Mental and Emotional Stability

March 22, 2010 by  

The goal of trading discipline is  mental and emotional stability which  reveals crystal clarity about all aspects of trading.

It is generally approached from the viewpoint of controlling thoughts and emotions, becoming fairly dispassionate and neutral in order to execute successful trades.  Avoiding  getting  swept upon  the sea of emotions as we are deciding when to enter or when to exit,  speculating as to where  the market  is going to go next.

One scientific estimate says that we have on average 60,000 thoughts per day.  If that is true then it is an impossible task to control those wildly active viewpoints in response to what we are observing and experiencing throughout the day,  let alone the heat of trading.

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Trade Downstream

March 8, 2010 by  

I generally start my day by the lake or the river watching  the sunrise and these days eagerly checking the progress of the melting ice. The birds are singing and  I can smell spring.

The lake is melting in many places but that doesn’t stop the   ice fishermen from advancing fearlessly with their sleds.   Giant puddles are forming   around the ice shanties.

The river, however,  is completely open and flowing. This morning a silver fox stood on the opposite shore and watched me for awhile. By the time I had the binoculars focused it was gone. Read more

What’s Your Guess?

February 22, 2010 by  

For Christmas I received a subscription to Money magazine . In the first issue there is a poll asking: Where will the Dow finish in 2010?

4 people were quoted.  A nurse said stocks will drop and she believes the middle class will struggle for a long time.  A teacher said it will be higher but before investing he needs to see unemployment drop. The city planner said the recent rally was premature but she doesn’t think things will get worse. Lastly, the account manager said he thinks it will be about the same. Read more

Memories

February 15, 2010 by  

Recently we  held the memorial for my Uncle Stefan.  I gave a eulogy that spoke of  his extraordinary life. After surviving the labor camps of Siberia,  he came to the US and lived  a wonderful and rich life.

Stefan  had a great talent for creating beautiful objects out of wood including bracelets and intricate vases. At the memorial all of us girls wore a unique bracelet he had designed. Read more

We Know What To Do

February 1, 2010 by  

We have  four  sound  strategies that allows us to trade a bull, bear or sideways market as well as trend reversal.  Along with that, mental and emotional stability is the foundation upon which a strong consistent, trading plan is executed. We remain  alert and clear, watching and listening for what the market is telling us. We are not guessing, speculating, hoping or wishing. We are not caught up in the emotional  storm.  We are confident in knowing what direction to put our attention and then use the appropriate plan.  As we now have reason to look for short trades on our watch list we can be confident in  our strategy. At the same time, we are always watching for signs of change or reversal.


Be The Observer

January 25, 2010 by  

Two days of triple digit declines and the stock market has given back all the gains of the new year.A big week for the sellers makes it very tempting to decide what the market is doing and getting swept up in a tsunami of emotions. Read more

NYSE TICK SYMBOL

January 20, 2010 by  

I have received questions about how to find the Tick charts using Options Xpress. You will need to use  flex charts. The symbol for the NYSE Tick is TICKN  and TICKQ for the Nasdaq Tick.

NYSE Tick: A Useful Tool For Day Traders

January 18, 2010 by  

I have received many  questions related to  day trading strategies.  The NYSE Tick, symbol $TICK,  is a short term indicator  used by day traders.   The Tick  is a graphic representation of stocks ticking up minus stocks ticking down on the NYSE.  It is generally used in the 5 or 15 minute real time chart. Read more

Garmin Moved Out Of Current Channel

January 10, 2010 by  

For the past few weeks I have been watching, Garmin, symbol GRMN. During  December it has been trading in a range between 30 and 32. Friday we saw it breakout and ended the day up 1.62 with a  closing price of $33.79.

Potash Is Testing Resistance Of 25

January 8, 2010 by  

Potash (POT) moved out of its’ previous channel for a nice gain of over $12. Note the ascending triangle.   Today we see it  attempting to move beyond previous resistance of 25.

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