After many years of trading, someone asked me what my strongest skill is now. My answer has never changed—it's "waiting."

Some friends might find this strange. Isn't the core competitiveness of a trader supposed to be excellent market analysis skills? But honestly, the role of market analysis in the entire trading process is greatly overrated. Truly experienced traders spend surprisingly little time on analysis; instead, they devote a lot of time to "waiting," which seems simple but is the most challenging part.

So, what exactly are we waiting for?

Simply put, we wait for the moment when our trading advantage becomes evident. The market fluctuates every day, and within these fluctuations are various signals—some indicate that buyers are stronger, others suggest sellers have the upper hand. When signals showing buyer dominance are more obvious than those indicating seller advantage, the market is likely to tilt in favor of the buyers. Conversely, the same applies in the opposite case. That moment is when we should take action.

Traders call this a "trading strategy." The essence of a strategy is actually quite simple—a combination of market conditions. As long as these conditions occur simultaneously, your win rate will significantly increase. That’s the moment we are waiting for.

Some beginners completely misunderstand this. They think trading requires constantly watching the charts, analyzing nonstop, quickly predicting the next move of the market, and then jumping in immediately. Honestly, this approach is wildly wrong.

The market itself is full of randomness. Most of the time, price movements have no clear pattern. We shouldn’t expect to make money in every market phase—that’s too greedy and unrealistic. The smart approach is to act decisively only when the highest probability setups appear.

To use an analogy, trading is like hunting. You shouldn’t waste effort guessing where the prey will run next—truthfully, the prey’s movement path is impossible to predict precisely. A clever hunter waits patiently, and when the prey enters shooting range, they take the shot decisively.

After enough experience, I’ve realized that the fundamental logic of trading boils down to four words: waiting and choosing.

Learn to stay away from chaotic, unclear markets without obvious advantages, and only act when you are most confident. Your trading skills will naturally improve to the next level. This isn’t some secret of genius; it’s a simple truth honed over years.