The market was not able to make a reversal when it drops hard due to European and world economic concerns.

Not much opportunities to trade in this kind of market environment.

The market drops hard due to European and world economic concerns.

The biggest drop in the market from the bull trend the past three months as reported.

I don't see any possible trade (as of this moment and till the close) from this chart.

Might as well watch the market and stay on the sidelines.

Face Regret Head On

by: Bill Zimmer

Friday, March 2nd, 2012 at 9:47 am

If you are not in the habit of following sound money management principles and risk analysis then you face actual harm. For example, you commit too many dollars into a single trade and it goes awry - you lose much more than you should have, and it’s painful. More than being painful, you come to regret having made the trade in the first place. A very normal human instinct is to not only avoid pain, but to avoid pain at all costs. Regret can be incredibly painful and will make otherwise good traders avoid even putting on a trade for fearing the regret of another loss.

If we put too much ego on the line with any decision, the hurt and the regret intensifies. If we put a lot of work into a trade we have also then put a lot of self-identity on the line along with our money. With all this work into this particular trade we really become convinced we are right. If it turns out that we are wrong it suggests to us that we are just not as good as we thought we were. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The easiest way to avoid feelings of regret is to avoid making decisions. If we do not make a decision then we can’t be wrong and we won’t feel regret. However, if you do not make decisions you also cannot make profits, which is our goal. It is better to learn to face regret head-on.

The best way to cope with regret is to accept the fact that it is an emotion. An emotion that you will be facing as a good trader. If you have a written business plan (trading is a business) you know that losses are part of this business, as they are in every business. If you take the proper precautions however, you will keep those losses small enough that being able to deal with regret should be somewhat easier. As time goes on and you see your plan working; regret will become easier and easier to face. A useful thinking strategy is to remind yourself, “I’m making more out of the potential loss than it deserves; it is not going to be as unpleasant as I’m thinking it will be.”

Another way to minimize regret is to try impersonalizing the trade. Think in terms of probabilities, “This is just one of many trades. The outcome of this single trade means nothing. The big picture is all that counts.” By reminding yourself of this simple fact, you’ll minimize the potential regret, should you lose. Also it’s important to remember that a single losing trade (or even a few losing trades) doesn’t mean that you have poor trading skills; it may just be a run of bad luck. What is the point in making the outcome of a trade symbolic of your skills as a trader? It’s Not! And, most importantly, never put your self-worth on the line with your money. You’re a professional. The outcome of the trade should not influence the positive view you have of yourself as a person. Don’t try to avoid regret. Face it head-on. You’ll feel more free and powerful.

The market went down in the open yesterday and made a slow reversal to finish barely below its open price.

A sign that a bearish reversal is now on the move?

I guess that's what the sentiments of most participants.

The chart below was a relatively familiar formation.

After the market drops from the open it climbed up slowly in the ladder type fashion.

Buying at the consolidation at the bottom and selling at the close was the best trade I can see.

Using multiple time frames plus kind of reading the market minds will help you make that kind of trade during this market turbulent moves.

Otherwise, you will get clobbered if you just trade for the sake of trading.

BENTLEY EXP 9F

“Traders who continue to spend their money looking for the holy grail, the best indicator, or that secret winning method unfortunately miss the secret of winning. The secret lies in your own ability to understand the market that you choose to trade and your own ability to develop the strategy to capitalize on the opportunities that you have learned to identify.” – Dr. Keppler

Trade Your Own Way

Trading is not all about practice (live trading), you also need to be emotionally balance.

When we mentioned emotionally balance, you should be ready to put trades with reasons and purpose.

Not trades that are impulsive and no clear understanding in reference with the current market environments.

Putting unnecessary trades will affect you emotionally when at the end of the day you notice the summary of your account is on the negative side.

And you cannot refrain basing from your P&L because trading is all about making a profit.

And as you go along with your journey in trading, the problem of trading technique is not the issue anymore.

Whereas, initially while you are still on the learning stage you are looking for the shortcut to make money.

But after a while, you will realize that putting trades is not the issue.

It's all about the whole picture that includes market environments, minds of the participants, and your own psychology about the market.

It will take years to learn all of these, but through patience and perseverance - nothing is impossible.

Trading is like building a house in an earthquake prone areas, you should have a trading foundation that is solid and strong.

To sum it all, trading is all about your own understanding about the market and your own way of making trades.

It cannot be imposed on you, you have to find your niche and own way to trade.

No one can help you to make money in trading because other traders too are busy making money in their own way.

They cannot (and will never?) tell that to you, even to their love ones?

That's for sure!