Trade Set-Ups, not Discretionary Trades.

This is one idea that has helped me become profitable trader.

Most people who are exposed to the field of trading have a concept in mind of how trading should be like: A confident man with lots of screens and phone lines, clicking on his mouse and watching green and red bars blend on his screen in chaos. This illusive vision encourages people to take trades, much more than they should take and in less-than-satisfying condiitons.

I SAY: LEARN TO TRADE ONE SPECIFIC FORMATION, IN SPECIFIED CONDITIONS.
Choose market condition you know well and which you can take trade in. Write it down. Whether it is 'MA15 crosses MA30', 'CCI crosses Zero-Line' or WHATEVER. Just stick to it and trade it solely for a month. After a month, investigate and learn from your mistakes. This is the way to mastery.

A good friend of mine, trades only one formation: he waits for a Fibonacci retracement of 38.2% after strong trend to enter. Sounds stupidly simple, isn't it? This guy has quadrupled his account several times. And even after two years of trading consistently and profitably, he does not dare taking discretionary trades (trades that are not part of his system). He doesn't NEED to.

The truth is, most people and especially novice traders, have not developed the 'feel' for the market. Without that 'feel', which takes years to develop, discretionary trades are almost doomed to fail. By trading systematic trades which have an edge, the novice trader can enjoy a flow of money, and also the time to watch the market and study its behavior. Like the old saying (I think Bruce Lee said it): "I do not fear the thousand kicks you practiced only once, but I do fear the one kick you practiced a thousand times."

However, there is one disadvantage to this philosophy: You may find yourself staring at your screen for days, sometimes, without action. It can be frustrating - but rewarding.

In the next article I will share with you one of the systems I trade, for you to use as YOUR edge at the market. If you don't want to miss it, I suggest you subscribe to updates.

Profitable Trading Week,
C0NUNDRUM