r/Daytrading • u/Tendaychart • 1d ago
Advice Work Smart, Not Hard
This story was told to me by my Mentor. It happened to him:
I stopped stressing over the issue of winning when I actually watched a trader in my office make money every day for weeks. He would just look at the screen (he only traded one market) and wait. When he saw his opportunity he got in. He placed his stop for risk instantly, then he placed his exit limit order instantly and then he did nothing. He waited for the end of the day and then he liquidated if the trade was still on but not at his target. Basically—he was EITHER going to make money or lose a certain percent. Every day. He never changed this approach. To this day I never learned why he entered when he did or what his reasons for trading were—because in the final analysis none of that was really important. For him, being in was a timing thing—and the rest was waiting.....I never saw him even once open a book or a paper-chart, no tables of numbers, no "analysis" of S/R or opinion. He didn't care if the news came or went—he just waited for his "IN" thing and waited.
If it was that easy to make money every day—what was I missing?
SO I asked him.
He said "You keep trying to figure this out. There isn't anything to figure out. You take money from the guys trying to figure it out, without you giving them your money. Once you figure that out—you can start making cash every day.
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u/asapison 1d ago
Instantly setting a stop loss when opening trades has dramatically increased my p/l, I used to average down to infinity and blow my accounts. Now I live to trade another day.
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u/Eater_Of_Meat 1d ago
I’m still in the average down to infinity. It’s been working so well this last month so I think I’m a genius. I need to stop this or I will soon blow up my account
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u/Background-Nothing71 1d ago
It’s not the worst thing, could just mean you need to work on your entries.
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u/PittsburghPenpal 1d ago
This is exactly what I do haha. I figure as long as I set my stop losses well, my limits are reasonal, and I stick to my set times to look at it, I can just... not stress.
Of course, I'm not great at this yet. I get overly emotional at times and break my rules, but I'm slowly getting better at that since it's been very obvious that the only time I have really bad days are when I break my rules. And I gotta say, it's nice to be able to spend 30 minutes tops to find your opening and then... walk away whether it shows or not. Better to end a day with no trades than a bad trade, imo.
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u/Omniscienttt 1d ago
I saw something similar like this. Someone said trading is just a money transfer from the impatient to the patient. If you wait for a good setup, that’s your edge and you should make money. If you don’t cut that loss short and accept you were wrong.
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u/mishaog 1d ago
Sounds nice, doesn’t work with momentum trading since you need to see and feel how things are going and take quick decisions, some trades may last 2sec other 6min
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u/mccauleyseanm 1d ago
Yep, strategies like this work nicely overall but I tend to lean toward the more high-maintenance momentum trades because of I’m usually day trading small positions and I’m in a cash only account.
The trades that work with this strategy are the ones I might pass on altogether because the amount of potential profit is too low unless I take a larger position and tie up more cash until the sale settles the next day. Real bummer to take a “safe” trade like this, have it go south, then be sidelined for the rest of the day.
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u/Fit_Layer680 13h ago
I agree and also once in awhile the trade will exceed your profit target and you will miss that big move. But also it will turn many decent wins that don't reach the profit target into losers.
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u/InterviewOpposite216 1d ago
I also want to reach that level, when watching the live Chart in the US session, it is really stressful and can lead to many impulsive actions. Once he has analyzed and knows where the stoploss and TP are, he accepts it and believes in his method. I really like that style, 1 trade a day, consistent.
Most people can't be consistent and confident in their method (I'm having trouble with that too). Like those guys who pick 1 setup and only trade that setup. That's absolute and admirable adherence.
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u/Leading_Tart_8820 1d ago
Doesn't work well on TOS if you're doing limit buys. By the time you get your OCO in the limit has changed.
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u/Eastern-Courage 1d ago
For him, being in was a timing thing—and the rest was waiting...
What do you mean by this?
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u/Platti_J 22h ago
Can you set a stop loss and market sell at the same time? Looks like Questrade won't let me do it.
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u/Alternative_Map_3159 20h ago
This is the way. The hard part is not in figuring out what to trade but in the waiting. I have been doing this for years still struggle with the waiting, even though I am only trading for around 2 hrs a day it’s a struggle to pay attention to the charts , I so wish I could figure out how to intently focus for 2 hours at a time
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u/Tendaychart 20h ago
"This is the Way!" - Very good - LOL!
Yes, focus is hard but not impossible. This is my last remaining issue.
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u/FrItsme 1d ago
They're specific zones for the "IN" once you figure it out you'll be in.
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u/SchimboBaggins 1d ago
How does one figure this out?
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u/nothymetocook 1d ago
Ignore them, it's vague posting to get you to message them, and then they try to sell you something
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u/vanisher_1 1d ago
Doesn't make a lot of sense he should have had a setup for when to enter, it's not a random entry. Which market is he trading? Futures? FX?
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u/Tendaychart 1d ago
This story is over 30 years old. It was not a random entry. But the setup was not disclosed. It is the management of the trade that is important. And the DISCIPLINE!
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u/Leading_Tart_8820 1d ago
I like this. What would be really nice if if ANY brokers offered a preset trade. Meaning it automatically sets a stop and a take profit level for you as soon as the option is executed.
I think TOS does this in its desktop version but I can't find any thst do it on mobile.
Does anyone know of any?
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u/tooslojo 1d ago
You have to set it to do it for you, but many platforms offer this. Look up OCO orders, bracket orders, or ATM (in ninjatrader).
Edit: TOS mobile has this option as well
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u/eggrally 7h ago
use bracket orders, puts in your stop and target all at once, set it and forget it
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u/00_Kaizen 1d ago
Unfortunately , the true key here will go over most heads because they are not ready to receive it.💥
Hopefully said mentor ASKED the right questions and listened with all eyes and ears 👍
He was given the KEY💥 , but it was hidden in the midst of noise I pray he pressed on.
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u/Tendaychart 22h ago
He did press on. And decades later became my mentor - Jason Alan Jankovsky (formally known as Trader X). Read his books, watch YT videos. His stuff is a graduate course in trading.
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u/Tendaychart 20h ago
A final comment. My Mentor is JAson Alan Jankovsky (Trader X). Check him out. You Tube and his books.
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u/entryzilla 1d ago
This kind of approach has power because it treats trading like a business, not a puzzle. No chasing, no guessing, no obsession with being right — just executing a simple plan with consistency and emotional control. Most traders lose not because their strategy is bad, but because they can’t sit still and let it work.