Trader X

Happy New Year! This one will be the one that makes it all worth while! I know that to be true.

Trader X.

Do you really want to know just what it takes to become a trader? Well, let me tell you. It is New Years EVE for darn sake's and what am I doing...... thinking about trading! It is truly sad I know. My wife was telling me that one of my New Years Resolutions was going to be to not work in my office until 9:00 any more than 3 days a week. It's not like I had much choice here because when she tells me to do something I generally will obey.... Yes, I love her that much... plus, I really need to take a break and get out my office once in a while. The really funny thing is... did you catch it?, She had to tell me what my New Years Resolutions are going to to be. I think she made a good choice. I will obey! Ruff!

My wife is amazing to me. I sit here and kill myself because I refuse to fail at anything (those of you that know me personally will attest to that (Brian).) and trading is just another hill on my map of achievements that I refuse to fail at (ended a sentence with a preposition. Shame on me! I should have said "... trading is another hill on my map of which I refuse to fail? OK enough with this!). You see, I have these beautiful cars. I have several. One of them is finished and drivable, another is an original car that was my fathers first old car and it is drivable as well. Then I have several that are in the process of being put together. I love to do restoration work as a hobby. It can keep me sane which at times is very difficult. Now, with that being said, I still would sit in my office marking up charts or looking at the market, or reading analysis, or reviewing seminars for more continuing education, every night of the week (remember it is New Years Eve and where am I now????? Get my point?) So my bride (married Sept 14th in Scotland!) will tell me that I need to spend more time in the shop working on my cars! For Gosh Sakes...does it GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS????? I really don't think so. She isn't telling me that I need to spend more time with her, or more time working on the house, or more time doing yard work. No, I have to spend more time doing something that can really calm me down and put my whole life into perspective. Working my cars! What a women. Maybe I should be worried about this?

The continuing Homework is that I should take the areas that are listed in step 4 and compare them to how I want to be remembered and for those that aren't on the list I can cross them off. For those that are in step 4 and aren't listed in step 5, I need to work on.

When I looked at the list there was nothing in step 4 that I can cross off from step 5. I need work on the whole friggin thing! I think I will hit the top of the list first and foremost. Trend trading. That is the key. This is where Enrico will come in. I will have to answer to him regarding whether I am trying to trade the trend or I'm trying to fade the thing. Fading is not healthy for me to do. I have to force myself to trade the trend even if it is going against every fiber of my being! Which it does most of the time, which is why trading is so dam hard! Remember how much I hate to be wrong? So what do I do? I try to guess the tops and bottoms to see if I am right. Well, I can guess several times a day but I will only be right twice. Doesn't make much sense does it? I think that since I post my trades to Enrico in IM chat, he is the best person to decide if I am making trades with the trend or against it. I really wish that Salty Rock would join us in Foosers room but I don't think he is ready yet. I have to be careful not to push my favorite pirate friend. His time will come! It will come soon!

OK, Enrico, your job, should you chose to accept it, is to question every trade I do and ask me if it is really with the trend. Or better yet, why am I trading against Fooser if I am trading against Fooser. If the trend and Foos are trading in one direction and I am trading against both of them then just take me out to the pasture and just shoot me. I am worthless as a trader on those days, and shouldn't be trading. I know this is a lot of responsibility for you Enrico but I am counting on you to keep us both straight! I have your best interest at heart as well. Of course, I will return the favor as well. You didn't know that when you joined this little band wagon did you? Oh yes, you will become a great trader whether you like it or not... just like me! HA!

Now, we both will have to justify that every trade we do is with the trend of the day, week, month, before we can put it on. For example, if there is a gap trade that is with the trend of the last few days and weeks wouldn't we be crazy not to take it???? Especially on a Thursday for less then 7 points! This is what I'm looking for! Odds are greater than 70%! That is a trade I should be taking. On range days the same thing applies except we will only trade the extremes until there is a trend clearly evident. Simple right?

OK, it is getting late and I think I am going to re-listen to lesson 2 to make sure I didn't miss anything. Chances are I will be revising this as I go along.

TraderXXXXXXX!!!!!!!!

