The Beauty of the Simple Approach

Editor's Note: Gary B. Smith will be back with his regular column on Tuesday morning. Today he's revisiting a past column that strikes to the core of his trading style. This column originally ran on RealMoney Sept. 1, 2004.

In a recent column, Jon Markman highlighted The Psychology of Trading as a valuable resource. Let me add to that list: Mass Psychology, The Disciplined Trader, The Mind of a Trader, and Trading to Win.

And since they're so closely related, a few golf books of similar ilk: Golf: The Mind Game, The Tao of Golf, Zen Golf and anything by Bob Rotella.

These are all valuable resources. And all fairly worthless.

Yes, after reading all those books, plus others too numerous to mention, I've come full circle on this whole psychology of trading (or golf) aspect and have boiled down successful trading to a few key elements.

One, have a method that can make money in most types of markets. Or at least a method that keeps you out of markets where your method isn't suited.

Two, stick to the method.

There, that's it. Honestly, there's nothing fancy about it. Yes, the second facet can be difficult, but that is something learned through experience and success. You don't need to "visualize the trade," "take time to clear your mind" or even "be the ball." No, you just get a plan and stick to it. Everything else is just mumbo-jumbo.

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