A Few More Fish In The Boat
Q traders have gone from
eating sardines to small trout this
morning after getting at least a few early intraday setups amidst the relatively
surprising tight ranges as we approach triple witching. As I mentioned in yesterday’s
column, I’ve continued to shift my bias toward looking for intraday reversal
opportunities — especially with hourly stochastics at one time scraping the
ground this morning — and the three-minute chart and triggers have cooperated
nicely. We’re also still holding a daily uptrend as we test key supports there.
The Qs are holding key 13-minute support as we approach midday, and morning runs
thus far have been capped by the current hourly downtrend support. Be alert for
an increase in volatility as the afternoon approaches.
2002 12:00 P.M. ET
QQQ Trading
School Update
While it’s been less than a week since we
announced the launch of the QQQ
Trading School, it looks like we’ve again struck a pleasant nerve with
traders if my mail is any indication (and it usually is). Much of the buzz has
been surrounding the simulations — and yes, you can indeed play them over and
over to your heart’s content — the value of which alone, in my view, are worth
more than the price of the entire course.
One of my longstanding pet peeves since the “online trading” bug hit
the market a few years ago has been a woeful lack of proper industry training
and tools, which has unfortunately led in some cases to catastrophic trading
results. After all, if the skill to master the craft of trading is analogous to
learning to fly a plane, would one attempt to fly after simply reading a book
and buying a plane based on a manufacturer’s advertisement? Or worse yet, via
scrolling text from a hidden entity telling you how to steer? Don’t get me
going. (Fortunately, one aspect of TradingMarkets that tipped the scales
toward my accepting Larry Connors’ request to become a contributor last year was
that folks here seemed to care about education.)
One particular skill which has been frightfully absent in the industry is
related to exiting a profitable position, which it seems few industry
“leaders” choose to address, either in fear of it affecting their
personal vested position or because they simply have no clue. As a result, one
of the aspects I made sure we included in the school was extensive explanations
of when to take both stops and profits, which is done via both the coursework,
as well as the trading simulations. In fact, one of the benefits to the QQQ
simulations is that it will drill effective exits into your head time and time
again, and which you’ll probably begin hearing in your sleep after a short
while. You’ll even be faced with a real-life “crisis” situation from
which you must effectively escape.
While no individual tool can ever be a panacea, I do believe we’ve taken a giant
industry step toward filling some of the gaping educational holes. We’ve also
purposely set a very reasonable price, far less than many one-time events, to
allow as many to benefit from the experience as possible. Add a one-hour
small-group consultation for the early takers, and it’s about as complete a
package as there can be short of cloning.
From The Recent Mailbag
“Your lesson on the
use of probability in one’s trading just put everything in perspective for me.
That was the single best article I’ve ever read on trading. Why? Because now I’m
no longer hooked to every trade I make and so I’m able to honor my stops. For me,
that was the biggest hurdle to overcome. Thanks for putting things into such
clear terms!” R.
“With reference to your “reflections” (March 11 column), I
would like to thank you for taking the time to write your column, sharing your
thoughts and insights, etc. Your column is invaluable to novice traders such as
myself. I’ve learned a great deal reading your column since its inception.
I congratulate you on your successful video and new training school. Bottom
line: I hope you will continue writing your column!“ E.
Good Trading!