Lately I have realized that most avoid operating in ranges at all costs. Everyone wants "clean trends", "clear breaks", etc. But does the market really move like this most of the time? It won't be that many avoid ranges because they don't know how to operate in them and prefer to justify it by saying it is "noise"?
I have been operating exclusively in ranges for three years and the profitability is not only constant, but the drawdown is very low. Of course, it is not as glamorous as catching a breakout of 200 pips, but if you add 15-20 pips daily with controlled risk, what else do you want? Consistency does not come from guessing the movement of the day, but from having a solid structure.
Finally someone opens this melon! Whenever I comment that I operate on lateralizations, the reaction is immediate rejection. It seems that many want action, adrenaline and giant candles, but that�s more casino than trading. If you know how to map well supports and resistances and manage risk, ranges are a gold mine.
A gold mine? Rather a swamp. Ranges are the cemetery of impatient traders. You may have a thousand theories, but spread, indecision and manipulation eat you alive. I would rather expect a good break than go fishing crumbs between traps.
The problem is not the range, it is the trader. If you enter late, without validating structure or without taking into account the liquidity, of course it will go wrong. But that applies both in trend and consolidation. Blaming the market for a bad execution is a rookie.
The funny thing is that all the technical analysis books teach you to detect ranges, draw channels, and take advantage of them, but when someone actually operates them, they call them suicidal or micro-moving traders.
What happens is that rank demands patience, and that's a virtue most people don't have. Instead, seeing a giant candle and getting on the train gives them that illusion of control. Of course then come the sweeps, the hunted stops and the excuses.
It's very easy to speak well of range when you're in demo. In real, ranges become minefield. Brokers with variable spread, fake breaks, low volatility... everything plays against you. If you succeed in real ranges, my respects. But don't sell me smoke.
I understand you, but what you say applies to any kind of environment. In a strong trend there are also misleading setbacks and manipulation. The secret is to have clear rules to enter and leave, not to depend on the type of market.
What bothers me is not the range itself, but many operate it without context. Seeing a range in M5 means nothing if in H4 there is a clear trend. That lack of temporal alignment is what kills accounts, not the range itself.
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