The simplest strategies are usually the most profitable
Hi members so anytime I go online especially on forex factory I always see lots of scary strategies and scary looking charts. If I didnt know better I would have been intimidated into thinking I dont know anything. But yeah, I want to say that I have found the simplest trading strategies are usually the most profitable. What has your experience been?
It's human nature to want to complicate everything so as to feed the ego. Oh look, I have a scarier looking chart than you, oh look not everyone can understand my strategy! I just tell them gtfoh you dont need to shout to be heard!
What strategy do you consider to be the simplest?
Any strategy that you can explain in two sentences (you should be abe to explain your strategy in not more than twenty words)
And it is not that complicted trategies do not work but I just beleive the simpler ones work better. For example in this video the presenter is explaining the Elliot Wave strategy and although it may work, it's implementation will be difficult cos it has too many conditions/rules to be met.
Why kill a fly with a hemmer right? Like you said it is just them feeding their ego because these complex strategies do not necessarily have a higher win rate than the simple ones
Why kill a fly with a hemmer right? Like you said it is just them feeding their ego because these complex strategies do not necessarily have a higher win rate than the simple ones
maybe they invent these complex strategies so they can sell them to other egotistic traders as a course
Most of these complex strategies were designed by hedge funds and meant to be executed by algorithms not humans. But I suspect those who helped design these algo strategies later turn around and start selling them as courses knowing fully well that a basic retail trader cannot execute them within the required margin of error.
Thats why so many retail traders are still unprofitable because you show them a simple strategy and they reject it and prefer to learn the hard one, thinking the harder it is, the more profitable it will be. it is a psychological issue.
Most of these complex strategies were designed by hedge funds and meant to be executed by algorithms not humans. But I suspect those who helped design these algo strategies later turn around and start selling them as courses knowing fully well that a basic retail trader cannot execute them within the required margin of error.
@brenda you mean these complex strategies may be meant for high frequency trading but some people just start selling them as courses to inexperienced traders? Hmm thats serious!
A good strategy must be easy to explain
It must be repeatable on a daily basis (except you are a swing trader)
It must have clear entry and exit points
It should not require you to think before you execute
It should also have limitations (it should not work on every instrument)
Any strategy that you can explain in two sentences (you should be abe to explain your strategy in not more than twenty words)
Really? I don’t think I can explain my current strategy in two sentences. I believe a good strategy is one easy to comprehend and implement.
Dont overcomplicate trading, keep it simple. Your strategy is not the reason you are unprofitable, the problem is you are not consistent and you dont follow the strategy religously. You apply it today and apply a different one tomorrow. Another reason you are unprofitable is risk management, you trade 0.5 lot size today and trade 0.01 lot size tomorrow etc. I beleive even a blind man can make money trading if he follows a set of rules consistently like buy 0.1 lot size every 2pm and exit after 5 minutes.
Trading on a higher timeframe keeps stuff simpler and helps you avoid fakeouts, I am talking daily or weekly timeframes.
Dont overcomplicate trading, keep it simple. Your strategy is not the reason you are unprofitable, the problem is you are not consistent and you dont follow the strategy religously. You apply it today and apply a different one tomorrow. Another reason you are unprofitable is risk management, you trade 0.5 lot size today and trade 0.01 lot size tomorrow etc. I beleive even a blind man can make money trading if he follows a set of rules consistently like buy 0.1 lot size every 2pm and exit after 5 minutes.
I love the second reason you highlighted here. Inconsistency in your risk. This is one major reasons why some people don’t maximize their wins. Your risk must be consistent for all trades if you are going to maximize your wins. Inconsistency in your risk will make you feel like you’re not a profitable trader .
Trading on a higher timeframe keeps stuff simpler and helps you avoid fakeouts, I am talking daily or weekly timeframes.
@liam so if your analysis on a weekly timeframe goes wrong and you sustain a loss, you will have to wait another 1 week to take a trade? trading highframes doesnt work for scalpers
Trading on a higher timeframe keeps stuff simpler and helps you avoid fakeouts, I am talking daily or weekly timeframes.
I truly agree with you. Well, I get my bias on higher timeframe and narrow down to Lower timeframe like 1hr or 30min for entry. That way, i will always have setups to trade.
Dont overcomplicate trading, keep it simple. Your strategy is not the reason you are unprofitable, the problem is you are not consistent and you dont follow the strategy religously. You apply it today and apply a different one tomorrow. Another reason you are unprofitable is risk management, you trade 0.5 lot size today and trade 0.01 lot size tomorrow etc. I beleive even a blind man can make money trading if he follows a set of rules consistently like buy 0.1 lot size every 2pm and exit after 5 minutes.
keep it simple, even when executing your strategy you should not think, execute it like a robot. Do your thinking before you enter a trade. One of the features of a simple trading strategy is that it will not make you think. But when a strategy is overcomplicated, it will be requiring you to think and think
The most consistently profitable approaches are usually simple, but structured.
Why?
Because:
Simple strategies are repeatable
They are easier to execute without emotions
They allow for consistency over time
Meanwhile, complex strategies often fail because:
Too many rules = hesitation
Conflicting signals = confusion
Hard to stick to under pressure