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3 most critical aspects of trading

  1. Discipline
  2. Timing
  3. Stock selection

Discipline alway is on top. Be accountable to yourself. Treat your money as if it was entrusted to you by whomever you most love, respect, fear… whatever works.

Have a reason to make every trade. Be able to verbalize that reason. As importantly, have a reason to exit a trade. You hear “cut your loses and let your winners run”….That is so true. I so often have seen traders get our of good positions because they have achieved their “target price” “target of profit”….I say this is bad thinking. If the trade REMAINS a trade you would put ON at the time you “achieve target”, why in the world would you take it off? To me, it is as important to have a reason to get out of a trade as to get in. Anyone can say to themselves they have a reason to exit a losing trade…”cut your losses”..Why then is it so hard for so many to have a real reason to get our of a winner?

It should be, and is, easy. It just takes DISCIPLINE. If you give back X% of your profit; if the market changes, if the group starts to get weak, whatever. You have to have your disciplines and stick to them. Make your own rules, and stay consistant to them.

I hope that all this typing can result in just one positive thought to just one person here. I have gone to so many “brainstorming” meetings in my career. I have listened to a million opinions, statements and arguments. I go though because I KNOW that if I pick up one single constructive thought I will have spent my time wisely. and believe me, they are few and far between. But I can remember single sentences said years ago in long boring meetings. Those senteces have added up to serve me well.

Timing should be easier for new traders to learn. Just be patient and buy or short at the price you pre-determine. Don’t chase.

Stock selection…this is a bit tougher. I could write a hundred pages on this issue. But not being so inclined, have standards. Volume, percent of average volume, relative strength, news, whatever you are comfortable with. Know what your quote provider can tell you other than quotes alone. Look for trades, but don’t be impulsive. Sometimes not making a trade is a great trade.

Just follow these Trading Rules

  followtherules

 Stops – a stop price must be in place at all times for all positions.

 Balance – this one is the hardest of all to define, but because it is impossible to know with certainty the future direction of the market, a balance between bullish and bearish positions is the most prudent. In addition, if you are heavily weighted either bullish or bearish, and if the market moves strongly in your favor intraday, you should consider taking on a large opposite day-trade position for “insurance” profits in case that intraday move reverses. 

Freshness – positions should be regularly refreshed for the sake of updated stops. This is especially important when the market has moved in your direction a meaningful amount so that you can lock in some profits with tighter stops.

Emotional Awareness – use emotional awareness to your advantage, understanding fear often accompanies reversals in your favor and hubris often accompanies reversals against your positions.

Exits – the only acceptable exit is either being stopped out of a position or reaching a target price which has a clear technical rationale, and even in cases of the latter, partial exits are preferable to outright closes. (more…)

10 Positive Assertions

                                                                             positive-energyI want only what the market wants !
I enter in the market only when all of my indicators are pointed in the same directions !
I place stops as I enter trades !
I let any trade go that misses my entry !
I only initiate trade with a target price and a risk reward ratio of more than 1 : 1.
I have a reason to exit every trade !
I stay peaceful, calm and cool and see any and all of my emotions in a disassociated
vision apart from me while trading !
I cut my losses short with every trade !
I focus on each trade meeting its trading plan to measure success.
I trade in a regulated, even and controlled way so that I am always prepared in my mindset to pass on all trade should there be none for the whole day !

Louis Ehrenkrantz’ 7 Golden Rules for Investing

First rule: develop a large appetite for
reading; it will hone your instincts for finding successful companies.

Second
rule
: don’t overdiversify; ten stocks, in at least three sectors, are

enough for the average investor.

Third rule: stick with your winners and sell
your losers; do not automatically sell when a stock hits a target price, but
continue to hold it as long as it performs well and has good prospects for the
future.

Fourth rule: look for top-quality, out-of-favor companies; look for
companies that produce an array of high-quality products and/or services.

Fifth
rule
: don’t worry about earnings if a company makes a popular product; strong

earnings growth will follow.

Sixth rule: don’t tinker with your portfolio; check
your portfolio’s performance only once or twice a year.

Seventh rule: don’t be
afraid to hold cash; it’s okay to be prepared to purchase stocks with
beaten-down prices after a correction.

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