My Simple Rules for Trading

"I was in search of a one-armed economist so that the guy could never make a statement and then say: 'on the other hand.'" - Harry S. Truman

My simple rules of trading:
1. Do not buy if I do not feel right.
2. When I buy pay no higher than prior day close, and preferably near best buy price. If I don't get to buy that day, so be it.
3. Always have buy and sell orders in, at a limit. Always.
4. Strictly follow the rules of the 4 day stop loss
5. Watch the count very carefully. It's a bell curve from 1 to 10, and as anything gets to a 7 or 8 it's likely a cycle will return and reverse, hence why we are long or short.
6. This is like playing cards. It is gambling. But with education you realize you are only fighting your own emotions.


Trading is an art of zen.


There is a reason we are not trading. The market is not. We move down 36 points, up 50, and options simply do not move.

We are a key resistance area at 11,000. If the market turns, consolidation should not be lengthy. If the market continues it's up move it's likely the down moves, when they come, will be more extreme.

John Murphy said, "Why commodities are stronger than they appear while the dollar is weaker -- too much focus is being placed on the weak Euro and not enough on rising commodity currencies --- weak agricultural markets are masking bigger gains in more economically sensitive energy and metal markets.