The point of his comment was that most traders endlessly (and fruitlessly) hunt "setups" to trade. More importantly they hunt setups with no pause or consideration to the context within which those setups are applied. I think he rightly points out this inherent characteristic in most of us and our seeming inability to take a step back and recognize this. So i've decided to make a concerted effort to add more context into my setup. However, I need to apply that context in a way that suits me.
If you've been following my progress (or lack thereof) for any amount of time you'll know that I like a solid trade plan and a rule set for my setups. I'm not the type of trader that thrives on just clicking orders in to the market off of feel and read and managing the outcome. However, I recognize that this attribute has also been a detriment to my trading success in some instances. For now I want to compromise with Ziad's assertions and my own personality and meet somewhere in the middle. This means adding context, but in a way that I can quantify, even if in some basic and rudimentary way.
The one setup i've been working on is nothing more than a minor pullback in a major trend. That statement alone requires more context in the setup than i've ever traded with before. It means I need to identify a MAJOR TREND. Not just any wiggle, not a range bound market, not some oscillator extreme. I need a logical read on the market that identifies only a major, almost spastic trend to jump on. For now if that means using 1 moving average on my chart to help my eyes see not only momentum but the strength of that momentum (how far price is pulling away from that moving average or falling back towards) then that is a layer of context, albeit basic and rudimentary context, that I can use in my favor.
That small bit of context is also something I have never applied to any of my trades. A trade was a trade was a trade and it didn't matter where on the chart it occurred, I didn't even look at how defined a trend was, or how much strength there was in a trend. While i'm sure many (probably including Awais & Ziad) wouldn't see this measure as the true extent of Ziads post it remains a start.
Baby steps folks... baby steps.
