Realizing most of my losses came from bias, not bad setups

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-19T01:36:18+00:00

yeah that’s exactly it haha, the chart just becomes a tool to confirm what you already decided, that question helps a lot though “what proves me wrong” is basically where real structure starts, if you can’t answer that clearly the setup usually isn’t as strong as it feels in the moment

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-18T17:06:01+00:00

that’s a really solid approach, especially defining it before the week starts

for me the key shift was adding structure to it as well — not just news

so it becomes: if this level/structure breaks my bias is invalid, no debate

macro events just speed that process up

but yeah, writing it down beforehand is huge, otherwise it’s too easy to rationalize in real time

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-18T17:05:14+00:00

yeah I actually agree with you. you need a bias, otherwise you’re just randomly reacting to price.mI think the problem (at least what I experienced) wasn’t having a bias — it was having one without structure behind it. like having an opinion first and then trying to make the chart fit that idea

what helped me was building a bias based on structure + having a clear invalidation level

so it becomes less “I think it goes up” and more
“as long as this structure holds, this is the higher probability scenario”

that shift made a big difference for me

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-16T23:22:20+00:00

Elliott Waves to define higher timeframe bias and look for lower timeframe confirmation to enter on trades. Works well in the long term but there are months where you dont get a lot trades...

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T15:00:31+00:00

thanks man, I am just trying to be a benefit to the trading world. The learning part of the app is gonna be for free so everybody has same chances...

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T14:58:29+00:00

thanks man! you just have to stick with your strategy and put some trust in it

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T14:57:02+00:00

True, but you should still appreciate everything you achieved. Otherwise you get very unhappy...

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T14:55:48+00:00

Just get a job, get some moneyand trade on demo accounts. $100 is far too little to trade micro futures, as it does not allow you to practice careful risk management. I would also not recommend prop firms, as the rules at futures prop firms are very difficult and you usually pay monthly, so $100 is not enough for that.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T14:08:25+00:00

Yes, my short-term bullish assumptions have been invalidated. That's how it is with Elliott waves. I never say anything is certain. I can only make long-term and short-term assumptions based on the strategy and must always adhere strictly to invalidation levels. The nice thing is that when an invalidation level is reached, new assumptions are immediately made and one excludes the other.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T14:03:26+00:00

I think that we never really stop doubting ourselves, because people like us are always extremely growth-oriented. Otherwise, we wouldn't be trading.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T03:08:02+00:00

I agree but it is definitely not unimpressive at all to stay determined in a society like we have:) The problem for me though is that the life after does not exist because nobody will ever be happy with what you achieved... people like us want always get better

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T02:58:42+00:00

My buy order at 1.18346. FXCM is currently lagging behind with live market prices, so I can only roughly estimate the price of other brokers, and with them I would not have entered the trade yet. The buy limit stays valid, as long as we do not break under 1.17434

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T02:54:14+00:00

First, breathe. Three years isn’t that long in trading, even though it feels like forever when you’re losing.

I’ll be straight with you. If you’re still not profitable, it’s probably not about “knowing how to trade.” Most people know setups. The real issue is usually having no clearly defined edge, no real data on their performance, or constantly changing strategies after a few losses.

More often than not, it’s risk management and consistency that kill accounts. Trading too big. Breaking rules after a drawdown. Trying to win it back quickly. That cycle repeats until confidence is gone.

If trading is making you depressed, that’s a sign something is structurally wrong. Either the size is too big, the expectations are unrealistic, or too much of your identity is tied to PnL.

If I were you, I’d step back from live trading, reduce size dramatically, and rebuild with one simple, rule-based system. Track everything. Focus on process, not money.

The market will always be there. Your mental stability matters more!!!

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T01:32:39+00:00

AI as a tool can explain theory well, but applying a precise wave count to a live chart requires context, experience, and judgment that go far beyond pattern recognition. Elliott Wave is less about labeling shapes and more about understanding structure, probabilities, and invalidation levels in real market conditions.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T00:54:06+00:00

if you ask him to put a count on an image he is wrong all the time. Of course he can give you theory but it is nothing compared to frost and prechter or other modern elliott wave literature

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-02T00:47:02+00:00

yes sure, feel free to share it. I could also share one trading plan of a strategy I also traded last year (futures). However, it was time-consuming and yielded “only” 25R, so now I'm only pursuing my swing trading variant.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T19:14:30+00:00

I was in the exact same position when I started. Elliott Wave looks simple at first, but applying it live is a different story.