(OK, this next assignment is going to take a while. But before I start I did have to mention that I edited a couple of things in my first post regarding what needs to be fixed that might be worth going back and re-reading. I know that even though you think you know things because they are so obvious that only an idiot could miss them, that I think I did. I am an idiot... although I think ignorant might be a better description!)

I had emotional revenge trading listed as my largest problem. In fact it isn't. It is only a really bad side effect of my much larger problem which ultimately causes Revenge Trading. My biggest problem is my desire to always be right and try to pick the tops and bottoms. Then I lose money because I'm rarely correct, then I get pissed and we all know what happens after that. Cause and effect! Solving one problem will largely solve the other (but not completely because I will still be wrong quite a bit, just maybe less often, and with fewer $ at stake).

Back to my homework. It's almost 3:00 am so I will be editing this later. I'm suppose to list how I would like to be remembered at my funeral. I really think this is going to be good as I am peeling the layers of my pschye like an onion. My personal list will be much longer than my professional list. Once again I will do that in private. Here goes trading:

1. I would like to be remembered as the trader that always kept his cool in the eye of the storm.

2. I would like be the guy that was willing to admit his mistakes early, close the trade and move on to the next one. There will always be a NEXT ONE! ALWAYS!

3. I would like to be the guy that had the patience of Jobe while waiting for a setup, and the lightening speed of Zeus to execute when the trade does finally arrive, and then the patience to let a few run with the wind while the market moves with me. I tend to pull off my profits too early.

4. I would also like to be remember as the trader that know that sometimes the best thing to do was not to trade. Actually, most of the time the best thing to do is to not trade.

Getting tired now so I will finish these later. In fact, I will be editing all the RJ stuff more as I work through this process.

Trader X

(editors note: As I've been working through his seminar titled "The Self Destructive Trader" I have seen multiple opportunities to go back and add/revise some of the post. I will try to put notes next to those changes since I think there is something to learn about the changes I've made to passed assignments.... especially this one regarding what needs to be fixed. I will keep all of this series titled "Ryan Jones Lesson X Homework" for ease of reference. Trader X)

I haven't been trading much as I've been getting ready for trading next year. I have to finish developing my trading plan and I've been finishing up some seminars and other material to further hone my skills. Along those lines Enrico and I have started a quest to record Foosers trades and then manually put them on charts so that we may learn more about his style and learn to better emulate him while we have this opportunity. This week is a week of practice in our recording methods and spreadsheets. Not much else to report there. Now on to Ryan Jones....

Several months ago I bought a seminar titled the self destructive trader... which clearly I am at times. In fact it's those few times that I have done the most destruction that I plan on eliminating. This course is 9 hours long and very easy to listen to in the car, which I've done. The problem is that there is homework involved and I didn't do it the first time, since I wouldn't stop and write it down. Of course if you don't do the homework then you really don't get as much out of the program as you would if you did it. He states in the first hour that this program can change your life but for most people it won't. Why, because they fail to apply the effort to change the things that need to be changed, whether diets, relationships, or trading. I hate to fail even worse I hate to lose money and I'm not afraid of hard work so I will do it. I have taken the challenge of doing the homework the second time through the program. This is my first assignment.


There are 4 steps to the first part of this seminar.

1. You have to admit that changes need to be made. Simple right. If you don't make changes then nothing will change and your same behavior will continue to destruct you. You are still on the path to self-destruction.
2. You have to commit yourself to making that change. Energy will have to be exerted and continually be exerted or you will go back to the path of self-destruction.
3. You must achieve and maintain accountability to someone. I think I might pick Rock Salt and Enrico for this.
4. Before you can make changes you need to know what needs to be changed.... which is the reason for this post.

List my failures in trading and in my personal life is my homework. My personal failings will not be aired here, but I will do that in my private notebook since it is part of this exercise...beside, I don't think I can type that much!

Trading failures are many, but only a few that are devastating.

1. (This was not part of this original not but this concept occured to me as I was listening to RJ's second hour of the seminar. The idea hit me so hard that I felt it really should have been number 1 on this list because as I think about this I began to realize it's when I do this behavior that it can trigger most of the issues listed below. So, while this wasn't on the original list it will be listed as item 1 and all others were move down on notch.)

