I have found that I'm better at trading when there is momentum in the market. Therefore, I prefer the pullback setups (FB, DD, SB and BB). I still take the setups that require buildup (RB, ARB and IRB) but I'm just not as good at trading them. For this reason, I have tightened up my entry criteria for the buildup setups, and I am very picky when trading them. I think that there are a few reasons why I struggle with the buildup setups...
1) It's harder to weigh up the overall pressure.
2) The market is not moving as much so I start to doubt that the move required to carry my trade to its target will emerge.
3) The setups are often more subtle and are difficult to spot. This is more applicable to the IRB setups than the other two.
4) These types of setups usually require a slightly larger stop. Although, for the very best setups this is not always the case.
Since studying Bob's method I have learnt that you don't need to try to replicate the way Bob trades exactly. Bob is an experienced trader and is obviously extremely skilled. It will take us years to get to his level. You just need to understand his concepts and try to apply them as best as you can. Over time you will get better and better. It's important to keep a log of every trade you take and keep track of what types of setups you're trading. You can then analyse that data and see what your strengths and weaknesses are. Once you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, you can either focus on trading to your strengths, or you can study and practice at improving your weaknesses.
This is a sensible comment. I agree with most of it. I like Rbs because most of them just ask to be traded and I have the time to prepare myself, to asses the proper TPT, the possible outcomes, etc. With IRB, I dont get to asses all of these, I obviusly get to see the block that forms it, but from that to calculate the possible outcomes, the possible point where the follow through may lack, (7 pip in example) there is a great difference. That I cannot do at this point, IMO, it requieres experience. Giorrgi mentioned the FBs, latetly I have been thinking about those, I dont take them at this point because in my opinion, it takes lots of work to spot a good RB or DD or ARB, just to lose that hardowork and money in a matter of seconds with a false FB, now that I think about it, FB might even requiere more XP than IRB, and its faster than IRB, and because of the power of the bars, it usually will have a big stop as well. Conditions are exceptional, like BLS mentioned.
Regarding Virtuesoft's comment, I agree, that is all about keep learning, and profiting at the moment out of the setups we are strong with, while keeping an eye on those that gives us trouble these days. Im even experimenting with new setups of my own, based on the concepts of Mr. Bob. Those (similar situation to IRB, FB) I dont trade, I just observe, and reharse and experiment, like Mr. Bob mentioned on the last page of U. Conditions chapter.
