Sometimes You Just Have To Grind It Out
I suspect most fellow traders will be
intimately familiar with the movie Rounders
starring Matt Damon and Ed Norton. If not, the basis for the movie is how a
couple of longtime friends, Mike McDermott (Damon) and Worm (Norton), go through
the seedy, rough-and-tumble world of playing poker. The theme of the movie is
not important right now, all you need to understand is that Worm is a reckless,
self-destructive player who is frequently in debt and constantly on the run from
the shady people he owes the debt to.
One night while playing, Mike confronts Worm about his impulsive play and the
crazy risks he takes while playing.
"Why don’t you take it slow and steady, play for singles and doubles,
quit going for the throat!"
"Screw that, and end up like Kamish, being a grinder?"
"Maybe, but Kamish has not worked one day in the last 10 years, being
a grinder looks pretty good to me."
I will remember that scene for as long as I live. It is this same mindset
that has kept me going since 1994. Sure there are times when you need to step up
and go for the throat, that is where you separate yourself from the masses and
truly lay your mark, but those times are not all that often.
I illustrate this scene for one simple reason: despite the sizeable intraday
ranges in the major indices in recent sessions, the tick-by-tick action has
been, to borrow a word from Rounders, a grind. HVT is best employed when there
are quick thrusts in price action. That being said, there are still trades, you
just need to focus and forget about searching out the holy grail. Be Kamish,
grind it out.
Going into today’s session, the market is still in the process of digesting
its recent gains, and with options expiration behind us, I suspect that the
trading will loosen up a bit as we test some significant resistance levels which
are just a bit above current levels.
- The S&P 500 (cash) is within striking distance of 895, a move above
there may very well put another nice bid in this market. - The Dow is also within striking distance of 8,365, and like the S&Ps,
a move above this level would be a big positive.
| Intraday Setups |
|
|
|
|
| Stock | Action |
| HRB | Long |
| NCC | Long |
| EDS | Short |
| KO | Short |
| NI | Short |
| AMGN | Long |
Key Technical
Numbers (futures):
S&Ps |
Nasdaq |
| 906 | 994 |
| 895 | 986.25 |
| *886-89* | 977.50 |
| 872 | *964.50* |
| *868* | 951 |
| 865 | 942 |
| 855 | 937 |
* indicates a level that is more significant.
As always, feel free to send me your comments and
questions. See you in TradersWire.