{"id":31310,"date":"2013-09-12T08:48:37","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T12:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?p=31310"},"modified":"2023-04-27T05:59:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T09:59:42","slug":"are-you-flexible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/are-you-flexible","title":{"rendered":"Are You Flexible?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flexibility in trading has to be one of the most difficult concepts to master when going through the learning curve. \u00a0I remember much earlier in my learning process when I was stubbornly committed to a particular trading style that I was learning from a chatroom that shall remain nameless. \u00a0Looking back, the style was complete nonsense but at the time I was convinced it was the way to go. \u00a0So I would take signals and be losing all over the place.<\/p>\n

For example, the trend may be up and I would be taking short signals simply because they appear. \u00a0After getting stopped out many times, I would complain to my father that this technique is no good, meanwhile he would be long. \u00a0Or he would have the ability to let the trade breath a bit. \u00a0I would tell him he was breaking the rules, he would say it\u2019s just being flexible. \u00a0Flexible? \u00a0What is the point of following these rules if you get break them? And when do you break them? \u00a0It was very frustrating to say the least.<\/p>\n

The reality is flexibility in trading comes with experience. \u00a0Rules in trading are not hard and fast, they simply act as guidelines to steer your thinking and the market unfolds. \u00a0This is why following strict rules leads to failure, even for algo traders. \u00a0The rules needs to be monitored and adjusted regularly as market conditions change.<\/p>\n

On top of that, if you are following rules of some kind of strategy that is based on irrelevant ideas related to the market, then you are already setup to fail. \u00a0Before you apply rules, make sure the premise that your rules seek to identify makes sense.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the methodology that we use at SMB, there are no strict sets of rules. \u00a0There is only observing price action, extracting relevant information and then looking to validate setups at predetermined price areas. \u00a0Once a trade is initiated, then management techniques act as a guide. \u00a0We have criteria that help us define setups, trends and validation, but as an experienced speculator, these rules are just to help make sense of the unfolding data series offered by the market.<\/p>\n

When being flexible, you are not adhering to any absolute ideas or opinions about the market. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t matter how sure you think you are, markets change fast. \u00a0A central banker makes a comment and EUR\/USD fires up 150 pips in 5 minutes, but before that it looked as if it were going to zero. \u00a0In order maintain a flexible mindset, you must always accept new information as the market hands it to you. \u00a0You must always be in the present while observing unfolding information in light of recent price action history.<\/p>\n

Having a flexible mindset is more about being a passive listener than an aggressive imposer. \u00a0You cannot impose your will on the market, it does not care what you think or feel. \u00a0You must learn to operate as part of it\u2019s flow, not against it and this not about trend following, it\u2019s about being in harmony with the natural process of the market.<\/p>\n

Being flexible will allow you to adjust to new information as it unfolds. \u00a0This ability helps you maintain an open mind which in turn helps you interpret price action more effectively. \u00a0What happens when you enter a trade and it is giving you a hard time? \u00a0Is there any information that can help you exit that trade before it get\u2019s stopped out for a loss? \u00a0If you maintain a flexible mindset, a lot of the time, there is information present that can help you manage a trade much more effectively. \u00a0This happens because you are making decisions based on pure market information, not irrelevant ideas, preconceived notions or opinions.<\/p>\n

So are you flexible? \u00a0Has this article helped you think of flexibility in a new way? \u00a0I would love to hear your feedback on this topic. \u00a0Please share your thoughts with the community.<\/p>\n

—
\nMarc Principato, CMT,<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Risk Disclaimer<\/a><\/p>\n

*No Relevant Positions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flexibility in trading has to be one of the most difficult concepts to master when going through the learning curve. \u00a0I remember much earlier in my learning process when I was stubbornly committed to a particular trading style that I was learning from a chatroom that shall remain nameless. \u00a0Looking back, the style was complete nonsense but at the time … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1030,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076,2051],"tags":[2693,221,672,1736,1390,2092,2833,1238,1453,2491,56,18,587,653,38,4690,2694],"class_list":["post-31310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marc-principato","category-smb-forex","tag-conventional-trader","tag-emotion","tag-flexibility","tag-flexible","tag-forex","tag-forex-training","tag-market-context","tag-process","tag-psychology","tag-routines","tag-smb","tag-smb-capital","tag-time","tag-trader-training","tag-trading","tag-trading-education","tag-uninformed","no-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\nAre You Flexible? | SMB Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/are-you-flexible\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You Flexible? | SMB Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Flexibility in trading has to be one of the most difficult concepts to master when going through the learning curve. \u00a0I remember much earlier in my learning process when I was stubbornly committed to a particular trading style that I was learning from a chatroom that shall remain nameless. \u00a0Looking back, the style was complete nonsense but at the time ... 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