One of the traders I coach sent me a follow-up email recently after our daily live trading session.
They brought up something I said during the stream that really stuck with them — and it’s worth sharing here.
Here’s what they wrote:
“You mentioned your analysis suggested the market was going to go higher, but you weren’t going to take the trade.
You said: ‘There is a difference between having a view of the market from an analytic perspective, and then determining whether or not the risk to take that trade is going to align with your analysis.’
And because the target was just 1:1, you said it wasn’t good enough to justify taking the trade.”
A few minutes later in the session, I echoed the same thought in a slightly different way.
I explained that while my analysis did point to a bullish move (which ended up playing out), the risk-reward profile just wasn’t compelling enough.
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However, to a newer trader, that might sound strange.
Why skip a trade when your analysis says it’s likely to work?
But here’s the truth, – and it’s one of the most important lessons in trading:
I’d rather be a disciplined analyst than an undisciplined trader.
There are plenty of times when the market will do exactly what I think it will.
But if the risk doesn’t justify the potential reward? I don’t bite.
Because in this game, you don’t get paid for being right.
You get paid for structuring trades where the upside meaningfully outweighs the downside, and for executing those with consistency.
That’s the real edge. I learned this through Auction Market Theory, and if you’re still trading based on patterns alone or relying on lagging indicators, you’re missing the deeper layer – the layer that actually explains why price moves.
It’s not just analysis — it’s the alignment between analysis and execution that separates professionals from gamblers.
So remember:
Sometimes, the best trade you’ll ever take… is the one you don’t.
See you in the next one.
Imre Gams
Editor, The Trading Room
