If you are self-studying trading alone, I advise you to read this article thoroughly.

It's not because I have any 'heavenly secrets' but because I know everything you are experiencing now; I have gone through it.

You may have browsed many websites, seen every trading method available, saved dozens of indicators and systems, followed many teachers, and bought a bunch of courses, but you still cannot hold onto stop losses or stabilize profits, and trading remains stagnant.

Only I know that you are neither stupid nor lazy; you may just be on the wrong path.

We seasoned traders with over a decade of experience have gained our knowledge from stepping into countless pitfalls, leaving behind some experience. This includes knowing what not to learn and how to learn quickly, which is the so-called 'shortcut' in trading, and I think it can be well shared.

Today, I will talk about three crucial points in self-learning trading that I believe can help you improve your trading learning efficiency.

The article is quite long; I suggest you bookmark it for reading. If you find it helpful, remember to give it a thumbs up, thank you.

Shortcut 1: Learn only from 'ordinary people who understand trading' rather than 'mythical figures'.

Many people, when first entering the trading field, become obsessed with those 'stories of turning hundreds into thousands or millions'.

Often, people throw around the names of trading giants like Fu Haitang, Lin Guangmao, and Livermore, even changing their desktop backgrounds to their trading quotes. But in reality, this is not learning trading; this is dreaming.

I have encountered such people before; their accounts have long been depleted, yet they still talk about 'principles', 'trends', and 'big logic' in groups. They are not thinking about how to stabilize profits but fantasizing about one day flipping their account in a single trade and becoming famous.

But the problem is, we are not them, because we do not have their era's dividends, their market intuition experience, and we certainly do not have their ability to withstand pressure.

Even if the market is exactly the same in front of you, we cannot achieve their results.

Who should you learn from? Ordinary people.

Those who have genuinely mixed in the market for years, those who can profit steadily every year, who can control their hands, withstand fluctuations, and do not boast or pretend.

For example, I have a friend who used to think about hitting the board and chasing the leading stocks every day, all excited, but ended up losing money year after year.

Later, I shared my grid trading logic with him, and he executed it seriously; now, although he trades slowly, his income has been very stable over the past two years, and he has gained more confidence. His account has recovered, and his mindset has returned.

These are the people we should learn from: they have strong execution, understandable trading logic, and a rhythm we can imitate; their lives are similar to ours; they are not gods but real, reliable, and replicable people around us.

Just like many successful business figures, they like to write autobiographies detailing their decades of experience, but we cannot replicate a 'god' today because times and opportunities have changed; the only valuable reference is their spirit, and trading is no different.

Therefore, we should not be obsessed with myths on our trading journey; learning from 'experts among ordinary people' is the first step shortcut for self-learners to go far and live long.

Shortcut 2: Abandon 'universal indicators' and learn only one set of logic and run through it.

Most traders do not fail due to lack of effort but due to trying too hard.

You might be learning every day, 'optimizing' every day. You try a pile of indicators, change strategies repeatedly; today you find moving averages pleasing, tomorrow you are attracted by RSI, and the day after you suddenly 'feel' the MACD divergence. After going through this cycle, you understand a bit about everything but haven't run through any of them.

This state may seem very diligent, but it is actually the most dangerous.

Because you are not learning; you are trying to 'find the perfect system' to avoid making mistakes and the fear of stop-loss.

I'm not saying you can't learn. Of course, you should learn, but you need to learn with direction and choice.

Trading is like walking; different indicators, cycles, varieties, and logic are like crossroads; if you keep changing directions, you will never reach the destination.

What you need to do is choose a path and walk it thoroughly.

For example, trading logic: Are you going for guess-topping and guess-bottoming trades, or 'trend-following' trades once a trend is established?

Trading cycles: Do you have more time? You can do short-term trades, like 15-minute or 5-minute trades; are you busy at work? Then focus on hourly or daily charts.

Technical indicators: What indicators to use? Moving averages, MACD, Fibonacci retracement, or trend lines?

Trading system logic: Do you prefer to see big and act small? Or to enter at breakouts? Or to enter at pullbacks?

Trading fundamentally revolves around these main standards; as long as you select them well, you can delve deeper into the logic, and though you may encounter some obstacles along the way, all the detours are also part of the correction and refinement process.

After choosing a path, do not look east or west or be distracted.

You don't need to outpace everyone; it's enough to run deeper in one direction than most.

Additionally, remember that there is no perfect trading system; what matters most is finding one that suits you.

Choose an imperfect but handy system, run it through, and then let it become your '70-point weapon'. It doesn't have to be flashy, but as long as you can use it steadily, become familiar with it, and win with it, that's fine.

This is a more practical shortcut than any 'god-level strategy'.

Shortcut 3: During the review process, 'summarize only one thing' each time.

Many traders know about reviewing, but very few do it well.

Because most people do their reviews hastily, just going through the motions, becoming impatient after a few days, and hoping to resolve all variables in one or two days, which leads to nothing being thoroughly reviewed.

What is the purpose of reviewing?

Once we have the logical framework of our own trading system, we face a very realistic question: Can this trading system actually make money? How much can it earn? Can it be executed consistently? Will there be any issues with different market conditions?

If you ask anyone these questions, no one can give you an answer; you can only rely on yourself to 'test' it out, and reviewing is the best shortcut for testing.

However, many people do not do well in reviews, so I want to share an important insight from my own reviewing process: summarize only one thing each time.

A trading system has many questions that need to be confirmed at the same time; confirming which choices are better executed, which choices yield higher profits, which choices make the fewest mistakes, and which choices are more suitable for trading frequency, etc.

It seems like there are '10,000 problems' to solve, but these problems definitely cannot be solved simultaneously, so during reviews, we should study one variable at each stage and solve one problem at a time.

For example, this time only study entry methods. Use the same logic and system conditions to compare three different entry methods, such as support limit orders, reversal candlestick confirmations, and small cycle structure breakouts, then tally which method has a higher success rate, smaller stop losses, and smoother execution.

Keep other conditions unchanged and test this variable. Clarifying this, then reviewing stop-loss methods, studying exit strategies, etc.

By testing each variable one by one and integrating all the best results, you can gradually obtain the best trading strategy.

This is similar to a popular SOP theory in large companies, which is 'standardized processes', breaking everything down and standardizing and optimizing each item, thus improving the overall results – and we can apply this to trading as well.

Also, never be afraid of 'reviewing too slowly' or 'wasting time'.

With the same 10 years of market data, you can definitely review it to optimize your opening standards and review it again to refine your exit strategy.

While this approach may take time, your understanding of market trends will deepen, and some critical movements will leave 'visual memories' in your brain.

When you review enough, systematically, you will suddenly have a sense of familiarity in real combat: I have experienced this market condition, I have seen it, I know how it might behave.

This is the beginning of market intuition.

This sense of 'familiarity', 'muscle memory', and 'pattern recognition ability' cannot be gained just by reading a couple of books or attending a few classes; it can only be developed through extensive high-quality review training.

Ultimately, you will extract a high win-rate pattern that belongs to you from the vast array of market conditions.

When you trade this setup, you have a psychological advantage, accumulated experience, and naturally, it becomes easier to succeed.

This is also the essential difference between trading experts and ordinary traders.