All These Trading Systems, Stratagies, Techniques, what the...

When you first come to FF you are over whelmed by all the trading systems available. It seems everyone has one at least for a while. As a newbie its so tempting to try them all then begin to take part of this one and put it with the other part of that one. you can find yourself trying out systems that may or may not be any good and along the line picking up bad habits.

One thing I have noticed those who started the threads on "their" system are not now the ones answering all the questions and taking the lead on directions. Some have gone on, may they rest in peace, others have gone on to other systems and yet others have quit.

Some systems started off as one thing and ended up looking like a plate of spaghetti.

As a newbie you try one system it seems to work, then for some reason down the road its not working anymore of course its not me, that's the problem, the system changed some where, some how .

The frustration and confusion reminds me of the old commercial, "Calgon take me away!"

So to combat this in my life I have decided not to follow any more of these systems but to try and find out what works for me out of what I have learned over the 2 years I have been trading, and NO I am not successful, not yet. To me to be successful is when I have replaced my income, which was $75,000 back in 1996 when I got sick and lost my job, so my wife who has been working so hard ever sense, can stay home if she so desires. This is my success. I will reach it, I will achieve it, I know the risks, but the rewards far out-way the risks in my book.

Please don't take this post as a complaint about all the systems on FF. FF is a treasure trove for traders. I have paid for services and I have learned more off this website then any service I have paid for and some of those where in the hundreds ea. month.

Hi, jcvmw

The key to being a successful trader is making a system 'your own' and not to follow a system blindly(as you have correctly identified). I want to share some of the some of my criteria I use to create or evaluate a system. Other experienced traders may not do the same, but it works for me.

Questions:
what is the edge in this system, why does it work, does it work in all market conditions (unlikely), what happens when market conditions change? does that increase loss rate or does it decrease the number of signals?

Testing:
Backtest to establish initial data - win rate, best markets/timeframes traded, consecutive winning/losing trades etc
Forward test it DEMO ( i see newbies jumping in with a real account when they have not put any groundwork in)
If the system has a win rate of 50% in backtesting and then 30% in forward testing, you have to question why, is it the trader, market conditions have changed etc

Live trading:
Start on a small live account, continuously monitoring performance of system & yourself

Checklists:
A checklist of trading criteria is required to maintain discipline
Monitor the outcome of each trade and your performance
Track system performance against expected performance
Set maximum drawdown levels


Plans:
Traders need a written trading plan( which gives an overview on why they are trading, motivations, goals broken down into mini goals etc)
Traders mindset - a plan of action before you trade each day to ensure the correct mindset

So, are any of the new traders or the ones who have blown a few accounts ready to put the work in?


Most of the time, trades go wrong because of the trader, it is not the system or strategy. You can give 100 people the same system and they will trade it differently with different results. That is a fact.

Trading is a mind game, if it wasn't, more people would be successful.

Nitetrader

A fixed system/strategy can make profits until it doesn't, and repeats. It's not the credibility of the trader or the system but just how the market works.
Ex; If everyone is short a market, who's left to buy from?

Hope you can develop a hybrid trading style that suits the market and circumstances you're trading. Only advice I have is keep up with the best/most up-to-date news you can find.. and some sources report where large traders are buying/selling so you can go with, not against.

were lucky most dont understand such posts

i basically rely on support and resistance.