It’s amazing to me how many traders I meet who have completely the wrong idea of what it means to trade successfully.
Let me make it clear. Trading success and profitabiliy have absolutely NOTHING to do with the following:
- Owning or using the next “holy grail” fancy technical indicator;
- Tweaking the settings of your fancy indicator;
- Trying to predict the tops and bottoms of the market;
- Grabbing as many points as you can from the market every single trading day;
- Following the next best trading “strategy”.
None of the above points are going to make you successful. Sure, you may make the occasional money every now and then, but you’ll be lucky if you’ve made any profit after a year.
See also the video below for a visual presentation of this article
Using or Abusing Technical Indicators
I know a lot of traders who are fond of trashing the use of technical indicators. I am not one of them.
I do make use of technical indicators in my day trading and I find them very helpful in simplifying and identifying key information about the markets that would have otherwise have taken a very long time.
In the above video I show a real example of how I apply indicators and multi timeframe analysis to carry out my own trades, whether its spreadbetting or trading contracts.
It’s not the indicators that are the problem, but about how and when to use them.
Some traders seem to obsess too much about getting their indicator settings right – like whether they should use an 18 or 20 period moving average, or use a 14 or 12 period Stochastics.
You know what, it probably will not make a damn bit of difference! If this sounds like you, then the first step is stop focusing on tweeking indicators and learn how to trade instead.
Consistency
To achieve any degree of success in trading you need to first achieve consistency. Consistency involves in being able to carry out and execute your trading plan without hesitation time and time again.
Consistency is also a state of mind: to be able to execute your trading plan you need to have confidence in what you are doing.
If you lack confidence or you find yourself hesitating, then it is probable that you have not tested your trading plan sufficiently or that you do not have a solid or proven plan of action yet.
Conclusion
While Technical indicators, newsletters and tip-services have their uses and can be very beneficial – they do not replace sound trading skills and principles. These principles focus on: timing your entry and exit, risk control, trade management, money management and most importantly of all, your trading psychology.
If you focus on yourself and building your own trading skills, instead of messing around with the next best indicator or “strategy” you will achieve not only trading consistency but more profit in your P/L account.
Did you find this article and video useful or helpful? Do you have any related trading stories of your own you wish to share? Feel free to leave me a comment below.
Great article I only use it for divergence.
Never for continuation. I prefer using swing pivot point in the TAZ (between ema8 and ema21)
Your demo is a plus for retracement/continuation.
Bye,
The Frenchy (W/ many Morocco pieces)
PS: Sorry for the english
Hey Alessio This is one of your best mini tutorials yet methinks. Step by step and loving your marking out as you go. Visual really helps clarify verbal info. Thanks d
Thanks Alessio, your website and mini videos are like a bright light to the many newbie trading moths! 🙂
Your tutorials and webinars are AWESOME! Thank you so much, learning huge amounts each day from your site and putting my friends onto it.
Yes, the elusive search for the Holy Grail indicator!
In the 35 years I have been involved in Technical Analysis,
I have seen a lot of this delusional and lazy thinking.
But even worse, is the search for the Holy Grail Trading System !
If you speak to the professional gamblers in Las Vegas, they will
tell you that the “System Traders” are the bread and butter of the
casinos who don’t mind giving up a few bucks to keep the addicts
filled with hope and coming back to the tables……
My favorite “automatic systems” are the ones that generate lots
of small profits with the occasional huge loss. Really cracks me
up when people who should know better keep shooting themselves
in the foot.
Good luck with your students !
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