Do you have systems based on the Technical analysis and systems based on Fundamental Analysissystems based on Market Structureand systems based on Math IndicatorsDo you have systems for intradaySystem of swing tradingsystems based on Market Correlationin the Seasonal Cyclesin the Volatilitysystems trendsand systems counter trendsystems based on Group Psychologysystems that react to price and systems that anticipate it, systems based on fractalssystems based on the series of fibonaccito operate on Actionsin Futuresin Optionsin Forex… systems of all colors and for all tastes, and this being the case, the majority of participants lose money in the financial markets. How can that be?
With all this variety, can we think that there is a system that is true, correct, the winner, and that all the others are losers? The answer is no. It is exactly the other way around: there are winning traders regardless of the system. It does not matter the framework in which they work, and the financial product they use, it does not matter what special combination of mathematical indicators they prefer, or what they base their decisions on, because, for each style of trading, for each way of operating, there are traders who there will be winners and traders will lose.
Then, it’s not about the systemIt has nothing to do with finding a magic formula that will make you win. Consistent Traders Are despite your system, no thanks to him. What separates the winners from the rest is the set of habits that they use, that are the fruit of the ideas that support their performance.
This point is very important because, in case you have been trying to be a consistent trader, and you have used more than one system, and you know what it means to lose with one, and lose with another, and you know the frustrating feeling of trying to change a losing system for another system with the same negative result, add a new indicator, a combination different set of rules, and finally see how success eludes you. In that case, perhaps you can reflect on what is truly important in trading beyond the system.
You have to realize that the system cannot be the key to success as there are hundreds of thousands of different systems and any of them can make you money if used properly. If you don’t get it, what you should ask yourself is why.
Traders who consistently beat the market share a number of common factors beyond the system. Some can operate swing trading and others be scalperssome can operate in Forex and others in Actionssome using five-minute charts and other weekly charts, some may make their decisions based on a combination of mathematical indicators and others on a series of price patterns, it doesn’t matter… that’s not what makes the difference or explains their consistency and success.
Traders who beat the market know how to think in probabilities, how to manage the risk of their positions, how to manage their emotional response, how to stay with a statistical advantage without modification, how to use trading policies money management properly, how does a Trading planhow to record your performance… These are the real success factors in professional trading.
It’s not about the system. The system is important only to the extent that it makes you trade with an advantage, but to take advantage of that advantage you need the success factors of trading. They are the true protagonists and are ultimately responsible for whether or not a trader is consistent.