Trading – and the Holy Grail

When people mention the Holy Grail in a trading sense it makes me cringe. As does 'left pips on the table' - who made up those beauties?

It is mentioned in many places that trading is easy!! I suppose the actual physical act of placing a trade on MT4 is easy peasy and anyone can do it, anyone can click the mouse and enter a trade that's for sure. But to show a profit on the majority of those clicks of the mouse is not so easy peasy, that is also for sure. If it was then everyone would conceivably be as rich as Croesus. So why is it so difficult?

For me, the Holy Grail is in two parts. Let's take a look...

One of our members mentioned to me a while ago now that he had heard something on another site where someone said:

"Trading isn't rocket science - it's harder!"

Now, if you want to put a beginner off who is starting on their trading journey that is what you should be telling them. Hardly words of encouragement are they?

The thing is, markets go up and they go down which clearly isn't rocket science in my book, but most traders make something very complicated out of something that should be dead simple. The simpler, the better.

As the great man says:

You have all seen it - especially on the forums where every trader has this fetish about adding as much as is humanly possible to his charts in the belief that if it isn't complicated then it won't work.

If those useless indicators haven't worked for a million traders what makes you think that they will work for you?

They won't!!

I see it every day where traders are so keen to keep adding rubbish to their charts which will be of no help whatsoever as they just make it more difficult for themselves. There is only one way, you have GOT TO KEEP IT as simple as is possible. Where many traders are looking to add rubbish to their charts, I take great pains to remove that which is not needed, that which I use seldom, that which does not add to my bottom line.

For me - this is one half of the Holy Grail of trading. One cannot argue with Einstein.

It has also been said a million times but it seems not many take notice, "Unlearn the crap."

Just for once try a system without the crap, trade the rules, and see how you get on. But give it time with a series of trades and give it your utmost as you should do anyway using good trade management and following our double-edged sword of Patience and Discipline. Then see what Black Dog can do for you - you may be surprised.

I tend to do the opposite of what most traders do because most are losing.

"If you do what everyone does: you'll get what everyone gets."

This then is the first half of what I think is the Holy Grail. Simple uncluttered charts will do wonders for you. Do not use what the brokers want you to use because they KNOW that the damned indicators do not work. BUT they want you to use them and offer them to you free!

Don't fall for it.

I made a few pips today but I had one loser by breaking my own rules of Patience and Discipline. On one occasion, I anticipated the market and entered, -7 pips. That'll teach me.

The point I'm trying to make is that the REALLY hard part of trading is in your head, not in the system that you are using. The hard part is sticking to the rules whether they are the system rules or your own.

The weakest link of any system is the trader himself.

It should follow then that this is the area where most traders (plus yours truly) should make concentrated efforts to improve. Lots of work required in this area of trading. I proved to myself today that breaking the rules is costly. Just how many more times do I need to prove it? But I still do it occasionally.

I like lists so let's have one here on a few items that could help us with our trading brain:

I'm pretty sure that we are all amateurs here, I certainly am though I do trade full time. We trade for ourselves but what is to stop us trading like the professionals?

We can try to emulate them with not a little bit of work and try to put some pennies into our accounts on a regular basis. So what else can we do to improve our trading and close the gap between the amateurs and the professionals?

It did hit me fairly quickly that my amateurish mindset was the reason for my early account implosions. I just wasn't taking it seriously enough. No plan - no nothing.

Without considering those points above it will be difficult to be successful. The professionals are completely aware of them.

Professionals do not get buried under a myriad of indicators, methods, chart patterns, pairs, or time frames. Nor do they get involved in the endless analysis of such. They have their trading rules and that is it. Make it easy - make it simple - keep it simple. Bingo..!!

A winning simple system traded over and over to the point of monotony with VERY strict Trade Management rules - all the way to the bank.

NOW we are talking professional....!!

One day I would like to be able to reply when asked what I do for a living, "I am a professional trader." It may happen, but for the foreseeable future I am simply a trader who is trying very very hard to emulate the professionals.

I'll finish this post by showing a post from our old forum by a happy and 'patient' member...

Hi Dave

Finally today I know in my mind that I have turned a really big corner in myself. After nearly 2 years of losing and practicing with a 'loser's mindset' - I can see the fruits of my MTF2 BD rules. 

What really did it for me after trading MTF2 for just over a week and BD Basic since the beginning of January was looking back over the past few days charts and saying "what would I have done?"

I realised just how simply I can extract 20-30 pips a day with just one thing - PATIENCE.

It was after I spoke to you I realised that I was looking at my indicators but was not ACTUALLY looking at the price. For me (and since our Skype session) I start off looking at any chart by looking at the LTM - I then look at price, dogs, ses, 50s etc. I didn't make many hundreds today; I am NOT overjoyed that I made some money - but I AM VERY VERY HAPPY that by following my rules and waiting for my perfect entries I was able to take profit easily and enjoy it.

I was able to know EXACTLY what I would do at any stage if it reversed on me.

It's thanks to your good self and the BD community that I feel that I am now walking on the right path.