Literally with a few minutes of work.
I still remember how I first hit 220 meters (240 yards) with a golf ball because of a simple hack.
It happened when I lived in Portugal, a golf paradise called Algarve. I was never good at golf, and to be honest, I don’t even enjoy it much. But I couldn’t resist the temptation of the beautiful golf-course, so I decided to take a few lessons with a professional PGA instructor.
My only problem was that I had a pretty poor swing and I couldn’t strike the ball far enough.
Whatever I did, I couldn’t get it over 100-120 meters. That was it.
But one day, my PGA instructor analyzed my swing and broke it down into the finest details.
And then he said:
We can fix your distance easily. It is all in the way you flex your wrist.
He corrected my wrist and let me practice the swing without a ball a couple of times.
And then he told me to try again. What happened next, blew my mind:
I hit it over 200 meters!
That was incredible. I could never do that before. Yet, with a surprisingly simple hack, I managed to double my distance in just a few minutes!
And years later, I found the same to be true for trading…
Sometimes a very simple adjustment can make a dramatic difference!
For example, one surprisingly simple hack to improve breakout trading results fast is:
Use different breakout levels with different volatility.
In lower volatility, have your breakout levels closer.
In higher volatility, have your breakout levels further.
I call this concept “volatility bins”. First, I create different bins for different volatility levels. And then I let my breakout strategies trade differently based on the current volatility bin.
It’s very simple, can be implemented in a few minutes, and the results are immediate.
To give you an idea of how this can work, here’s an example from the Smashing False Breakouts program. (In the program, I share all the implementation details for this technique, PLUS fully opened code too).
The “BEFORE” column shows the original strategy performance metrics. The “AFTER” column shows the same strategy after implementing my “Adaptive Volatility Bins” hack.
You can see that EVERY METRIC gets better.
Most of all, the NetProfit / MaxDrawdown ratio, which is the most crucial metric for me:
Source: A screenshot from the “Smashing False Breakouts” program, Module 4.
Here’s a comparison of the equity curves:
Source: A screenshot from the “Smashing False Breakouts” program
As you can see, the improved version of the trading strategy delivers a better equity curve. Less bumpy, smaller drawdowns, and much better performance at the very end of the curve.
So, small hacks can make a big difference.
Happy trading!
Tomas, Andrew and the BTA team
P.S.
Of course, I share many more hacks like this one in the “Smashing False Breakouts” program.
Stop False Breakouts from Destroying Your Trading Account
✓ How false breakouts are the biggest leak of money for breakout traders, including Futures, Stocks, FX and ETFs
✓ How much money false breakouts could actually be costing you – without you even realizing it
✓ A comprehensive deconstruction of timing – enter breakout trades at the right time and stop costly breakout trading mistakes
✓ 4 proven approaches to slashing false breakouts today – stop them from stealing your money and eating all your profits!
