SSBO - The Stairstep Breakout System
WELCOME:
If you are like most new visitors, you have stumbled onto our little corner of the web after encountering the usual number of trading systems that looked great at the outset, but after a dozen or so pages you suddenly realized that it no longer resembled the system offered back on Page #1. And then you probably asked yourself (as we all have), why was the system even offered in the first place if it could be so easily twisted out of shape in less than a week. And then there are the systems where the thread starter tries to trick you into leaving the Factory (Hey, let's start a Skype group!) after a few weeks to join them in a "private" club by "invitation only" where you can get special "insider" trading tips. For a price, of course. And don't even get me started on the threads that change indicators so fast and so frequently that you're saving a new template 10 times a day. And how about my personal favorite, where the OP starts off by saying they have traded "this way" for months or even years with a high degree of success, but then after a few weeks into the thread they sign off, saying they have found another system that works even better. WTF???
Are you finally fed up yet? You're not alone. The disillusionment you are feeling by now is perfectly understandable, and you are not the first person to wonder if a practical thread exists that teaches real market fundamentals that won't change with the wind, or whether it's possible to find an honest and altruistic mentor with no hidden agenda.
It does exist. You have just found it. Welcome to Stairstep Breakouts, or SSBO.
OVERVIEW:
The underlying concept behind SSBO is so simple it's hard: Wait until the market is doing "nothing" (relatively speaking) before setting out your plan of action. In other words: 1) When the market is active we do nothing; 2) When the market does nothing, this is when we plan for our next trade.
For SSBO, this "nothing" comes in the form of Consolidation Zones, or CZ's.
But in order to trade with CZ's, you must first learn to identify and classify them. The purpose of this thread is to teach you how to correctly identify only the very best CZ's, and then how best to exploit them. This is naked trading in it's most purest and simplest form. This is the focus of this thread and this system. Nothing else is promised or implied.
WORDS TO LIVE BY:
In order to fully understand this system it is essential that you spend one full week experimenting with the trading details found in the first 8 posts (posts, not pages). You must become proficient at picking out these types of Consolidation Zones (CZ's) regardless of the pair or the Time Frame by simple visual confirmation alone -- aka, Naked Trading. Posts 1-8 teach you how to do exactly that. This part truly is the essence of Stairsteps, so skipping over this phase of your self-training is only going to cause you a lot of grief later on down the line. So please, no shortcuts. Stay with the program and get this part down solid before continuing past the first couple of pages. If you find yourself on Page #10 before committing to this week of practice, you have gone too far. Stop, come back, and put in the week of practice before going any further. This is your primary confidence building step. It starts right now. If you pass it over, then you can't expect to have the required confidence for what comes after. Fully 90% of all belligerent comments and noob questions (and failed trade examples) found in this thread come from people who skipped over this part and just read through it without actually putting in the suggested week of practice.
As far as the SSBO system goes, we are closing shop here as literally the only system known to exist at the Forex Factory where the rules have remained unchanged throughout the life of the thread. And that, my friends, is really saying something! The SSBO self-training template is spelled out in the very first post, right above where you are now reading.
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The original first post:
******************************
Some traders swear by man-made indicators. Some swear by technicals and analysis. Today I will be presenting one of the ways I trade using breakouts based only on pure price action and simple hand drawn breakout boxes.
This method is so simple it's hard. Most traders overlook this style of trading not because it is ineffective, but because it just isn't as "sexy" as a method that employs lots of colorful lines and graphs and special lingo and complicated algorithms. This system may not be sexy (it isn't), but it is highly effective -- for me. YMMV.
Let's get right to it.
Pic #1 is highlighting the type of consolidation zones we are looking for. There is no hard and fast rule here. Simply "eyeball" the chart and pick out these types of zones, and then cover them with a rectangle from your MT4 tool bar. Later, this rectangle will be a uniform height, but for now just draw the boxes free-hand and pick out as many of these zones as you can.
This system will work for any pair on any TF. But for those who wish to follow me I am showing a G/U M15 chart from this week (ending July 1).