Trading against the trend is still my natural tendency. Yes, I still have a tendency to try to pick tops and bottoms. In fact, the main reason why I've been profitable under foos is that he usually doesn't do that. I've still notice in the last week even though I haven't been trading much that when I have not been following Foos, and doing my own thing that I've started to lose again. This brings on the obvious connection.

Trade against the trend. Lose money. Get pissed. Revenge trade. Simple right? I think I learned something here... I guess that is the point.


2.Revenge trading after a loss to get even. I've discussed this before and still need to work on this everyday as I did have one more incidence of this recently... my last bad posting in fact was partially caused by this. Increasing size to make up a loss isn't smart...eventually I will figure this out or blow myself up trying.

3. Over trading... I don't just mean doing 50 trades in a day but trading too large a size as well as doing more trades than I should in an effort to make up for losses.

4. Trading Plan. I need to develop a simple flow chart in order to help develop a plan. For example, if making HH's and HL's and the trin is sloping down and the P/C is below .75 and the ticks are largely + then I need to develop a plan to take long trades. Simple but I need to develop one and refer to it often!

5. I need to do more prep work afterhours. Recording Foos trades will help this as I need to get back to printing nightly charts and then drawing on them things I see. I haven't done this in a month and this will have to change in the new year. I also need to mock trade more on ensign if nothing else. Especially after I deconstruct Foosers style

6. Concentration on trading plan once I have one developed.

OK, that is my 6 worst offenders as I see them at this moment. That is my homework.

Trader X

There was nothing I could do right today. My first two trades were emotionally driven and just stupid but I quickly recovered from that. I believe I went long with Fooser just before the open when in the back of my mind it was saying "Gap will close at open" Which it did. I mentioned it in the room once and I saw someone else mention it so I wasn't the only one that know I was in a losing trade. I did it anyway because Foos was in it. Nothing wrong with that, he is usually right. Some trades are just bad. That one was. I think I was long at 69 looking for 71 but found 67 instead. Then the market broke... and broke badly. I then went short at 6550... and was stopped at 71. That one hurt, but the trin was in a + slope and we did make a lower low so I figured my entry was just really bad since I didn't wait for a pullback before my entry. Didn't matter. After struggling the market made a new high (still lower than yesterdays although) and I was stopped. Just when we broke another another resistance I figured I'd go long (should have gone short again, but stupid is as stupid does.). I doubled up when it retraced to 69 and change. It broke down from there and I covered again at 66 something.... then in rallied... back to 68. I just couldn't do anything right.

Enrico did much better than I did today. I think he was not trading emotionally as I was at the open and then he stuck to Foosers trades which were not worse than BE for the day. Congrats to him on a very bad day for me.

OK, what did I learn from all of this. 2 things I think.

1. Even though the trin was was slightly positive and trending upward the market can still rise. Taking that into account I would have been much better off if I had just sold the +900 ticks for the day. I would have been profitable if I'd done that.
2. I also could have just bought the low ticks I could have made money or BE as well. Clearly I didn't get the extremes today that I should have.
3. It takes a steeper slope on the trin for the market to trend. Today it just traded back and forth between support and resistance as seen on the 60 min chart. I should have picked that up and then used the tick extremes and S/R levels for my trades in the consolidation day. There was not trend and I didn't pick that up all day until it was too late.

Make that 3 things that I already knew and had been doing very well on until today!

Trade and learn. Today I learned.

Trader X!

Yes, Enrico and I made some good money today in the fooser room. We both went short in the 8350-84 range and I rode it down to 8250 and 82 before I had to leave, and I'm pretty sure he held all the way down until we closed the gap! What a great day!

After selling 3 in the original lot, I was able to take 2 off in the 82-83 range. It spike up once again to 8350 where I sold another 3 and then worked them off at 8250 and 82 even. I had 3 up days this week and 2 flat trades (actually Tues and Thurs combined for -$12.50). It was good for a grand total of $1374! Out of 8 weeks trading with the Foos, I've had 6 profitable and 2 slightly down. The 3 weeks, I've average a little under $1,500 a week. That's usually trading 3 es at a time but sometimes, like this morning, it will end up being more if my trades overlap. No more than 6 at a time. Since starting with Foos, I'm up $5400. I know it's not much but you have to remember that until then I was losing every week! This is huge for me!!!!!

