You proved nothing. There are so many forms of TA, most of it is bullshit (here we agree). But if you are serious and do serious objective research before putting any money then it's completely different story.
Can you tell us why you are not being as sucessful as you think you should be? What method are you using? What system have you used for any lenght of time that didn't work?
I dont know 'why'. If I did, i guess i'd be able to fix it! I believe that there is a missing ingredient in my trading, and it is something that nobody 'in the know' will divulge to outsiders. I get the feeling that it lies more in the 'fundamental analysis' field though. I've mainly spent the years concentrating on intraday trading, using mainly 5min charts, with a few other bigger timeframes to help give some context. Trading using support/resistance/ candlestick formations etc. What people call 'price action'. I have had succesful periods. If i didn't then i would definitely have quit by now and assumed it was DEFINITELY an impossible task. At the moment i am not DEFINITE, but as time goes by, and as more of the people from forums who were thought of as 'the genuine article' turn out to be bogus, I find myself wondering if we are being taken for a ride, attempting to make consistent profits from a random game, with a spread and commissions thown in! It would explain why 95% (?) eventually fail to succeed. I actually hope im wrong though! I want to believe its possible for a guy to make consistent money trading a retail account from home trading from charts.
Do you have a trading plan? A written plan that you could give to someone else that explains what it is you are trying to accomplish and how you are going to get that result.
You'd be surprised at what you can accomplish sitting alone at home. I recommend that instead of looking for candlestick formations and all that, you look into the macroeconomics of the market. Find out what moves the prices of securities, who's involved, and what they're doing. You're not always in direct competition with the institutional investors, so a profit can be made if you are shrewd enough.
Interesting disscution. Just two points for reflection: 1. What about the oil prices in the future? 2. What could be the edge of the retail trader over the institutional one (there is at least one).
If it was about intelligence and hard work, surely the success rate would be much higher than it is? When you talk about an 'edge', are you just talking about a pattern you've noticed, or having good descipline as an 'edge'? I think that word (edge) gets used way too much. I think an 'edge' is what people working for large trading firms who are privvy to information before, or not available, to others have.
Maybe...although there is next to zero proof that this can even be a business if you are just a little retail trader, trading from home. I think maybe you just want to believe that it is a feasable way to make consistent money . Post up some statements or maybe some live trading calls. cheers
Sorry. Yes, had a trading plan and a journal. I think having a trading plan is kind of pointless, but i made one years ago anyway, just on the advice of various trading websites. Assuming daytrading is possible, At the end of the day, your method either works or it doesn't. Having a 'trading plan' with your goals and your routine etc, doesn't come into it in my opinion.