After 10 years and 18,000 trades, here's the complete setup I use every single day. Nothing fancy. Nothing I don't need.
My Hardware
Two monitors. That's it. Left screen has my MT4 charts. Right screen has TradingView for analysis and my journal. I don't need a six-screen setup. More screens don't mean better trading — they mean more distractions.
A mechanical keyboard and a physical notebook. The keyboard is for execution. The notebook is for reflection. I write every trade by hand. Date, entry, stop, target, outcome, notes. 14 notebooks so far.
My Software Stack
MT4 — This is where I execute. I keep it clean. One chart, Fibonacci, no indicators cluttering the screen. I've tested 5,000 indicators and the conclusion was: price action + Fibonacci is all I need.
TradingView — For analysis and multi-timeframe structure. I use the Daily for trend, 4H for setup, 1H for entry. The drawing tools are better than MT4's, especially for Fibonacci extensions and trend lines.
My Custom Excel Sheet — I built a simple position sizing calculator. Input your account size, risk percentage (2%, always), stop loss in pips, and it tells you exactly how many lots to trade. No mental math during live trading.
A Timer — After I enter a trade, I set a 15-minute timer. I don't look at the chart until it goes off. This single habit saved me from exiting profitable trades too early more times than I can count.
The Physical Notebook
This deserves its own section because it's the most underrated tool in my setup.
I use $2 notebooks from a shop in Singapore. Nothing special. But the habit of handwriting my analysis forces a different kind of thinking. When you type, you can autopilot. When you write, you have to slow down and think.
Here's my template:
- Date and time
- Bias (long/short/neutral)
- Key levels (support/resistance)
- Entry reason
- Risk amount
- Outcome
- Lessons learned
After a losing trade, I can flip back and see exactly what I was thinking. Patterns emerge. "Oh, I always lose when I trade right after a big win." That awareness is worth more than any indicator.
My Execution Rules
- Always set stop loss before entry. Not after. Before. If I can't find a logical stop level, I don't take the trade.
- Position size once, never adjust. I calculate my lot size before entry and I don't touch it. No adding to a losing position.
- No trading between 5 PM and 7 PM Singapore time. That's the London-NY overlap chaos window. Too much noise.
- Screenshot every setup. Before entry, I take a screenshot of my chart with levels marked. It keeps me accountable and builds a reference library.
The Bottom Line
Tools don't make you a better trader. Discipline does. But the right tools — used consistently — make discipline easier. My setup is intentionally minimal because I've learned that every extra tool is one more thing to distract you from what actually matters: price action, risk management, and your own psychology.