Next month I may go to 6 as my standard entry if the rest of this month goes well. Actually, I may not be doing a lot of trading for the rest of this month since the trading can be very slow around the holidays. I will be posting more instructional stuff for options and ES and I will be working on my trading plan.

It's good to have Enrico in the Fooser room. It's good to make money together! More next week!

Trader X.

Not much trading today. Fooser took a long at 74 and so did I about 5:30am or so. I sold my last lot at 1280 and scaled out at 76 and 78. Fooser held one all the way up to 84. He is such the man! I need to continue to work on my patience to get those extra few points a day that he does. That's about it.

Trader X

I haven't discussed this much or maybe not even at all since starting this blog but I taught myself to trade options many years ago which is how I have supported myself while learning to daytrade. I haven't posted my option trades on here ever but I have been thinking of starting to do so under separate post like this one. I am a net option seller and I collect time (theta) decay as a rule. As I get better in directional trading I may do some buy side trades but those will be rare for now.

I do credit spreads both vertical and horizontal (called calendar spreads, since they span time (months) instead of strike prices.

My first posted trade was a vertical credit spread for Jan 06 on the big SP500 futures contract (march contract to be specific).

I sold Jan 1330's and bought 1400's for a net spread of about 70 as I remember (I did this trade last week in case you were wondering but it is still a good trade this week). That's about it for now. There will be more to come.

Trader X.

I only did one trade today. Sold 3 at 7150 and covered 1 at 70, 69 and 68. Nice trade and then I did nothing else all day. Fooser went long at 65 and rode that up to 69+. It was a typical 1:00 reversal day with the breakout occuring about 1:30 ct.

I have also been following the bond market a little more as I found a paltalk room what also trades bonds. As I trade these I will post those as well.

Trader X

The market was weak on close but still positive for the day. I had a great day to offset my losses from yesterday but the problem I still had today was waiting for better setups and then once profitable selling too early. I need to keep runners if nothing else. One contract will still make me feel like I didn't miss the rest of the trade.

This is another profitable week and I believe my best week yet since being with Foos!

Trader X

What a tough morning. First trade was a long on the es and I make a couple of points. Then I sold the bonds at 11216 and stopped at 11211. Then I went long again on the es looking for a breakout and I got stung when it tanked. Then I went short and make up the loss. After that I went long again at 64-66 range and sold 67-68 range. I have now made up what I lost yesterday! Bastards thought they could make me have a bad week!!!!! HA! Jokes on them!

Now to being serious. A lot of the guys in Fooser room are using market depth and time and sales to better predict the market. I have for the first time ever pulled these up on TS and let me tell you these things are very cool.

One Market Depth it tells you where the orders are but the funny thing is that they put phantom orders in there to pull the traders in. If you know that then you can tell that the side with more orders is often the week side. What? You think we are too stupid to figure that one out?????

Time and sales is the real deal. The raw numbers. Hubert from tradethemarkets.com has his broken down into small (<10)>10) so he can tell who is buying and selling. I will try to have these up during the day so I can use the really cool tools.

Trader X

OK, I have to remember a few things about today. Remember me talking about learning more from the losers than from the winners. Well today I have to learn from my losers. OK, where to start. How about this. I have to be aware the the AM sessions are where I make more money. I need to ask myself why this is. I think it's because I ID the morning trend and then get on board and wait for the train to leave the station and go to profitville! OK, so what happens in the PM?

Reversals, like today is what happens. I need to be very careful of the trend reversing in the pm's as it so commonly does. Today was a perfect example of me trading unhinged. I get a retracement and I go long. Stopped. Long again and stopped. OK, at this point I have learned that I am fighting a trend so I go short and of course the reversal is over and I get stopped again.

Moral of the story? Beware of PM reversals. This one collapsed just after 12:00 ct. and bottomed out at 1:30. Classic reversal times. The other thing I didn't do well today is to take positions at the extremes only. I just got caught in the propwash!

Look, there are days when the market just isn't going to do what you think. I can and do accept that. I still have much to learn and need to be more aware of my surrounding markets. Sometimes you are just going to lose and that is all there is to it.

