Avoid the Misery of Failure? Knowledge is Not Enough!

Man, you know it! In a crowd, you sound like an expert; but, the end of month statements tell the true story, they show a sea of red!

Does that describe your trading experience? If so, read on…….

I was recently in Thailand to do a gig for the CME. The attendees were a great crowd – attentive and responsive. Part of the course involved a test to see how much they had absorbed. I’ve found that it’s very hard to shake off old habits and beliefs. The knowledge the conscious mind takes in is rejected by the unconscious.

Part of the entry process I teach is:

• Identify the trader’s timeframe trend. Ask continuation or change? The answer provides the strategy.
• For entry always consider both the ‘breakout’ and ‘the dip’ strategy.

I separated the class into two groups. One group could do whatever it wanted; the other had to apply the course lessons. The trade was a day trade.

The chart below shows the SET at the start of the day.

The first group scalped – going short three or four times for a point here and a point there. The second assessed that the downtrend for the day had done its dash. They looked to buy a retest of the lower boundary of congestion – a retest that never came. They totally failed to consider an upside breakout.

The chart below shows what happened.

So what’s my point?

The group was a fab group, yet they were unable to take advantage of the opportunity the market presented on the day. And, that’s what I mean when I say that ‘knowing is not enough’.  You have to also be able to spot the opportunity and then apply the knowledge.

This means, of course, that just attending a seminar/webinar will not of itself give you the success you are looking for. You need to integrate the knowledge so it becomes a skill.

I credit Pete Steidlmayer with turning my trading around. It took me nine months of trading before I was able to say – I can apply the Profile profitably! Nine months of recording and reviewing trades to see what I could learn from them. Nine months well spent.

Had I known about Deliberative Practice, I’d have turned the corner much sooner.

How about you? What form of practice do you engage in? Do you have a program for improvement? Care to share?