Strategy & Technical Analysis

Where the real performance gaps actually sit

Strategy and technical analysis represent the part of trading that most people spend the most time on, and, frequently, where the real gaps in performance sit. The challenge isn't usually that a trader doesn't know what a moving average is or what a head-and-shoulders pattern looks like. It's that they haven't built a strategy with genuinely defined entry criteria, a tested edge, and position sizing rules that survive a losing streak without depleting their capital.

Technical analysis is a lens, not a prediction machine

Technical analysis is a lens for interpreting price behaviour, not a prediction machine. The same indicator produces different outcomes in different market conditions, which is why traders who memorise patterns without understanding the underlying market structure they're supposed to reflect tend to plateau at the same level of inconsistency. The questions in this section are written for traders who have moved past the basics and are working through the harder problems: how to develop a strategy that holds up across different market conditions, how to evaluate whether an edge is real or a product of selective memory, and how to execute consistently when the market is actively testing your discipline.

Timing and instrument considerations for SA traders

For South African traders, there are specific timing and instrument considerations that shape which strategies are practical. The London-New York session overlap from approximately 15:00 to 17:00 SAST offers the most reliable liquidity on major forex pairs. The rand's known sensitivity to domestic political and economic events creates recurring volatility patterns on USD/ZAR that differ from the relatively smooth trending behaviour of major cross-currency pairs.