As far as "real" edges go, I only know of three. 2 of them were used by a good friend of mine while he traded for a firm. 1 of them only worked on very illiquid closed end funds so he could not add very much size when his edge appeared. The other worked like a charm until FINRA called him in for an investigation and his boss no longer allowed it. (still could be done though), and the last edge is/was the true market makers edge. He used to tell me that my method had no edge, but I'm still trading and he has moved on. While I agree that "real" edges are few and far between ,there is a "statistical" edge to trading price action. I took 3 trades this morning in NQ. 2 were losers. 1 made more than enough to cover a weeks worth of living. I also took 4 trades in CL. 1 was a scratch, 2 losers, and 1 paid me big time. I was finished before the market open. Does this happen every day? Of course not. But I have a hard copy printed of every trading day for the last year. (only for CL). My biggest losing day was -55 ticks. My biggest winning day was + 212 ticks. I don't have very many losing weeks. It's not for everyone I guess, but whatever. I'll see you next week. Have a good weekend.
CORRECT. --and I do want to thank you for the money management bump. That's really the only true edge in trading anyway.
This is tantamount to an agreement that money management is the only true edge in trading. Thanks for the posting.
But he does describe money management (cutting losses short and letting winners run) as being why he did well. You are correct--he does not show a statistical edge to price action trading. He does though show a glimpse of statistical edge to money management trading.
I was referring to the quality of posting, use of aggression, and insecurity. After seeing many posts from a user, I find it fairly easy to draw some conclusions about their trading profitability. What might be more interesting: Are the poor quality posters useful for the site?
No. Cut losses short = exit strategy. Let winners run = exit strategy. Money management = position sizing ("how much money do I place on my next trade?") It's not rocket science. Seriously, it's not.
Yes I concur. Being able to manage the emotional part of the brain and the rational part of the brain are vital to being a successful trader. Someone who is wildly emotional with all or nothing thinking is going to find it very hard to succeed in this business, there may be exceptions but I haven't met any yet.