Positives. I'm still positive for the week. I will trade tomorrow AM only because I have PM plans. It will be a profitable AM and I will take it to the bank!

Trader X

OK, I went long and was stopped. Long again and then stopped again. OK, I get the point. I'm looking for a short!!!!!


Trader X

I bot again at6525 when it retraced and it is struggling to go back up. I would like to sell again at 6875. May not get there. I might just eeck one out.

covered 6550 and 6650. Looking for another long entry below 66. We are going a lot higher from here I believe.

Stop out of my last 2 at 6750. A profit and I will take it.

I reentered long at 64 and 6450. stop at 6250. So far the market is just sitting there. Like a coiling snake this thing will strike... I just hope to the upside!

I'm now trading the March contract.

Took a PP (partial profit) at 5850. Still have 2. Stop at 5750 and target is 6025.

I'm long at 125650. I was looking at my daily charts last night and I realized that this thing is going up, not down like some of the pros think. Why? Because it didnt' have enough strenght to break down to 52 yesterday and the pre market is positive. Looking at the daily charts we indeed do have a higher high and a higher low. We didn't break to 50 and our last high was higher than previous. This thing is going to go back up. Just in case I have a stop at 52 and if I need to take my lumps and reverse I will do so. That simple. If I'm wrong I'm wrong and I won't fight it. I will join! In the long run I do think we are going to continue above 1275 though.

Trader X

Looks like we finally took another leg down. Looking for shorts since direction has been confirmed.

I never got a chance to enter short. It did occur to me that we filled a gap from 11/30-12/1. We filled that gap bar and then reversed up 4 points.

I have S/R levels at 1255, 1250. 125950, 126250, 1226350 for tomorrow.

Trader X

Shorted at 1260 (1) and then again at 126150 (2). Crappy trade but the market did come back to 126100 and I got out at break even. It's been sitting doing nothing ever since. No clear direction so I'm standing aside for now, until market shows it's hand.

Trader X

I just had a revelation regarding the learning process of trading. I was emailing the guys this AM about Foosers chat room and the revelation just hit me. I have learned a great deal from Fooser in his trading method. It is largely responsible for me becoming profitable.

I was chatting with Foos the other night when no one else was in the room and I was asking him where one of the traders that used to make a lot of commentary was. This trader just vanished from the room and hasn't been there for weeks. What I remember about this guy was that he was very funny when he lost money and he was funny a lot! He may have been the main comic source of the room

Fooser says to me that he just figures that when they no longer show up that they probably blew up there account and quit trading. Says it happens all the time. They will be in the room everyday for a couple of months and then just stop... gone, never to return. Then he adds that the guy that no longer shows up was a counter trend trader and that they rarely survive very long.

Then it hits me. I have seen several counter trend traders all come and go in the room... just vanish, never to return. That's when I realize that perhaps I've learned more from the losers than from Foos! Sorry Foos but it is true.... let me explain.

There are several traders that are always shorting every time the market goes up to the next resistance level and then breaks through, then the market will retrace some (my entry point usually) and then the market will rally to the next resistance level above that, and they will short even more contracts and the process just repeats. Yes, the market will occasional correct and come down and they will occasionally win. More often they lose. The process is the same when the market it going down... they will go long every time the market collapses to the next support level only to see it fall again. The same traders doing the same trades day after day and then they vanish.

Remember my issues with revenge trading? Same thing.

The first month I traded in Foosers room I would try to trade only the foosers trades but sometimes I just couldn't resist and I would follow the countertrenders. After falling into the countertrend trap I would resolve to only take Foos trades. Finally I reprogrammed my brain so that I wouldn't want to short a climbing market or buy a falling market.

It is funny to look back at that now because I see these guys doing the same thing that I did for my first year of trading and my first thought is can't these guys see the market if going up (or down). Are these guys nuts because they are going to lose this trade. Then I will patiently wait for my retrace to enter in the direction of the trend and more often than not I will make money.

Thanks to all the losers out there that have taught me something! This is a losers game afterall isn't it?

Trader X

I was short at the open at 65 and covered at 6250. Looking to go short again as this market is dropping and I want to be part of it! I will have a special post today that I think is important for me to tell you!

