Exit Plans!

There are two ways to exit a trade: into strength or into weakness. You need to plan for both!

Confidence!

Do not trade when you do not understand the market. Always trade with confidence and conviction.

Patience!

Never get into the market because you are anxious from waiting, and never get out of the market just because you have lost your patience.

Surfing A Massive Wave

Hallmark of a Position Day Trader

• 
• Routine and Predictable daily methodology
• Psychological Control: Discipline, Focus, Patience
• Macro vs Micro Market Analysis ... seeing the Big Picture
• Comprehensive intraday Hit List analysis
• Multiple intraday Set-up opportunities
• Various chart pattern recognition ... low risk opportunities
  
• Capital preservation = risking less than 50% maximum stop loss.
• Expectation & Time Exits: Scalp, Breakeven, Profit Target, Let Profits Run
  
• Trading Execution Commitment: honoring Set-up signals, not P&L

To Risk Or Not To Risk!!

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try at all is to risk failure.
But to risk, we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The Man, the Woman who risks nothing does nothing -- has nothing -- is nothing.

The issue is winning!

"I am not attracted to the stock market because of the money. The issue is winning, to be the best at something. My goal is to be the best trader in the world. If you're the best, you don't have to worry about the money; it comes flying through the window".
Mark Minervini

Don't Shadowbox!

"The most important action to becoming a good trader is to trade, to subject yourself to emotional pressure!"
Mark Minervini

Contingency Planning!

• A contingency plan to limit losses when wrong.
• A contingency plan to get back into the trade if you're stopped out.
• A contingency plan for getting out of winning trades.

History Repeats Itself!

Thomas Jefferson wrote a dire warning about banks and debt:

‘If the American people ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless. I sincerely believe the banking institutions (having the issuing power of money) are more dangerous to liberty than standing armies. My zeal against these institutions was so warm and open at the establishment of the Bank of the United States (Hamilton’s foreign system), that I was derided as a maniac by the tribe of bank mongers who were seeking to filch from the public."

Poker Trading!

Trading is like poker. You should only play the good hands, and drop out of the poor hands, forfeiting the ante.

-Gary Biefeldt

Two Smiles!

Like snowflakes that never was, there will never be any two traders who will behave exactly alike, in the ever changing present of NOW!

Become The House!

The basic idea is to trade a simple setup over a long period of time with small amounts of money, and beat your cost a lot of times. this way you become the house.

Game Rules!

There are two basic reasons why discipline is critical. First, it is a prerequisite for maintaining effective risk control. Second, you need discipline to apply your method without second-guessing and choosing which trades to take.

DEVELOPING A METHOD IS HARD WORK!

Shortcuts rarely lead to trading success. Developing your own approach requires research, observation, and thought. Expect the process to take lots of time and hard work. Expect many dead ends and multiple fail-ures before you find a successful trading approach that is right for you. Remember that you are playing against tens of thousands of profession-als. Why should you be any better? If it were that easy, there would be a lot more millionaire traders.

State Of Mind!

Inappropriate state of mind: is nervous, anxious; believes the worst will happen. Focus is distracted; trades in conflict.

Appropriate state of mind: has positive, resourseful empowering beliefs and focus. Has high level of self-esteem and trust; is relaxed and confident.

Ms. Fuzzy Mental

Ms. Fuzzy Mental

is head of the department

in charge of giving you excuses

for missing signals!

www.seykota.com

Show Me The Money!

It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that's important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much money you lose when you’re wrong.

-Stanley Druckenmiller

Risk & Money Management

Risk management is taking small losses and managing the rewards in relation to the risks taken.

Money management refers to the proper use of capital, and that includes using it for maximum benefit and preserving it for maximum longevity.

Market Forecasting!

"You do not need to know what the market is going to do! All you need to know is what the market has actually done! This is the key! Think about it for a minute. There is a fortune in this paragraph".
William O'Neil

Herd Mentality!

HT: I understand the need to supplement your toolbox with futures. But is it not difficult enough to earn a living trading stocks? Why exacerbate your learning curve with untested and unproven new deliriums? My Two Cents. Rudy

Ignoring The Obvious!

Many have ears but cannot hear. Many have eyes but cannot see. Many have tongues but cannot speak.

This old proverb is as relevant to today's trending markets as it relates to crowd behavior many centuries ago. What we often fail to recognize is the very thing that is in front of us.

Today the market spoke volumes to those who were listening. Although the nasdaq was rallying there was absolutely no trade-able big volume gappers to stalk.

If the market lacks leadership, what anemic stock has the power to drive the nasdaq to higher grounds?

Unless you were a scalp trader, gap position players were killing time on the sidelines.

How To Psych Yourself Up!

Before each trading day, anticipate what might bother you -- afraid to pull the trigger, fear of taking a loss, feelings of anxiety, etc -- and then imagine yourself getting through each barrier successfully. It's like a mental rehearsal for the trading day.

During the event, do a mental body check every once in a while: Are you still self confident? Is your body posture relaxed and loose? Is your breathing even? Is your mental state of mind positive and upbeat?

It may also help to talk to yourself during the trading day. ''Hey, nervous old nilly, I knew you'd be here with me and I promise you a nice cool shower when I am done, but right now I can't worry about you. I've got a job to do.''

You can also try to visualize someone whom you admire greatly standing over your shoulder and trading with you for a while.

Now, for a piece of mental magic: Tape a cut-out of a winning trade you're especially proud of to your computer. If you ever feel a little loss of confidence during your trading day, just rub the piece of paper and picture yourself with a big smile on your face, exhilaration running through your whole body, and everyone congratulating you on your winning trades.

And when you have closed your position, make sure you tell yourself, ''You've done great!'' There aren't too many times in our lives that we get to have such an enriching, tangible experience of achievement.