Most Traders Lose. Few Take This Path.

It doesn't hit you until you experience it.

Imagine you're discovering the first signature trade from the playbook.

Playbook trades go hand in hand with the market's narrative, which we'll cover shortly.

But before that, each playbook trade features signature characteristics making the trade uniquely identifiable.

Yet the reason for grasping this trade first is that it offers an unusually high 'don't-get-hurt' percentage—meaning over 90% of the outcomes fall into three categories:

• You take money.

• You don't take or lose money.

• You have a slight paper cut loss.

A paper cut loss occurs when the initial risk on a trade is reduced to a fraction of that amount.

Once you can identify it, you 'time' your entry to ensure more than 90% of these trades fall into the three categories.

Let’s say it’s Saturday, the market’s closed. You’re walking through how to identify and time your entry into the first signature trade—guided by someone who’s traded it daily for years.

From knowledge to the real-life game

But before placing this trade on your live account, it's essential to confirm you can enter it as covered—during real market conditions. For safety, you use a simulated account.

What happens next?

It doesn't matter if you've been trading for 3, 5, or 10 years—you mess it up.

Why? Because everyone messes up a 'doing' activity in the beginning.

But this signature trade appears every single day—once, twice, or several times—giving you the chance to repeat it.

And with an experienced trader reviewing your progress and giving feedback to steer you in the right direction—you get better and better.

And that's when it hits you

You never truly understood the importance of playbook trades—isolating trading to a specific scenario where there are no shades of grey—just absolute clarity on what the trade looks like and how to trade it.

It's so specific, you rinse and repeat. Competence lives in repetition.

Yet, simultaneously, you make a powerful insight into the trading game—call it an 'ah ha' moment.

If you didn't know the significance of a playbook trade and the process of repeating it until you can trade it successfully...

Imagine how many other traders aren't aware of this—but are attempting to compete with you?

And now you understand why you don't trade to make money—but trade to take it.

You take money from traders who aren't trading with the same level of 'doing' skill as you do.

Now let's look at a chart of trading from today:

At first glance, it might appear overwhelming because you are looking at numerous executions representing various playbook trades.

But amongst all these trades, do you see the 'First Signature Trade'?

The first signature trade is still present because of its high success and safety. It always remains part of your trading arsenal.

But by focusing first on that one playbook trade, you fast-track consistency—because your focus compounds. Spread it across several, and progress slows.

So, in the beginning, a chart view of your trading over the same period would look like the view below. Yes, it's a different-looking chart derived from a different data set.

Opportunities multiply with skill

The more times you take the same trade, the sooner it becomes an unconscious behaviour, freeing up your mental capital.

You recognise this happening because you now notice more of what's happening in the market—now that you're not as mentally consumed with the first playbook trade.

But the difference is—now you're seeing the market from the viewpoint of having gained some refined trading skills—hence, you're noticing more intelligible trading behaviours only specialist knowledge can decipher.

Which brings us to the market narrative.

The 'narrative'

The advanced trading phase involves seeing beyond the lines, numbers and charts to recognise the different characters in the market—including:

degenerative gamblers

poorly skilled traders

highly skilled traders

institutional players

market makers, and

algorithmic and high-frequency players

—based on where and how they trade.

When you know all the different characters, you truly comprehend the story behind the market's movements to act accordingly.

And as you gain unconscious competence in your first playbook trade, second, and so on, your narrative comprehension deepens. Your opportunities multiply with skill.

You can take more out of the market the more you can comprehend the story.

Consider the first chart of trades:

40 minutes of trading, comprehending the narrative, and executing numerous playbook trades—which was preceded by allocating time to the day's game plan.

Then it was time for a break, only to return later in the afternoon to resume:

• Comprehending the market narrative.

• Waiting for the market to align with a daily game plan.

• Executing those signature trades which align with the first two points.

Note: This is an unusual day on which no taxes were paid.

Most trading days include necessary losers—the tax you pay to keep the game exclusive to the minority who consistently take money out of the market. I'll expand on that in the next article.

In the meantime, if this level of structured, feedback-driven repetition is missing from your trading—you’re not seeing what’s possible.

Related: The Framework That Protects You as You Trade