As I mentioned in my first post in this thread, I've been at this for nine years. I am fortunate in that I never thought I knew very much at all. Frankly, I was both amused and bemused by how "green and fairly clueless" I still was (and am) after all this time. Since deciding to make the transition from "recreational trader who sucks" to "more serious trader with an edge and a plan" I have accumulated nearly 40 pages of ET posts that I have found supportive of my quest. Most of these are from nodoji's day trading journal, geez's journal, and your straight line and trading journal threads. I do not simply "cut and paste" and drop new entries at the end. I have maintained the resulting collection as an organized whole, and I study and re-read it often. I consider it the instructional manual to my own trading journal and development as a serious trader. I can attest to the value of repeated review of posts such as nodoji's above (a post which is being added to my "instructional manual" today).
you are basically arguing that flared jeans is always in style from the beginning to the end of time.
I'm not arguing anything, except perhaps in the legal sense. What I have said is that trading by price cannot fail because price is self-correcting. But, again, those who care can start over at page three.
If I knew back then what I know now. Do more of what is working and less of what is not. Edges come and go, let the numbers talk and the ego walk. In otherwords learn to accept. There is no holy grail. Mindset going into a trade should be focused on how much you can lose and the winners will take care of themselves. If trade does not work out right away gtf out. All about risk management.
Until summer of 2010 I never had a real system. I traded ideas which worked until they didn't. I lacked risk management and I lacked a real edge. I didn't realize this until I learned about price action trading. A price action edge cannot fail because it adapts itself to the current market environment. In other words, This.
no, what you describe are all methodologies that are breakeven at best, long term. More likely net-loss long term but the hapless traders following such failed plans cannot recognize such until looking back with hindsight later on. nor is everything known to man out there in public view, or use. that too is a wrong but oft-regurgitated falsehood. there are many things discovered by individuals not shared in public for free. what nodoji said hits the nail squarely: trading price patterns or formations or sequences or whatever labeled is self-correcting to the ebbs & flows of volatility. price action contracts in sideways fashion and expands in directional fashion. those are constants. traders who figure out how to catch directional rides in that endless cycle enjoy steady progress over time. smaller, infrequent losses against larger, more frequent wins