out twice. It moves around a zero line - positive numbers mean the bulls are in control, negative means the bears are winning.

Here's how it works in simple terms:

1. It looks at how much prices have changed
2. Smooths that out twice to remove the random jumps
3. Adds a signal line to spot changes faster
4. Gives you a clean reading between -100 and +100

The cool part? Because it smooths things twice, you get fewer fake signals while still catching the real moves.

About Pineify

Pineify is like having training wheels for TradingView scripts. Whether you're just starting or know your way around, it helps you build indicators without needing to be a coding expert.

What can you do with it?

• Easy to use indicator & strategy builder
• Choose from ready-made scripts
• Test how your strategy would've worked in the past
• Get help with the coding part
• Share ideas with other traders

Basically, it makes creating custom tools way easier than doing it all by hand.

Adding TSI to your chart

Here's the simple way to get TSI on your chart:

1. Head to Pineify's website
2. Search for "TSI" in their tools
3. Pick the True Strength Index from the results
4. Tweak the settings if you want (but defaults work fine)
5. Get the code it makes for you
6. Paste that into TradingView
7. Boom - you've got TSI on your chart

No need to write code yourself unless you want to.

How to actually use TSI in trading

The TSI gives you a few different ways to spot opportunities:

Crossing the zero line

• Above zero? Probably an uptrend
• Below zero? Likely a downtrend
• Helps you see when the trend might be changing

Signal line crosses

• TSI crossing above its signal line? Might be time to buy
• Crossing below? Maybe time to sell
• These often happen before the big moves

When price and TSI disagree

• Price making lower lows but TSI making higher lows? Could reverse up soon
• Price making higher highs but TSI making lower highs? Might drop soon
• These divergences often signal big moves coming

Extreme readings

• Really high numbers might mean it's overbought
• Really low might mean oversold
• Not perfect timing, but shows when things might turn

What settings work best?

The standard settings (25/13/13) are solid for most traders:

For regular trading:

• Long: 25
• Short: 13
• Signal: 13

Day trading:

• Go shorter (14/7/7)

Swing trading:

• Longer works better (50/25/25)

Quick scalping:

• Even shorter (10/5/5)

Just match the settings to how long you typically hold trades. Shorter means more signals but more false ones too.

Testing your TSI strategy

Pineify lets you test how your TSI setup would've worked before you risk real money. You can set up:

When to enter:

• Like when TSI crosses zero
• Or crosses its signal line

When to exit:

• Take profit targets
• Stop losses
• Trailing stops

Risk controls:

• How much to risk per trade
• Maximum loss limits
• Avoiding too many similar trades

You'll see stats like win rate, average profit, and worst drawdown - super helpful for tweaking your approach.

Wrapping up

The TSI is one of those indicators that actually helps cut through the noise. It's great for:

• Seeing the real trend direction
• Getting earlier signals than some other tools
• Spotting when price might reverse
• Keeping you out of choppy markets

With tools like Pineify, you don't need to be a programmer to use it effectively. Test some setups, find what works for your style, and remember - no indicator is perfect, but TSI can definitely help you make better decisions.