But then how do you make money? SIMPLE. You predict volatility of the market.
Okay work with me. You got a trading strategy, it works great in backtests, but then it stops working when forward testing. WHY?
Simple: the volatility changed.
Simply put, to have a successful trade plan you need to predict volatility. Without being able to predict volatility, you WILL fail. This is the single most important ingrediënt of trading. i might be overexagerating here but just want to say it's very important
Exhibit A:
Now what do we see here? Support and Resistance in volatile times. This is a different market condition compared to exhibit B
Exhibit B:
These is S&R in less volatile times.
WHATS THE DIFFERENCE?
Watch closely, I will explain.
Look at the candlestick bars in Exhibit A. They slice through support and resistance like a knife through butter. Look at exhibit B. Support and resistance HOLDS.
What does this tell us? A strategy based just on support and resistance will not work!!! Because of the volatility that is different in the past.
Exhibit C:
Traders watch news events closely? Why? Because of volatility! They don't know it yet, but they are using an advanced trading strategy. They are using the knowledge of news events to predict volatility! They look into the future and realize a time when their strategy is not functioning optimal, and they ADAPT with a volatility GAUGE.
Conclusion:
If you create a strategy that is profitable, but doesn't have a volatility gauge, it is doomed to stop working one time in the future. Every trading strategy need a volatility gauge. This is the (semi-) holy grail of trading. Predict volatility, then you don't need to predict the markets. I hope you have all learned from my epiphany.

I never knew taking walks outside could be so productive.
