I used to think my edge was my ability to do TA, and read charts. But the level of TA I'm doing, most people can do by watching a couple youtube videos. So how am I then profitable? It's the mental aspect. And I believe this to be true for all profitable traders. Why? My biggest obstacle in trading, (And still working with it). Is setting up an order with confidence, then wait for my order to get filled. And then again wait for it to hit my stop loss or target order (Over a span of days, weeks, months) Without changing anything. This sounds easy right? But for me it was/is the hardest aspect of trading. The waiting. The reason why waiting is so hard, is because in trading there is no guarantee. And waiting for something that isn't a certain, can be very stressfull. Esp. If you're not well funded, have little experience, your money management isn't good and/or you have stresses in life outside trading. I remember reading somewhere that 90% of people would rather choose 100% chance of getting 100,000. Then a 90% chance of getting 200,000. We are wired to pick certainty. Anything else is stressfull. Sitting in a position over several weeks, risking a couple hundred or thousand $, not knowing if it will lose or win money is indeed stressfull (esp. if you need those money). If you can overcome this, I believe you already have an edge over 80% of retail traders. (This is why most beginners choose low time frames, less stressfull and more exciting. And the brokers love it).
this is nonsense and here is why - if discipline is the only requirement, then automate; if a trader can't automate with his own money, institutions can. then why do so many firms invest so much into robots and still can't beat the index.
Exactly, and it takes a high level of EQ. (Which is trainable). If you can't go to work without thinking constantly about your position. You're prob doing it wrong.
Hello Naturex, I believe one of the best ways to improve confidence and increase edge is by actively trading and gaining experience in the market. Here is the deal 1. Every challenge or problem with your trading will not be resolved over night. Confidence takes time in any aspect of business. Look at Bill Belichick, the Patriots Head Coach. The last past 8 games or so, his defense has held the opponent to NO TOUCHDOWNS. Isn't this amazing. How did he gain such an edge or advantage or skill? The answer is years of experience and time developing his defensive skill. 2. Think of trading as skill building. Invest in a book or trading course. Invest your time in back testing some trading theories or strategy for XXX amount of trades 3. Give it time. Devote XX amount of study time and practice time per week. 4. Give your edge a chance over XXX amount of trades, then evaluate for profitability
80 % or more of the market is automated, because of this. But an experienced trader can generally read a chart better than a robot imo. So combined with high EQ, he can be very profitable.
your first post said most can read after a couple of youtube videos... now you are saying 'reading better' is the key. and it IS.... that's why the first post was nonsense.
I agree, actively trading is the best way to gain experience. But often actively trading is just waiting..
If you can not automate, then it is discretionary and you bound to act differently from the plan. We are 100 percent automated, so above issues are taken care off. What you described is just one of many ingredients, and not even the most important. The real edge is to have a model with overall expectancy is 0.35 and above.
I despise waiting. Waiting for a trade to complete right now, and waiting for conditions to improve. I've read that "Patience" is active waiting.