Along your trading journey, you will learn several trading ideas and concepts that seem to work every so often, but fail to work again almost every other time. It can be difficult and frustrating when you have done your “homework”, paid your dues in time, energy, discipline, review and continual studies but you still can’t seem to make consistent profits.

When you view the trading concepts in isolation, it is very difficult to see how all these little bits and pieces fit into the overall trading picture.

You have to learn the skill of being able to zoom out to see the big picture (longer term charts), then zoom in to the small picture (more recent candles, bars, etc). After you spend enough time observing the charts, you will start to realize that certain market behaviors repeat themselves over and again.

When you see a certain chart pattern forming, you will be able to recall from your memory that this pattern most likely can span out in 2 - 3 ways. And you start to be able to anticipate what could happen in the market, yet giving leeway because you know there are more than just one possible outcome.

This ability and feel for the market doesn’t come overnight. It’s developed from time spent in front of the charts, dissecting trading systems, theories, concepts and putting them together in different ways to see if they make sense.

The Study of Technical Indicators

Each class of technical indicators were essentially designed to tell the trader similar results. Some came in faster, others came in slower. But if you wanted to get the slower indicators to be more sensitive, a trader could manipulate it by decreasing the time periods captured in the technical indicators.

Did studying technical indicators help?

It took me a while to realize that each class of technical indicators told me the same story. Chasing technical indicators wasn’t going to improve my trading, because they were based either on price or volume.

What was more important was combining different indicators that told me the current story from different angles.

• Some indicators would tell me if the trend was getting stronger or weaker.
• Some indicators would tell me if markets were currently overbought or oversold.
• Other indicators would tell me what the current trend was.
• Some patterns of technical indicators would help me identify if the current trend had a strong possibility of reversing.

Technical indicators certainly helped, because they are useful tools to capture past market behavior on the charts. But alone, they will not be able to help you become a consistently successful trader.

Expanding Your Trading Toolbox

It takes time to expand your trading toolbox. Various concepts from Elliott Wave, Fibonacci, Chart patterns, candlesticks and so on do require time and experience to develop the skill necessary to use them. Just like any other high level profession.

There are several trading systems that work in trading the forex markets, like the 5EMAs Forex Trading System. As you learn to trade these systems, don’t just trade them blindly. Ask yourself why do they work? Why don’t they work?

As you take apart these systems, you come to realize that there are many trading systems that can and do work. But just as each are suitable for specific market types, they fall apart in other market behaviors.

To be a good trader, you do require experience to have the discretion of knowing when to trade, and when to stand aside. And as you steadily expand your trading toolbox, you become more proficient, more nimble and you increase your ability to trade in almost any and every market in the world.

The trading world truly becomes like your personal cash dispensing machine.