Trading Style Overload?

proftradingjourney

proftradingjourney

I want to hone in on one trading style to study and practice with, but there are so many out there and each have their own coolness and edge to them that speak to me. I like CANSLIM and swing/position trading a lot, but then I see futures day trading using candlesticks and different TA analysis, which entices me. Then I see market profile and order flow which is cool and speaks to me too. And then you have option selling which is awesome. Arbitrage pairs trading which looks like another great edge.

Has anyone ever had this problem where they read about so many different styles and methodologies of trading they are overloaded and don't know which one to pick and hone in on? I don't want to be the classic "jack of all trades, master of none", and realize that I'll have to start with something, but how should I evaluate this? The style closest to my personality? Or just raffle them and use the one that was chosen? Lol.

I realize that this game ain't easy and requires a lot of work and practice. Successful traders I have read say the same thing: Don't style drift. Even if you're not profitable with a strategy for some time, it takes time to learn and implement it profitably (could take 6 months to years), so it's better to specialize on one thing and get it right.

This makes sense, but I'd always want to explore other strategies as well, and there's always that possibility that a certain trading style just doesn't suit you. When after sticking with one strategy for some time should you eventually move on to something else? Wouldn't it be better to try many strategies within a certain period (year+) and hone in on the one style where there is more success from the get go?

Preciate any feedback.
 
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Honestly, this is the big void that backtesting fills, you can get an idea (by no means a perfect or even great one), of the edges from the different styles and see which ones you think you can implement better.
 
My suggestion is to learn to read charts in the context of wycoff terminology and then use any tool you find suitable to explore the market phenomenon describe by wycoff approach.
The actual style inherited from your capital size and your goal. If you have small account like 50k and your goal is make a living from this capital I believe you must scalp.
Very good question.
Good luck.
 
Leob said:
My suggestion is to learn to read charts in the context of wycoff terminology and then use any tool you find suitable to explore the market phenomenon describe by wycoff approach.
The actual style inherited from your capital size and your goal. If you have small account like 50k and your goal is make a living from this capital I believe you must scalp.
Very good question.
Good luck.
More...

Wyckoff and Livermore. Two legends of the game. Looking at the market from their lens and using tools suited to one personally to implement their methodology is a great way of looking at it.

Scalping is yet another style that I like as well. Big directional moves are rare, especially on a given trading session. These kinds of moves take time to occur.

But with scalping, more often than not there are small price changes each minute/second that occur, that one can profit from with higher trading frequency. Tough to do though, especially in a discretionary way, but yet another style that has an edge and can be traded.

Thanks and happy trading.
 
proftradingjourney said:
I like CANSLIM and swing/position trading a lot, but then I see futures day trading using candlesticks and different TA analysis, which entices me. Then I see market profile and order flow which is cool and speaks to me too. And then you have option selling which is awesome. Arbitrage pairs trading which looks like another great edge.
More...
So I see you want to become a jack of all trades but master of none. I get it. There's an appeal to that. I used to be one myself. But as my mama used to say, "it ain't what you know, but how you apply it".

Online and offline gurus want to look smart and tend to needlessly overcomplicate things. Trading is not and should not be complicated. You just need to find a PATTERN. That's all there is to trading. Find one profitable pattern and exploit it as much as you can.

Hope that helps.
 
The one that is the most fun, makes the most money per time unit, most consistently with the lowest drawdown and scalable. Liquid, regulated markets only.

It is Trading. Use modern scripting tools, just don't stare at charts like tea leaves in a cup.
 
You need to know your own personality and what you truly want. Nobody can help you there. In case of doubts you can try each trading style for some months and see how they fit with your personality. If not and then move on, if yes then make it perfect and practise a lot. Without experience you do not achieve the status as a master trader anywhere. Practice and Practice.
 
proftradingjourney said:
I want to hone in on one trading style to study and practice with, but there are so many out there and each have their own coolness and edge to them that speak to me. I like CANSLIM and swing/position trading a lot, but then I see futures day trading using candlesticks and different TA analysis, which entices me. Then I see market profile and order flow which is cool and speaks to me too. And then you have option selling which is awesome. Arbitrage pairs trading which looks like another great edge.

Has anyone ever had this problem where they read about so many different styles and methodologies of trading they are overloaded and don't know which one to pick and hone in on? I don't want to be the classic "jack of all trades, master of none", and realize that I'll have to start with something, but how should I evaluate this? The style closest to my personality? Or just raffle them and use the one that was chosen? Lol.

I realize that this game ain't easy and requires a lot of work and practice. Successful traders I have read say the same thing: Don't style drift. Even if you're not profitable with a strategy for some time, it takes time to learn and implement it profitably (could take 6 months to years), so it's better to specialize on one thing and get it right.

This makes sense, but I'd always want to explore other strategies as well, and there's always that possibility that a certain trading style just doesn't suit you. When after sticking with one strategy for some time should you eventually move on to something else? Wouldn't it be better to try many strategies within a certain period (year+) and hone in on the one style where there is more success from the get go?

Preciate any feedback.
More...

You need to focus in on a style that matches you. Different styles are suited for different people. Decide what style fits your personality and hone in on it.

There are so many ways to trade that you can easy become lost. Get in there and focus just make sure your trading plan is written in pencil because there are always detours along the way.
 
Pick one that you think suits your personality and you know for sure there’s edge: that is you see others earning on it.

it’s easy to see guys earning on the trend following as there’s a whole thread dedicated to several honest implementations with candid pmnl graphs.

it’s easy to see that there are quite a few guys with eight figure networths who got there trading options.

There are lots of claims of day traders on here who scratch out a few hundred K/year.

there’s no credible claim of a TA guy earning a living on here.
 
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