Hindsight trading or deliberate practice?

If all his daily setups, the post market analysis of charts where he marks "easy" entries for longs and shorts in thicker edges, are based on hindsight, how useful can studying those be for real time trading?

Nop, they are absolutely not based in hindsight but as a beginner you have to look at them in hindsight first before being able to spot them in real-time. If not, how would you propose to learn about them? There is no other way.

However, isn't this the exact definition of hindsight trading? 

Nop, because you are not trading but studying. But...

Looking at what you could have done at the end of the day is easy, as hindsight is always 20/20.

... when studying charts (= hindsight) you need to avoid the hindsight bias. If you don't, yes, everything is easy because you know what happened. But it only become easy IF you throw away the other's side case, and this is something you can't do in real-time. Then, to avoid that bias, you have to think reasons why you would not have taken those trades marked by Al, in other words, you have to buid the oppossite side's case because in real-time you will have both in your mind. Once you have both, Al's hints point you out which side was better for beginners (blue-rectangle trades) and when you have studied many charts, at some point you will be trading live and see the same pattern as it develops and will be able to take the trade.

There is no other way to learning patterns that to see and dissect them... Al's daily setups are a huge help for that.

Posted by: @edward-mmxxigmail-com

In a recent video, Al Brooks says something like "Its not enough to just show up every day at the market. If you want to get better, you must put in the hours outside the game for deliberate practice" (paraphrasing). 

No. You have to put in the time... period!

 Before market, after market, DURING the market... whatever you need to do for wherever you are to get to the next level.

He recommends printing the chart at the end of the day and marking trendlines, wedges, unusual bars, writing notes, and just in general thinking about the whole chart and about the trades you could have taken.

In the beginning if you don't know how charts work sure.

After that, perfect entries don't mean much of anything if you can't manage your trades.

Of course you just take the opposite signals right? Duh! Easy.😜

 However, isn't this the exact definition of hindsight trading? Looking at what you could have done at the end of the day is easy, as hindsight is always 20/20.

Yeup. Yeup it is! And once you see it you are influenced by it and CANNOT pretend to unseen it. It is invalid. Not that you can't learn but you can't unsee.

Al's main point was that the more you do hindsight trading (recognising patterns on a printed out chart), the better you will get in real time trading (recognising patterns as they unfold). But what evidence (either anecdotal or scientific) does he or anyone have to support this claim?

None.

Although I am super impressed by certain individuals to emulate Al (Ludopuig), I don't believe analysis equals trading prowess in any such capacity.

I've said before, you could be the best chart analysist in the world...

Doesn't mean you can trade... it just doesn't!!!!

Charting can be taught in a few weeks. Trading takes years!!! (Not like Al doesn't say all this, he does!)

If all his daily setups, the post market analysis of charts where he marks "easy" entries for longs and shorts in thicker edges, are based on hindsight, how useful can studying those be for real time trading?

 

Depends on your level of understanding.

At a certain point they become useless.

They are all entries and say nothing about management or exits.

They will say YES they do!

Those are swing entries and you hold till you get an opposite signal. Look here. It obvious!

It's kinda funny he NEVER, like NEVER, marks a buy at the top or a sell at the bottom. He ALWAYS knows where it going to turn and then starts buying/selling just after it turns.

A MTR COULD be a flag but depends how the day played out. Real time he wouldn't know, he even admits the odds are %40 but look at his end of day markups. He'll ONLY mark that as a MTR even though at the time you'd have no idea and would need to structure a trade that might have won OR lost.

But here's the catch... at the end of the day if the MTR was successful that's the one he marks up for the day. But if it turned into a flag that's what he would marked to have traded that way instead that day.

In his room I room I remember he was alot more about making a case for each but I guess he pointing out the GOOD trade entries.

But I digress, as once again entries are one thing but exits are where you make or loose money.

I don't doubt Dr. Brooks is a world class trader I just find it hard to make sense of it in real time.

I'm pretty sure it's probably my lack of understanding or even more probably MY LACK OF ABILITY to trade like him.

But I find alot of the things are just not my style. I HATE buying above bull bars. I've adapted and I still do but not normally.

But again, I digress because TRADING is FAR MORE about TRADE MANAGEMENT, POSITION SIZING, EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT, EDGE, ect. And NOT looking at entries on past chart that will never happen again. "Close is close enough" as Al likes to say.

We all have to find a way to have FULL CONFIDENCE in YOURSELF when watching PA as if you were trapped in a locked room with no window, doors, or outside influences and had to trade your way out.

As always, just my opinion.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 🎃

A Quote from SandPaddict:

We all have to find a way to have FULL CONFIDENCE in YOURSELF when watching PA as if you were trapped in a locked room with no window, doors, or outside influences and had to trade your way out.

I Freaking Love that Statement.  Absolutely Priceless 

Analysis is performed separately from live trading.

The purpose of analysis is to improve and learn from your mistakes.

It is also an opportunity to author your trading rules, which you follow when you return to live trading.

This is how trading can be different from goi g to a casino and throwing your money down for a cheap but often depressing thrill.

A lot of the comments I read in thise forum are emotional responses, not disimilar to the mindset of a thrillseeker. Al has a patient and studied mind - he is, in my view, not a thrillseeker personality type. Thrillseekers dont understand that. For example they dont have the patience to study the videos, and then analytically apply them after hours. But they can learn. We can all learn, thats why we subscribed to Brooks Trading.

It is hindsight, but that's not the same as hindsight trading. You're looking at the charts, as has been said, to understand how the structure develops. It invariably, repeats and repeats and repeats.

That said, entries are only suggestions. It's all probability anyway. That's the hardest part of trading, as also has been said. Management, Psychology & Risk Control. Humans in general bring bad ideas to trading and then further complicate matters by needing tools they weren't built with to actually do well in trading, as stated above.

I find Al's work to be the most complete I've ever seen. I have critiques, but studying charts is something I do EVERY DAY! I mark my charts up, because I believe that the repetition increases my sharpness - and I've seen that. I'm the most profitable I've ever been by using price action alone. So - it just takes time and you can't buy experience.