This Idea Could Resurrect Your Trading

Great athletes know the
value of attitude and how to play through slumps,
the same is true of
successful traders.  You could have the most robust system in the world, but if
your were scared to press the button, what good would it be?  Well, even if you
know on all levels that a system is solid, a few losing trades can put you back
quite a ways mentally.  We have all been there, and it sucks.  However, it comes
with the territory.  Remember, each trade is statistically independent of the
last trade.  Whether your last 10 trades were winners or losers is irrelevant,
it has absolutely no basis for deciding the outcome of your next trade.  Or does
it?  Conceptually, no, but your mindset, happy or sad will effect your ability
to be objective on the next trade.  Feel apprehensive?  The next trade will
reflect that.  Feeling euphoric?  The next trade will reflect that too.

Rather than me going into details of which I
could hardly do justice, let me simply recommend one of the best books I have
ever read on trading, Trading in The Zone by Mark Douglas.  This book
will get you to think.  I have a friend of mine (he has become a real good
friend and good trade over the last 6 months) who under my guidance was taught a
framework to employ HVT.  His initial results were excellent, like all new
traders.  It was not long before the wheels came off and the confidence was
shattered.  His voice and posture (through the phone) was one of a defeated
man.  I am never surprised by this, I have never worked with a trader who has
gone on to become successful who did not get taken the mat first, it builds
character.  Kind of perverse huh?

I suggested he read this book.  Within a week,
this guy turned it on.  His attitude deep down anyways was always that of an
optimist, a key ingredient to successful trading.  With a few simple techniques
and a new way of thinking about trading, compliments of Mr. Douglas, he has
become a force to be reckoned with.  I can honestly say that I want to work more
closely with this guy in future trading endeavors.

So after the last few days of chaos compliments
of Mr. Greenspan, what now?  Well, as mentioned in Tuesday’s article, I was
short the EUR/USD which played out very well
as well as GBP/USD,
AUD/USD
and NZD/USD. 
All positions are now closed with substantial gains.  My experience with FX
however dictates that large moves require sideline viewing for a few days
after.  The dust seems to take longer to settle in FX.  So, for now, I am flat.

^next^

HVT:

HVT continues to really come on strong.  While
the beginning of the week was bit slow, the last two days more than made up for
it.  The market still demands that you seek where the action is rather than
focusing on only 1 or 2 stocks.  I can honestly say I never imagined the day
where I was seeking stocks rather than stalking ‘a’ stock.  Such is life and
adaptation is the key to longevity.

Yesterday there were some HVT set-ups in
MGM
, COP,
TRI and HOT. 
The one thing I am noticing however is that there need to be a bit more of a
reliance on the 5-minute chart.  Lets face it, the S&P’s do not move very much
over short period of time when looking at a 1-minute chart.  As a result, basing
your whole trading decision on the movement of the 1-minute chart can maddening,
choppy to say the least.  Rather, use the 1-minute chart to fine tune the entry,
but use the 5-minute chart to determine the exit.  The result will be a slightly
longer duration, but more consistent results.

As always, feel free to send me your comments and
questions.

Dave