I hear often that trading is complex, and then that trading should be simple.This looks contradictory, if something is complex needs a structured fairly complex approach to be solved. The objection that trading is complex and so one need to have simple rules is really prosaic and trivial. I know day trading could be more complex than a longer TIMEFRAME, but is not always true if one has his own setups etc and loger investments could bring "sitting periods" that are cost opportunities. The same for the INDICATORS(technical, fund, quant) someone say one should not have too many lagging indicators, others successfully composed custom indicators. Also something that should be clear as for instance 101 risk management, all the books say one should have small stop losses, others one should give the room to not get whipsawed, and it depends from the market. To me trading looks simple and more a kind of mental game that is more difficult So I guess the reason is that trading is not simple or complex but simple AND complex. I would like to hear from you.
Veterans and Vegetarians agree that trading is SIMPLE (just buylowsellhigh and sellhighbuylow) BUT DIFFICULT (to earn $$$$). There is nothing complex about it. You just need to know + and - to count $$$$$$$$ & to set TP and SL
Maybe markets are complex but trading (as Max said) is simple. Simple can be hard but I believe it becomes easier with time.
I like a lot your replies and appreciate your experience, but also if i see where you come from(mainly the simple AND difficult explanation), still does not make sense to me. If a mechanical approach of following a setup with TP and SL and knowing when to start a strategy it would exist our holy grail, but we know that we call in this way(holy grail) because there is NOT a systematic approach that work if not in certain specific markets
are they? An high ADX, a clear momentum is really simple to trade, so a bearish that has sharp declines and 3 pull ups. Maybe you mean as some legendary traders that most of our job is to understand when there is a macro reversion in the market, so for instance when we go in consolidation in a bull
If trading were easy, everyone would be rich, buddy. It is easy for the ones who have found an edge, until the edge fades away.
The CONCEPT of trading is very simple but ACTUAL trading is complex (to be consistently profitable). The analogy I like is golf. The CONCEPT of golf is very simple but actually PLAYING real golf reasonably well consistently is far more complex. You are standing over this little white ball that is not moving. No one is throwing anything at you or rushing you, it's quiet and peaceful and everyone around you is even standing still. You get to take your time, study everything and use any club you want. You can swing in any crazed manner you like. All you have to do is hit the ball pretty straight, so why is this so hard? It's just like trading.
One trader is different than another trader due to intelligence, experience, and bias. Therefore, what complex to one trader is simple to another trader and vice versa. It's part of the reason why some traders are Long and other traders are Short at the exact same moment in time in the same trading instrument because their using different trade methods in comparison to another trader. An analogy - Some people prefer foods with more carbohydrates and others prefer foods with more protein...others prefer more fats while others prefer more lean diet. I would only worry about what I eat and not worry about what others are eating because I know I have different dietary needs because of my lifestyle and health concerns. Someone recently asked me why do I prefer "rowing" for cardio workout instead of "running" for cardio workout ? I replied - my lifestyle is different than yours. Just as importantly, I am not concern with why others prefer running. I then said - my diet preference is corn, beans, fish, wild rice, fruits and squash through out the year. In contrast, the meats (e.g. bison, elk, deer, duck, pheasants, turkey, chicken) or fish...I prefer to eat during the fall and winter. For some reason she thought it was "too complex" lifestyle but it was a very simple lifestyle for me. We're just different when comparing one person to another person or from one trader to another trader. wrbtrader
Depends on perspective. Trading boils down to discovery and execution. The discovery phase difficulty level goes up exponentially according to your ambitions from days to years. Execution is very simple. Any problems in manual execution exist in as far as your subconscious is aligned with the robustness of your strategy. It's not hard to cross the road, but stick a blindfold on and you better be sure your model's right else it's gonna hurt.