Despite being "new" here, and seeing as I need to "qualify" myself on this site to make any real difference, does not reflect on me. I know this and I hope you do also. When I started this, I looked for a thread where I could make a dint. And I realize I need to be careful what I say because clearly, many people have "issues".
So for those people, who prefer to bicker and be more involved in melodrama, good luck there.
The main reason I entered this site was because of what my friend showed me. He showed me people attacking each other, arguing and right fighting. And then he showed me just how far people have gone to complicate and to overdramatize something very very very VERY simple.
When I started, we didn't have "technology" to do the work (thinking) for us. If you could see what was on the tiny screen and on the paper in front of you, then you were on your way. If you could draw a straight line and draw a pricing rectangle then you were on your way. So, my perspective, is an "old-to-new" view of performance trading the global markets.
I want to be clear here in saying that technology is not trading. Trading is trading. What confuses me is - why are people doing so poorly eventhough you have technology?
I can show you many charts (that ARE freely available) from the 70's through to today. Information-time density has changed but really nothing else.
Something else that I have observed is, how can people be so immature yet claim to be good at what they do? Please don't think I am preaching or trying to start a fight here.
I am merely starting to note the total contradictions. Surely I am not the only one. In my life, if you behaved like a child then surely you were one and would be treated accordingly.
And something I have noticed about people here. People seem to be more concerned with being right, than being excellent at what you do and how you do it.
And when I got curious about people's understanding of deeper matters, I searched and found threads like this ...
For the sake of one's personal sanity, please ask yourself this basic question -If someone is standing outside a glass greenhouse looking in and sees their reflection on the glass, are they inside the greenhouse?
When I started trading, I needed to be objective otherwise I was done before I started. How is all that (above) being objective?
The chart I have attached is for those who really need to learn. I'm not trying to "take over" or to control the conversation. All I am doing is relaying back to everyone, that as someone who spent his life actively trading, to see where people are up to, is scary.
Being objective in trading is about an all inclusive approach rather than being biased or prejudiced. I don't know if it helps but I will note down certain things that I live by in my work .....
*2 Options - Buy or Sell
*The current financial markets are just a present day morph of the status quo. When things change in the world, the status quo also changes.
*With the previous points in hand, a simple conclusion can be reached = a private individual trader has a 50/50 chance "in the moment of the trade setup" to be correct of their assumptions, evaluations and conclusions. Why? They do not drive or control the markets they attempt to trade. The only REAL tool in their arsenal is being a price behaviorist and seek that which repeats.
Seeing as most people lack any basic common sense, they get attached to a story, an indicator, a person etc that offers hope and to boost confidence in what they are wanting....profit for time spent.
*Attaching to any story is dangerous because it makes a trader MORE subjective not less. If the status quo changes (As it has many times in the last 300 years. If you disagree then go read the history for this planet) the dynamics also change.
*Misuse of a story in a person's belief system changes the way they WOULD/COULD trade as fear, greed, underconfidence, overconfidence and assumptions become more of an everyday thing. Instead of working from a constant baseline of real reality.
*You are a VERY small fish in a HUMUNGOUS ocean. So if you think you are pretty good at trading because you make say, $20,000 a week, let's take a more objective look at these figures..... $20,000 vs $1,000,000,000,000.00.
*Over the last 5-10 years the market dynamics have indeed changed. Stories, just as in misuse of indicator systems of thinking, create a gap in a person's awareness. You MUST start with what is true, which means being objective. Not building a house of cards based on assumptions.
*Truth = a private individual trader has a 50/50 chance "in the moment of the trade setup" to be correct of their assumptions, evaluations and conclusions.
*Truth = The markets ONLY operate on the basis of need and want. Everything else is a story. NB - This not to be confused with S&D and S&R ideas and concepts.
*Truth = Being objective is generally difficult for people because they think they "need" a security blanket AKA a story, to tell them how to see things.
*Truth = Being objective means you recognize that the same rules apply to you and everything else equally. It also means you can adapt to the world as it changes.
*Truth = Majority of things online re: financial markets and trading is unsubstantiated rubbish. If people fail at trading or something else, it is usually because they allow themselves to be indoctrinated by another person. Through this process, they take on that person's beliefs as well as their weaknesses and failings, without questioning the objective nature of how it will affect them. They tend to have anecdotal evidence to justify "why". They cannot think for themselves so they have to blindly follow.
As a person who has been trading for many years, when I am shown this kind of thing, it makes me sad. An authority figure cannot tell you what is really true because they would lose their power and control. I'm sure people mean well here, however, it shows that age is not wisdom. Wisdom is wisdom.
