A lot of traders spend their whole weekend backtesting
And still show up on Monday with nothing to show for it
Not because they didn't put in the hours
Because they backtest the wrong way
Here's how to do it right ⤵️
1. Write your rules down before you open a single chart
If a rule can't be written down, you're not testing it, you're guessing
2. Test every setup, not just the pretty ones
Skipping the ugly ones is how you fool yourself
They're where the real results are
3. Don't test on the same charts you built your rules on
Build your rules on one period
Then test them on a period you haven't looked at
If it only works on the first one, it doesn't work
4. Look at the trades, not just the numbers
Pull up 10 of them and ask: would I actually take this ?
I did exactly this on almost 4 years of data recently
It humbled me, and it made my model better !!
Backtesting isn't about proving your model works
It's about finding out where it DOESN'T
Save this for your weekend study 📚
Everyone wants the profitable version of themselves
Very few are willing to bury the old one
The trader who takes every setup he sees
The one who moves his stop "just this once"
The one who doubles up to win it back
The one who trades because he's bored
That trader has to die
For the consistent one to show up
And it hurts
Because that version feels like you
It's comfortable
It's familiar
It's who you've been for years
But you can't carry him into the next level
He's the reason you haven't reached it yet
Every rule I follow today
Is a habit I had to let die first
You want the reward without the sacrifice ?
Even heaven demands death !!
What habit are you burying this week ?
Everyone wants the profitable version of themselves
Very few are willing to bury the old one
The trader who takes every setup he sees
The one who moves his stop "just this once"
The one who doubles up to win it back
The one who trades because he's bored
That trader has to die
For the consistent one to show up
And it hurts
Because that version feels like you
It's comfortable
It's familiar
It's who you've been for years
But you can't carry him into the next level
He's the reason you haven't reached it yet
Every rule I follow today
Is a habit I had to let die first
You want the reward without the sacrifice ?
Even heaven demands death !!
What habit are you burying this week ?
I stopped second-guessing my entries the day I gave each timeframe ONE job
Before that, every chart told me something different
The Daily said buy
The H4 looked like a sell
The M1 looked like whatever I wanted it to be
It wasn't the market confusing me
It was me asking every timeframe the same question
Now each one has one job ⤵️
1. Daily: where is price likely to go?
That's my bias for the day
If I can't answer it, I don't trade
2. 4H: where will it react?
I mark the structure and the HTF reference points I want price to reach
No level, no trade
3. M15: when do I get in?
Inside the London or New York killzone, after the inducement is taken
That's where my entry and my stop come from
I never drop lower to "confirm"
And I never go higher to talk myself out of a valid entry
Three timeframes
Three questions
Three answers
When you stop asking the M1 what the Daily already told you
Trading gets a lot quieter !!
Save this for your next session 📚
I stopped second-guessing my entries the day I gave each timeframe ONE job
Before that, every chart told me something different
The Daily said buy
The H4 looked like a sell
The M1 looked like whatever I wanted it to be
It wasn't the market confusing me
It was me asking every timeframe the same question
Now each one has one job ⤵️
1. Daily: where is price likely to go?
That's my bias for the day
If I can't answer it, I don't trade
2. 4H: where will it react?
I mark the structure and the HTF reference points I want price to reach
No level, no trade
3. M15: when do I get in?
Inside the London or New York killzone, after the inducement is taken
That's where my entry and my stop come from
I never drop lower to "confirm"
And I never go higher to talk myself out of a valid entry
Three timeframes
Three questions
Three answers
When you stop asking the M1 what the Daily already told you
Trading gets a lot quieter !!
Save this for your next session 📚