WELCOME:
If you are like most new visitors, you have stumbled onto our little corner of the web after encountering the usual number of trading systems that looked great at the outset, but after a dozen or so pages you suddenly realized that it no longer resembled the system offered back on Page #1. And then you probably asked yourself (as we all have), why was the system even offered in the first place if it could be so easily twisted out of shape in less than a week. And then there are the systems where the thread starter tries to trick you into leaving the Factory (Hey, let's start a Skype group!) after a few weeks to join them in a "private" club by "invitation only" where you can get special "insider" trading tips. For a price, of course. And don't even get me started on the threads that change indicators so fast and so frequently that you're saving a new template 10 times a day. And how about my personal favorite, where the OP starts off by saying they have traded "this way" for months or even years with a high degree of success, but then after a few weeks into the thread they sign off, saying they have found another system that works even better. WTF???
Are you finally fed up yet? You're not alone. The disillusionment you are feeling by now is perfectly understandable, and you are not the first person to wonder if a practical thread exists that teaches real market fundamentals that won't change with the wind, or whether it's possible to find an honest and altruistic mentor with no hidden agenda.
It does exist. You have just found it. Welcome to Stairstep Breakouts, or SSBO.
OVERVIEW:
The underlying concept behind SSBO is so simple it's hard: Wait until the market is doing "nothing" (relatively speaking) before setting out your plan of action. In other words: 1) When the market is active we do nothing; 2) When the market does nothing, this is when we plan for our next trade.
For SSBO, this "nothing" comes in the form of Consolidation Zones, or CZ's.
But in order to trade with CZ's, you must first learn to identify and classify them. The purpose of this thread is to teach you how to correctly identify only the very best CZ's, and then how best to exploit them. This is naked trading in it's most purest and simplest form. This is the focus of this thread and this system. Nothing else is promised or implied.
WORDS TO LIVE BY:
In order to fully understand this system it is essential that you spend one full week experimenting with the trading details found in the first 8 posts (posts, not pages). You must become proficient at picking out these types of Consolidation Zones (CZ's) regardless of the pair or the Time Frame by simple visual confirmation alone -- aka, Naked Trading. Posts 1-8 teach you how to do exactly that. This part truly is the essence of Stairsteps, so skipping over this phase of your self-training is only going to cause you a lot of grief later on down the line. So please, no shortcuts. Stay with the program and get this part down solid before continuing past the first couple of pages. If you find yourself on Page #10 before committing to this week of practice, you have gone too far. Stop, come back, and put in the week of practice before going any further. This is your primary confidence building step. It starts right now. If you pass it over, then you can't expect to have the required confidence for what comes after. Fully 90% of all belligerent comments and noob questions (and failed trade examples) found in this thread come from people who skipped over this part and just read through it without actually putting in the suggested week of practice.
As far as the SSBO system goes, we are closing shop here as literally the only system known to exist at the Forex Factory where the rules have remained unchanged throughout the life of the thread. And that, my friends, is really saying something! The SSBO self-training template is spelled out in the very first post, right above where you are now reading.
******************************
The original first post:
******************************
Some traders swear by man-made indicators. Some swear by technicals and analysis. Today I will be presenting one of the ways I trade using breakouts based only on pure price action and simple hand drawn breakout boxes.
This method is so simple it's hard. Most traders overlook this style of trading not because it is ineffective, but because it just isn't as "sexy" as a method that employs lots of colorful lines and graphs and special lingo and complicated algorithms. This system may not be sexy (it isn't), but it is highly effective -- for me. YMMV.
Let's get right to it.
Pic #1 is highlighting the type of consolidation zones we are looking for. There is no hard and fast rule here. Simply "eyeball" the chart and pick out these types of zones, and then cover them with a rectangle from your MT4 tool bar. Later, this rectangle will be a uniform height, but for now just draw the boxes free-hand and pick out as many of these zones as you can.
This system will work for any pair on any TF. But for those who wish to follow me I am showing a G/U M15 chart from this week (ending July 1).
Attached File(s)
![File Type: mq4](https://assets.faireconomy.media/images/attach/mq4.gif)
To improve is to change. To perfect, is to change often.