Recently, while organizing trading knowledge, I discovered an interesting phenomenon—many successful traders are supported by a proven trading system behind their decisions. It’s not based on intuition, nor luck, but on a logical, rule-based system.

Today, I want to talk about the eight classic trading systems that have been passed down in the trading community and verified by countless masters. Most of these systems come from the works of legendary traders, and even top Wall Street traders still use them today.

First, let’s discuss the most famous Turtle Trading System. In 1983, legendary speculator Richard Dennis conducted a bold experiment—he recruited 13 people and taught them trading from scratch. The result? These Turtles achieved an astonishing average annual compound return of 80% over the next four years. This experiment proved one thing: a trading system can turn inexperienced people into excellent traders. The core logic of the Turtle system is simple: enter when the price breaks above the 20-period high, and exit when it falls below the 10-period low. Later, two derivative systems emerged—one based on a 20-day breakout for short-term trading, and another based on a 50-day breakout for long-term trading, each with its own use.

Next is Larry Williams’ gap trading system. This guy is the creator of the Williams %R indicator and a legendary figure in US futures trading. He has a famous track record—turning $10k into $1.1 million in 12 months. His gap system actually measures market sentiment reactions, capturing price movements caused by excessive panic or over-optimism.

The TD Price Range Trading System was developed by Tom DeMark. He once advised major institutions like Soros and Morgan. He believes the key isn’t overbought or oversold conditions per se, but how long the market stays in extreme states. His TD DeMarker indicator links all price movements to specific supply and demand levels, using a mathematical model to quantify buying and selling pressure.

The volatility trading system was proposed by Lawrence McMillan, an options trading expert. His system focuses on changes in volatility—when historical volatility shows a bearish alignment and narrows, it often signals calm before the storm, indicating a potential big move is coming.

Martin Pring’s swing trading system follows a simple philosophy: when extreme volatility occurs, a reversal is often near. This system can also be combined with volume oscillations for better results.

Constance Brown developed a derivative oscillation indicator system, essentially a triple smoothed RSI, which confirms signals through multi-layer filtering.

The Dolphin Trading System emphasizes trend-following and right-side entries. It uses moving averages and MACD to determine the main trend, then employs the KD indicator’s golden and death crosses for precise entries and exits. This system particularly emphasizes matching timeframes—trend detection and entries/exits are performed on different cycles.

Finally, there’s Victor Sperandeo’s 1-2-3 rule. Known as “Wall Street’s Terminator,” he achieved a record of 12 consecutive profitable years. He simplified complex trend recognition into three conditions: trendline breakout, no new highs/lows, and price crossing key previous points. It’s simple and effective, but entries tend to be late. Later, he also proposed the 2B rule to handle false breakouts.

Each of these eight trading systems has its own logic and suitable scenarios. Some traders prefer following trends, others like bottom-fishing or topping out. But regardless of the system, the core remains the same—replacing emotion with rules, replacing intuition with data. That’s why these systems have survived in the market for so long and have been passed down through generations of traders. If you’re still trading based on feelings, consider studying these proven systems—you might find some inspiration for your own trading.