Fairman wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2026 7:38 pm
In all my years of experience in trading, I have come to realize that there is only one strategy in forex trading
The strategy is called “THE PROFITABLE STRATEGY”
The Profitable Strategy is really just “whatever style you’ve actually put the reps into.”
I see so many people bouncing between scalping, swing trading, SMC, ICT, whatever’s trending on YouTube that week and wondering why nothing sticks. Meanwhile the guys quietly printing are usually just… doing one thing, over and over, for years, until it’s second nature.
Some of the main flavors people run with:
- Scalping – in and out in minutes, need nerves of steel and a high win rate
- Day trading – close everything before the day ends, no overnight surprises
- Swing trading – hold for days/weeks, chill way to catch bigger moves
- Position trading – zoom way out, think weeks/months, more about the bigger picture than candles
- SMC/ICT stuff – trying to trade where the “smart money” is moving liquidity
At the end of the day none of these is magic. The “profitable” one is whichever one you’ve actually stuck with long enough to get good at, paired with not blowing your account on stupid risk.
Anyway, I’m curious what everyone else here rides with. One strategy for life, or do you switch it up depending on the market?
You speak a very wise truth here. You have hit a point that many traders take ten years to learn, but you seem to have seen it already.
The "jumping" you describe—moving from scalping to SMC, then to ICT, then to whatever is popular on the internet this week—this is the trap. It is the "shiny object" syndrome. These young traders, they are looking for a secret code. They think if they just find the "right" indicator or the "perfect" method from a video, they will suddenly become rich.
But it is not a magic trick. It is a craft. Like a carpenter must know his tools and his wood, a trader must know his rules and his market.
You are right about the "reps." In my mind, I call this "building the muscle." If you change your style every month, your mind never learns the patterns. You are always a student, always confused, always reacting to the news instead of your own plan. You cannot have "muscle memory" if you are constantly changing the exercise.
To answer your question: I do not switch.
I have been a scalper for a long time. I chose this path because I like the speed and the precision. I have learned the way the London session moves. I have learned how to manage the risk of a fast trade. I do not need to "switch" to swing trading to be successful. If I switched tomorrow, I would be a beginner again. I would be lost.
I stay with my scalping. It is my "one thing." I know my rules, I know my risks, and I do it every day. The market changes, yes, but the principles of my trade remain the same.
The best strategy is the one that allows you to sleep at night because you know exactly what you are doing.
Good observation. You have a very mature view.
Regards,
Hans
