Don’t get me wrong, I did not say easy, I said effortless. Trading is not easy as those who try to sell you systems portray. However, profitable trading has to be effortless. It is backed up by years of experience in a market niche that you are well conversant with and a trading style that suits your personality. You’ve got to have the know-how first and then practice, practice and practice. No two ways about it. It’s more about execution and timing. Knowing when to wait and when to place a trade. Once you know when to make an entry, make pips, take profits or cut your losses while adjusting your stop loss and making an exit, that’s more like it. You don’t have to use a million indicators, with time, you will realize your charts will be more clear and clean. Patience is critical. Then once grasp that, do it consistently.
Axel Capital Rod in the television series Billions asks his intern (who was actually doing better than his long serving employees) what an edge is. He told him his ability to see things differently than others do was his edge, and that is true. You can go short when guys are long, you can go long when guys are short, you don’t always have to follow the crowd. Yes, the trend is your friend, but in some bullish or bearish markets, you execute your trades depending on the positions you took earlier. You do what’s best for you. Quit with the comparison, it doesn’t make sense to copy someone’s strategy while you have different trading personalities. It’s the same as signing your death warrant. Remember the markets do not respect anyone, they don’t know you exist and frankly, they don’t care. Master your craft, make it your edge.
Unless you’re a Newbie, spending most if not all your time on the screen is not productive at all. That’s over trading. It doesn’t necessarily make you money, in fact, more often than not, you will end up losing because you’re too aggressive. I know a fundamentalist who tells me 90% of his trading is analysis and studying and only 10% execution. That’s more like it. There’s another one who only trades the market open because then, there is less competition from institutions like High Frequency Traders and more volatility meaning that that’s where he finds the best opportunity to cash in, and he is done for the day. There’s also another who is good with swing trading, he sits and watches the charts, he might make a trade or two once in a week then wait. It all depends with your style. But by all means, do not over trade.
Once you’re confident with your strategy, it’s time to grow your business to the next level. You have already put money on the line meaning that you’re a risk taker, you have tried and tested and back tested your style so you already know what works and what doesn’t work for you. You can go ahead and add on to your positions, growing your capital, making pips smiling all the way to the bank. It’s the maturity of a professional trader. Again, good things take time, invest in knowledge, invest your time, it will definitely pay off in the end. It doesn’t have to be difficult, love the game and make it effortless. Cheers!
