So you are ready to take trading seriously. You’ve setup your trading station. You have read some books and watched some trading videos. You have saved the capital needed. You have the time to work on your trading game. You know it will take some time to become good. Trading is what you want to do.

Awesome! I love it.

But then like the trader in our community you get stuck:

I’m reading The PlayBook. You were talking about creating my own playbook. As a beginning trader should you focus on looking for 1 A+ setup to get good at and expand as you get better at the plays or should you have multiple A+ setups when you start off?

This depends upon who you ask.  Linda Raschke, trader and trading educator, stresses learning one setup well and then and only then moving to another.  We employ a different approach.  We expose new traders to the different trading strategies working for our top traders, let them experiment, and then choose the setups best for them.

In fact, we have vacillated in what is best teaching our new hires.  We have tried it both ways.  Focusing on one trade until profitability is appealing in that is simplifies the action for the new hire and requires intensive study on a single setup.  This can lead to real progress in a setup.

Here is where we have landed.  Experiment with setups with edge for one week.  Then move to the next setup for another week.  Again, all these are strategies being traded with edge on our desk.  After being exposed to different setups with edge, then build your PlayBook.

Why do we utilize this approach with our new hires?

1) What if you are not good with a first setup and are forced to keep trying to master it?

2) Traders come with unique cognitive, personality and psychological talents.  Mastering one trade before moving on does not allow them to explore what they might be best at first.

3) It is difficult to trade any strategy well when you first begin.  Your skill level is just too low.   Experimenting with different strategies moves the focus to learning more about a best niche for you and away from profitability.

I really like for the new trader to gain exposure to setups with edge, experimenting with them on a demo, finding your niche, and then building your PlayBook.  Take that PlayBook and trade it live, next.  Focus most of your energy trading, measuring and reviewing your PlayBook trades.  Leave some time to expand your PlayBook, with new trades.

I am not suggesting we have the right answer here.  This what works for us, presently.

And heck, maybe if  you ask me this question again in a few years, I may have a different answer.

*no relevant positions