A performance-driven game centers around increasing power, efficiency and control.
The goal is to get the best score you can get.
Examples: Swimming, archery, golf.
While these games are often played in the context of a tournament, there’s actually no need for the contestants to be competing at the same time. Each swimmer/archer/golfer can simply have their individual ‘runs’ scored and then compared to determine the winner. (Of course, this wouldn’t be nearly as fun, but that’s besides the point.)
The point is that one’s performance in such games is not directly affected by the actions of other contestants.
In performance-driven games, the winning approach is one dimensional; It’s all about maximizing power, endurance, efficiency and/or accuracy. No gameplay strategy is required.
A different type of game
A competitor-driven game centers around defeating the strategy of other contestants.
The goal is to beat your competitors.
Examples: Soccer, poker, business.
In competitor-driven games, absolute score is not as important as relative score. It doesn’t matter if your soccer team scores 10 goals if the opposing team scores 11.
So your score itself isn’t actually important; What’s important is that your score is better than your competitor’s.
The other thing about competitor-driven games is that your performance is directly affected by the actions of the opposing player/team. How they play affects your performance, and vice versa.
As such, the winning approach is to understand your competitors’ strategy and outmaneuver them.
Unlike performance-driven games, competitor-driven games are multi-dimensional. There is no single way to win, no single metric to optimise for.
Which game is trading?
Trading is more of a competitor-driven game. The market is, after all, populated by speculators who are all looking to generate a return at the expense of someone else.
If you’re struggling with trading, maybe it’s because you’re treating it like a performance-driven game rather than a competitor-driven game.
Think about it.
How much do you know about your competitors’ strategies?
Does your strategy take theirs into account? Or are you just drawing lines on a chart and hoping for the best?
Perhaps, the best way to get better at trading is to stop trying to “improve” your strategy and to start understanding how your competitors play the game.
Wonderful analogy………..
Yup–trading is pretty much a zero-sum game, my wins are your losses and vice versa.
Chris,
I just took your advice and think I learned how to look in the past to figure how to use set-ups. The previous supports and resistance seems to be a key factor for entrance on a trade for large moves? One is looking for over 50 pips plus moves and keeps moving your stop for saving your draw downs?
Harry Moore
Your video 10-16-20
Hi Harry, it’s difficult for me to give my opinion because it depends on many factors. Feel free to drop me an email with specific examples and we can have a conversation there. Cheers.
Chris,
The chart on all USD pairs looking at the week,day,or the 4hr. and 1hr. each one gives a wider view of where resistance and support have been. Looking for the break through in either direction how many candles would someone wait to enter?
Regards,
Harry Moore
Hi Harry, there is no fixed answer and it would depend on the principle behind the trading approach. If you have any further questions about this feel free to drop me an email about it.
CHRIS,
Excuse my ignorance how can you follow your competitors game plan?
REGARDS
SEV
Hi Sev,
As you might imagine, the answer to this question is not a simple one. A good first step would be to read widely about macro investment funds, high freqency trading firms, and everything else in between. This will give you an idea of the various ways the big players view, think about, and approach the markets.