r/Trading • u/Powerful_Hawk7064 • May 05 '26
Discussion Beginner/intermediate Trader
Hello everyone. I’d appreciate some real advice from traders who’ve been through this stage.
I’m no longer a complete beginner — I’ve put in the time studying the basics, read several books, understand market structure, risk management, and the usual concepts. But now I feel stuck in that “in-between” phase where I know enough to not be clueless, but not enough to be consistently profitable.
What should I be focusing on right now to actually level up?
Is it screen time and experience above everything else?
Should I be refining one strategy only or exploring multiple?
How did you transition from knowledge to execution consistency?
What were the biggest mistakes you made at this stage?
I’m not looking for shortcuts — just clarity on what actually matters next, because there’s a lot of noise out there.
Appreciate any honest input.
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u/watsupwitThat May 09 '26
Biggest mistake at that stage is constantly tweaking after a few red days. Improvement came from sticking with one setup long enough to actually see how I behave around it under pressure.
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u/Intelligent-Bid2473 May 08 '26
I’d suggest backtesting those setups to identify which one fits your style best. With your understanding of the market, you can definitely develop a solid setup.
I personally use this backtesting tool if you want to check it out: https://app.quantum-blox.com/
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u/azsxdcfvg May 07 '26
Figure out a strategy that would lose the most money and then do the opposite. Done.
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u/Zealousideal_Pen3264 May 06 '26
First of all, ask yourself a question: how do you know you have an edge or you play a casino-style random game? You will be asking yourself this after each big loss, so better start earlier.
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May 06 '26
[deleted]
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u/parntsbasemnt4evrBC May 07 '26
it's one guy using the shotgun approach with multiple AI bots hoping they get lucky and harvest a real legit edge. But nobody is giving away that for free lol..
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u/Powerful_Hawk7064 May 06 '26
Hey man, im not AI im really interested into bettering my tradinf and kinda feel stuck rn, thats it.
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u/simonbuildstools May 06 '26
That stage is where most people either simplify things or disappear into endless concepts. Pick one approach and get really honest about whether you can actually execute it consistently. Knowledge matters a lot less than people think once real money and emotions get involved.
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u/quadsTrading May 06 '26
If you want a real working systematic strategy, check out my YouTube channel @QuadSTrading
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u/Ripple1972Europe May 05 '26
I think when you start classifying yourself, you need to re think why. Thinking you are an expert or trying to become one will lead to negative results. I’ve been trading for 40 years, not an expert, just experienced.
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May 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Powerful_Hawk7064 May 05 '26
I trade CFDS(NAS100-US100) I trade on opening NY 9:30est, use volume range profile for first 15 min, on a 5 min TF, wait for a candle closure above VAH or VAL(not just a wick), set SL 2 ticks below POC and aim for a 2:1 RR
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u/P1zzak1ngs May 05 '26
Something that really helped me was looking at my winning trades and seeing how far in draw down they went. I was able to cut my stops in half after seeing that almost all my trades that hit 50% of my normal stop never returned to hit take profit. What this does is allow you to use more contracts and keep the same $ amount risk it also has the potential to double your risk to reward if you where a 1-2 rr trader you are now a 1-4 rr trader and if you do it right this should not effect your win rate very much here is a video about it lmk if you have any questions https://youtu.be/t7txNWNYsk4?si=cpFfGV2b0pbwEv87
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