If you're not objective in these markets you will blow your brains out after the first major hit to your portfolio. And you don't need to be a sociopath or psychopath to trade either.
What I say here is aimed at people who are not egotistical idiots, loudmouths, or false teachers. But for people who genuinely want to live and learn not just learn so they can get and keep.
The internet is full of sites, pages and threads like this. Yet people still have not realized, if you're not being objective then you're easily swayed/conned and, while you react you cannot learn. It's literally impossible for a person to do both simultaneously.
Any system has its problems. Even the ones I use are not perfect. Surely you know you're on the outside looking in. BUT there seems to be this sub-culture of "chit-chat" yet when I look at the pics people show of their charts, I have to ask, why.
Direction, style of approach (setup), breadth of anticipation and normalized entry. That is what I use. The idea of placing "another" price based chart on top baffles me. The prices are already locked in. I am assuming people already know that a pricing chart is a psychological continuum. Down is down until it's not. The same for up. Looking at a pricing chart you see and x axis and a y axis. Previously agreed pricing structure and agreed time.
So why do people agree to make it confusing? You know that the "markets" are millennia old right? As a concept.
So it has to be in people's thinking.
My own experience shows me that an opinion is just an opinion and a fact or the truth is just that as well.
You have to be very careful who you listen to in the world of "trading". Most people trying to trade the financial markets today, never watched many come into existence. They just hit the ground running with whatever is offered by whoever will give them entry. Too busy with all the shiny stuff. And indicators are helpful, at times. But you have to learn to be objective to learn HOW to listen to them when you need them. Below attachment is an example. No guru stuff, no "I'm not an educator" spiel. Just as I would see and use it.
Complicating language is something that creates ambiguity.
Q - Up still means up, right? And down still means down?
I thought so. Just checking. As I look around on this site, and a few threads, it becomes obvious that people care more about terminology than excellent performance. I'm not talking about "bragging rights" etc. No. Just good ol' fashioned high quality performance. As far as I can tell, people's LACK of objectivity is what stops them from performing properly. I'm not talking JUST about trading either. About anything really.
If this is a subject you "think" is pointless or unrelated etc, then consider this for a moment - why do you think a "Warren Buffet" type would not openly advertise his/her presence here on this site? Think about that. REALLY consider why. Try to conjure as many possible reasons WHY.
How often do you see the "adults" at a party get in there with the children playing on the swings or monkey bars? Almost never right. Why?
If you conclude that your opinion or perspective is worth something, then from the outset you are at a disadvantage. Yes in trading the markets you need to determine what you think is going on. However, too many preconceived ideas can destroy any decent strategy. There are threads on this site that I was shown by a friend that would corrupt someone's objectivity entirely. When I started out, I sensed that a strategy alone was suicidal. What IF the markets' fundamentals change? What IF new technology arrives to reconcile the gaps in sessions? What IF?
Sometimes being objective has its drawbacks. Sure. People may feel threatened by you or what you know or can do. But that's always been the way. Some choose not to learn and change and some do.
If you can look yourself in the mirror and be truthful without wetting yourself, then you have a chance. As I see it, the "famous" or "celebrity" traders people seem to idolize, really have only one thing other people do not ----> Being objective.
Knowing when to cut it and when to stuff it.
When to cut a pitiful position on a move and when to stuff that baby as full as you can afford without shooting yourself in the foot.
My friend told me to be straight so I will be. I'm over the hill compared to others. And if I can setup an account here on this site then that shows they'll let anyone in. The problem is not the broker or indicator. It's not the story you buy into. It's you.
Your preferences, your setup don't matter. You do. There's so much out there about all types of stuff. Have you ever noticed how information hungry people are, yet, their performance is below average?
Language and tools.
The simplicity of this trading activity, is insulting really. At times you can place an order inbound and find yourself in a scalp rather than a strong snap reversal. SO do you change strategy? Add? Remove? Can you accept that even when you win you lose?
Emotional and mental immaturity is a real thing. Opening a $1000 account with 500:1 leverage and placing 10 SL's on a guess. ARE YOU MAD??!!
People do it.
Question. Why would you let someone who is as emotionally and/or mentally unstable as you are, to show you 1. how to protect what you have. 2. Do something useful with it. 3. Retain your sense of reality after it's all over???
Being objective is about seeing it on the chart and saying "Hiihii THAT'S going down!!"
No I am not trying to convince you to get rid of your indicators etc. I use indicators. WHEN I tell me I need them. And I'm not a salesman. I just look around and see that people are somewhat lost. And the "old traders" who literally have a lifetime of experience simply find it too frustrating to talk to people whose audacity and silly thinking cloud their apparent interests. They prefer to argue, bicker and right fight.
