There is now more to trading success than just having a strategy. In today’s trading environment, with the abundance of information and tools available to the average trader, a trader’s advantage is derived from structural awareness. In terms of construction, structural awareness is understanding how trades move through the various aspects of infrastructure, execution path, and broker system. Because pricing and execution are determined by structure, many unsuccessful traders use a chart-based approach without being aware of what is going on in the rest of the environment (after-market activity).

For example, knowing how a broker executes its orders is every bit as important as knowing when to trade. A trader with structural awareness will have fewer surprises during times of volatility because he/she understands the structure behind the trade. A trader with structural awareness will also create better consistency over time. Finally, structural awareness will help traders make better decisions regarding which trading environment is right for them. 

Therefore, the average trader who understands how to use structure will be trading with greater confidence and structural awareness changes the way a trader approaches trading from guessing what will happen to managing the process leading to execution of a trade.