Don't just stare, take it apart and view it from all angles. It very easy once you get up in dem guts, but its not a route many take to start. The reason it may take 1000's of hours is b/c one may not have the right perspective, but things change when you look at them differently.
Right, just staring at the screen for countless hours is useless unless your mind is constantly evaluating whats in front of you. You have to go into it knowing, and believing, that prices move around for reasons and that its not just random. Sure there are pockets of randomness and thats associated with indecision. Learn to identify when there isnt indecision and a direction is forming and learn to jump in as soon as you can. The reason it takes a long time is because the are a lot of variables at play and slowly but surely you need to experience all kinds of different trading days to get your mind used to a lot of different scenarios.
Learning the tape is like learning how to play poker, knowing the ranking of the hands is just the very start but many traders never get beyond that level. What you know you have, what you think your opponent has, what your opponent thinks you have, what you think your opponent thinks you have etc etc etc.
Variables? That's an understatement, lol. The market is very contextual. You can have the same things happening in a very short span of time, yet they have different meaning. Also, getting too close w/out a broader view may drive ya nutty As you're learning, keep old trinkets from your grandmother handy so you have something to smash.
Good post. But, personally, I don't know about the "very easy" part. My own path had been a long and winding one (circular?)peppered with losses. And so, while some folks here view themselves as "trade warriors," I regard my self as something more of a "trade worrier." On the one hand, I'd love to view trading as "easy," but on the other hand I'm afraid to. Issues, I guess.
I know that's the conventional wisdom, and I have no doubt that there is truth in that statement. However, in the context of my own method, I have found that what makes up my setup is key and that all other considerations, including the broader view, can be a distraction as often as not.
By easy I don't mean 100% winners. Maybe I should have said "clear" as to what is/has happening/happened and the odds moving forward. We've all had perfect setups only to have been stopped out shortly after entry. But for my own trading I know that every day I'm gonna get my bat on the ball and drive it hard; hopefully it finds a gap.
Oh, I know you didn't mean that. If I had thought that this was what you meant, I'd have been obliged (compelled?) to make fun of you.
Here is the secret. Day after day, draw horizontal lines where price makes major reversals. Eventually you'll get it and be able to draw some of those horizontal lines yourself beforehand. Every time price reverses when it is nowhere near one of your lines, be assured that there are lines on other people's charts. Go figure out what the fuck they are. Repeat. Then make other people wonder what's on YOUR chart. Alternatively you could learn SCT.
Actually, as someone whose parents didn't get cable until he was a teenager, I associate horizontal lines with poor reception.