Choosing Your Trading Strategy for 2026
Choosing Your Trading Strategy
Finding What Actually Works for You
Most traders don't struggle because they don't know enough strategies.
They struggle because they're chasing too many at once... or forcing themselves into approaches that just don't fit who they are.
This session cuts through that. We look at how to match strategies to your actual life. Your schedule. Your personality. What frustrates you. What you're naturally good at.
And why mastering one thing beats being average at several.
The Two Rabbits Problem
There's a Chinese proverb: "Man who chases two rabbits catches none."
In trading, this is brutally true.
Better to have one strategy you're an expert at than multiple you're average at. Because average is rarely profitable in this game. The standard to clear is too high.
You can be average at many things in life and do just fine. Trading isn't one of them.
So this session breaks down why committing to mastery of one approach—before layering in others—is the fastest path forward. And how to avoid the trap of spreading yourself too thin.
Matching Strategies to Your Real Life
You could have the best backtested strategy in the world.
But if it triggers while you're asleep... or conflicts with your work schedule... it's useless.
Operational reality matters.
We cover how to choose strategies that actually fit your time zone. Your work commitments. Your available capital. Your family life.
"I could trade it" isn't the same as "I will trade it."
And being honest about what's realistic? That's the first step to building something sustainable.
Working with Your Personality, Not Against It
Can you handle ten stopouts in a row?
Do multiple break-evens frustrate you?
Does holding overnight positions keep you awake?
Look... rather than trying to force yourself into a strategy that conflicts with who you are right now, this session explores how to build around your personality type.
If taking losses drives you mad, design for high win rate.
If you struggle to hold trades, focus on quick A-to-B setups.
You can develop new skills over time. But why make things harder than they need to be while you're building consistency?
Time-Tested Methods with Your Unique Edge
Profitable strategies usually combine something that's stood the test of time—pullbacks in trends, mean reversion in ranges, opening range breakouts—with a unique edge you bring to it.
Maybe it's waiting for a specific tick index trigger.
Maybe it's only taking the setup when higher timeframe context aligns.
Maybe it's reading tape pauses on exhaustion moves.
The core concept has efficacy... but your "special sauce" is what turns it into something tradeable and profitable for you.
Discretion vs. Rules: When to Trust Your Judgment
So if you're working on discipline—sticking to daily loss limits, not oversizing, following your plan—then yes, tighten up the rules.
But once you can stick to a plan?
The best traders have guidelines that steer them in the right direction... then apply judgment to execution.
Markets throw up scenarios you can't backtest for. Gold's six-sigma event. Unexpected volatility. Unique context that doesn't fit the template.
Your intuition, built from screen time and experience... that's where real alpha lives.
This session explores how to bake flexibility into your approach without abandoning structure entirely.
Building Complementary Strategies That Don't Compete
If you're going to run multiple strategies, they should complement each other—not create decision paralysis.
Example: you're a momentum trader at the open, looking for first pullback setups. That's clear. You're never fading the open.
Your job is to assess: does this have the criteria for my momentum play? Yes or no.
Later in the session, maybe you trade mean reversion back to VWAP. Different part of the day. Different mindset. Different execution.
You're not flip-flopping between "should I buy the pullback or short the reversal?" in the same moment.
Each strategy has its window... and you're not forcing yourself to switch context when it matters most.
How to Know When a Strategy Is Mastered
You don't need perfection.
But you do need proof it's weathered different conditions.
A good strategy does well, then weathers the storm without giving too much back, then comes back again. You want to see it handle different regimes—not just feast and famine cycles that blow up on one bad day.
When you're comfortable that it's working... that you understand its edges and limitations... and that you could risk a bit more or add another strategy without spreading yourself too thin?
That's when you've earned the right to diversify.
Until then, depth beats breadth.
Why Strategies Don't Last Forever
Market conditions evolve.
Algo footprints change. Volatility regimes shift.
What works beautifully for six months might stop working entirely.
The session covers real examples of strategies that had their moment—lagging mining shares, spotting early algos on the order book, clean bear flags during crude selloffs—and why even great setups eventually lose their edge.
The key isn't finding something that works forever.
It's building the skill to recognize when conditions have shifted... and being willing to adapt.
What You'll Take Away
Whether you're still exploring different approaches or refining what's already working, this framework helps you:
- Choose strategies that actually fit your life and personality
- Master one thing properly before adding another
- Build in discretion without losing structure
- Recognize when market conditions have changed
- Avoid the trap of over-optimization and constant tinkering
- Develop judgment and intuition that compounds over time
This isn't about finding the "perfect system."
It's about building something sustainable—not just theoretically profitable, but actually tradeable in your real world, with your real constraints, by the real version of you sitting at the screen.