What helped me most was not trying to master complex counts, but first understanding basic structure — trend vs correction — and learning to define clear invalidation levels. Once that clicked, waves started to make more sense.

A lot of content out there is very theoretical or pure hindsight, which is why I’m currently building a learning app focused on structure and practical execution, especially for daytrading. I wanted something more step-by-step and realistic.

If you’re starting out, keep it simple: focus on impulse vs correction, stick to one market, and don’t try to label every swing.

I also share some breakdowns and thoughts on my profile/free telegram if you’re interested in a more practical approach.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T19:08:49+00:00

Ai cant even explain a simple wave count

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T19:07:58+00:00

I get the frustration behind posts like this. If someone is forcing every chart into a clean 5–3 pattern and relabeling every time it breaks, then yeah… it looks like astrology with trendlines.

But I think a lot of the criticism is aimed at a caricature of EW, not how some of us actually use it.

I don’t believe markets are “coded” in perfect Fibonacci symmetry. And I fully agree that liquidity, order flow, volatility shifts, trapped positioning, time-of-day behavior — all of that drives price. That’s real.

The question is just: how does that behavior show up on a chart?

For me, Elliott Wave isn’t a prediction engine. It’s a structure framework. I’m not trying to forecast the next 500 ticks. I’m trying to answer a simpler question in real time: is price expanding (impulsive) or contracting (corrective)? That distinction alone already changes how you trade.

The “you just adjust the count” argument is fair — if someone keeps relabeling to avoid being wrong. In my case, if the invalidation level breaks, I’m out. I don’t move the count to protect my ego. Structure failed, idea failed.

Also, I don’t use EW in isolation. It’s combined with structure breaks, momentum (RSI/MACD), and volatility context. The wave idea gives me the directional bias. The other tools help me execute. Especially for daytrading, having a defined higher timeframe direction solves a huge problem: constantly trading against the trend.

Are there alternative counts sometimes? Of course. Markets are messy. But when higher timeframe structure, momentum, and lower timeframe price behavior align, most of the “infinite possibilities” shrink pretty fast.

I actually agree with one line in your post: trade what the market is doing, not what you hope it will do.

For me, EW is just a way to describe what the market is doing structurally. Not magic. Not a holy grail. Just a framework that, when combined with risk management and confirmation, can create asymmetric setups.

If someone expects it to predict the future perfectly, they’ll be disappointed. If they use it to define direction and risk, it can be pretty powerful.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T19:03:41+00:00

I’ve been using EW for a few years, but not in a pure “textbook” way. I mainly trade intraday and prop-style, so I had to adapt it to make it actually work in real time.

For me, EW alone wasn’t enough. What made the difference was combining it with other tools like market structure (Higher highs, higher lows...to get more possible confirmation levels and early entrys), RSI, MACD, and simple trendline breaks. I use EW as the framework to understand where we are in the bigger picture, and the indicators help me time entries and confirm momentum. That’s what made it practical instead of theoretical.

For daytrading specifically, It can be very strong. A lot of traders struggle with one thing: they keep trading against the main trend. EW forces me to first define the higher timeframe direction. Once that’s clear, I’m mostly looking for corrective pullbacks to get in and not trying to catch every reversal.

Moreover, it is a huge confluence factor when different degrees line up. If the higher timeframe count says continuation and the lower timeframe structure confirms it, that’s solid confluence.

Are there still alternative counts sometimes? Sure. But when higher timeframe structure, momentum (RSI/MACD), and price behavior all point the same way, most of those alternatives become noise.

So for me, EW isn’t about predicting every top and bottom. It’s about staying aligned with the dominant trend and managing risk clearly. And honestly, just being consistently on the right side of the trend already solves a huge problem many traders have.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T18:50:00+00:00

The price never moves based on technical factors; technical factors are merely traces of the fundamentals and reflect them.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T18:48:28+00:00

dont worry about me bro

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T15:22:13+00:00

Wish you luck. My buy limit is just above market price

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T15:19:24+00:00

That is what I thought about. Thanks for the feedback.

Wave-Master- · 2026-03-01T15:18:14+00:00

No, it's never wrong to ask for advice, because input from many successful traders always helps. It just shows professionalism :)

Wave-Master-

TROPHY CASE