Forget Analysis of the Charts, Analyze Yourself!

Seemingly complex problem but simple solution.

The problem -

The problem with trading isnt the fact that the market is hard to predict, the problem isnt that the market is seemingly random, the problem isnt that our tools are lagging, the problem isnt that the brokers are running our stops, the problem isnt the fact that the markets are manipulated. So much time is spent on these things, but they arnt the problem.

The problem IS that self-control eludes us...

The solution -

Instead of spending so much time and effort trying to find or develop an analysis method with a 90% or higher accuracy ratio... STOP trying to analyze the market, and instead... Analyze YOURSELF!

Develop a method to manage your personal flaws... identify the reasons, and situations where YOU deviate from your trading plan and then develop a method to control and manage those times. Or develop a personal management method which eliminates them entirely. You CANNOT control the market but this is something that you can have 100% control of. And it will give you 100% success! NOT 100% analysis accuracy mind you(you dont need 100% accuracy... far from it), but 100% success at the end of the day!

Take care all. Happy trades!

-fighter

there are so many advice how to make trading successful, but this one I like most of all))

The best advice for every type of trader. I can't agree more. Thank you.

sorry but I must disagree a 100%.

Even, if you are a zen master or a robot, you won't get anywhere except at depleting your account. If you don't have a robust trading method that can consistently take money out of the market, you will ultimately fail. And 99% of methods are bound to fail, so go figure what you actually need to do, research research research... and even then you will likely only find a method that will work only temporarily.

Dear fighterdude,

The problem is actually quite complex and the solution as suggested is not easy to implement.

First of all, for most people, it is very very difficult to identify the reasons of personal flaws and to correct them without expert help. If it were easy, the flaws wouldn't be there, would they? Secondly, the whole activity of trading is counter-intuitive, which even highly intelligent people find difficult to come to grips with. Self-analysis and introspection is not going to help if real understanding of the market is absent. In early stages of the game, one is never quite sure if the failures are due to having an inadequate trading system or due to one's personal short-comings.

In my opinion, the correct sequence of actions would be:

1. Find or develop an edge in trading. This may take a few thousand hours of study and observations of the market to identify an edge and developing a trading methodology to utilize it.
2. Obtain certainty on that edge. This again may take another few thousand hours of study and practice trading until one is adequately certain of the correctness of one's edge and has mastered the developed method to take advantage of the edge.
3. Using discipline and constantly learning from one's mistakes, it then becomes possible to trade successfully, even with all the personal flaws still there intact.

Nobody is perfect, and it is not possible or necessary to become an emotionless robot in order to trade successfully.

Analyzing and working on my myself I was inspired and I will forever be by the books and videos of the great late Mark Douglas. His masterpiece "Trading in the zone" I think is a must read for everyone, rookie or experienced alike. According to him your trading results will be proportionate with your state of mind when you're trading, so acquiring an ideal trader's mentality and keeping alive a genuine WINNING ATTITUDE is the key to winning consistency. He defines a winning attitude as a positive expectation of your efforts with an acceptance that whatever results you get are a perfect reflection of your level of development and what you need to learn to do better.

You and Custos are missing the point of my post... Apologies if it wasnt clear...
(obviously a real edge is important)
What I'm saying is that no matter how good your trading system is... if you can't follow its rules due to a lack of understanding of your own flaws, then it is all pointless. Can you really argue with that?

-fighter

market is not random.

I actually agree with you.. corrected for clarity. Happy now?