Ok I went short again at 6450 and covered 1/2 at 6350 and then at 6225. Not a bad trade. Of course the market continued to fall but I am looking for another reentry point.

Trader X

Fooser called for a long trade and just as I was about to put in the order the market just collapsed! 5 points! Didn't do the trade and I am done for the day. It's trying to rebound and climb back now.

Trader X

still haven't entered in either direction this afternoon. It looks like it might drop but the tick and trin are still applying pressure to the upside. I think I will just stand aside for the rest on the day. Looks like Fooser is doing the same.

Trader X

Out of my last contracts at 7375. Time for lunch! This thing may hit 75 in PM.

X

I got long at 6875 and 6775 on retrace and then took a partial at 70. Holding other longs for 73.

Trader X

Market trend was up before open on good reports. I went long at 6675 on a retrace and covered at 69. Waiting for another retrace in order to go long again. Next resistance is 73 area.

Ticks are positive and Trin had been declining.

Trader X

I only had time for one trade. I shorted at 6100 and 6225 and then the market went up to 6425. My stop was 6475 but it didn't hit. After lunch the market dipped down to below 61 and I covered at 6125 for a small profit.

Trader X

No, I haven't found the holy grail, the one indicator that will give good signals 100% of the time (there isn't such a thing in case you don't know that), but I have been profitable! I know it's been more than a month with no updates and I vow to not let it go that long again. I will go back to updating my pivots (support resistance lines) if nothing else. I've been doing that only on Tradestation as part of my morning ritual. Remember those... yes I still do them but of course the info is constantly changing. Back to the point.

As I have mentioned before I have found a chat room called Fooser & Pals on Paltalk. Fooser and his pals are daytraders of the best kind.... profitable! Fooser and his rag tag motley crew come from all different walks of life. Retired, ex-military, contractors, pit floor traders, ex- portfolio managers, and many others that I don't know and to top it all off a chef! Not sure what Foos did in a past life but since he opened the room in May of last year he has racked up about 500 es points. Respectable indeed. No, he doesn't swing for the fences, but he is very consistent. He uses Fib ratios, Gann, and my favorite Support/Resistance numbers for his trading... and then he will surprise us with an occasional CCI or 10 period EMA for fun!

After trading with him for a month I am beginning to get an idea of his style. Support/resistance mostly and trying to decipher the trend from basics like higher highs and higher lows or visa versa. He will often call for a trin number just before making an official call. Under 60 bullish, over 120 bearish. In between neutral. If 160 -210 then look for bottom and reversal and if 30-20 look for top and reversal. Kind of like the Tick, look for extremes and rebounds.

The process is basically this as I see it... and I am sure I am not getting it all but here goes. Determine market direction. Easy enough right. Another very good trader named Blue Mace that frequents the room to give lessons, says to look for the first hour high and lows and then if it breaks out above or below by more than 2 points it is likely to be a trend day. If we have an established trend then wait for market to have an impulse wave (hopefully ending at a S/R line) and then try to enter on the fib retracements of 1/3, 1/2, and 2/3. Seems Foos usually waits for the extremes at the 2/3 point or Gann lines (don't understand those yet, but will soon. Seem like trend lines at certain angles (1X1 is 45 degrees?) to me?) Then he will exit at the next S/R line above or below the one used for entry. Basically I think this is it. Simple right?

The nice thing about this is that the basic process should work in all markets... trend or consolidation. Let's talk about those for a moment.

When there is no trend evident (no higher highs or higher lows, or vice versa, and trin is somewhere say between 80-120) then we use the extremes as entry points (tick works really well for this BTW) by buying support and selling resistance.

Look, the whole idea is to keep this extremely simple and try to trade with the trend by buying pullbacks or just using support and resistance when there is no trend evident. KISS... Keep it simple stupid! And trust me on this one... I'm stupid and need it simple!

So here is the most important thing of all. Not the setups but the camaraderie, these are a great bunch of guys (and yes a more than few gals... who make great traders BTW) that know each other well and give each other a lot of trouble along the way to making money! All of a sudden you feel that you are part of a great group of traders. You feel that you aren't the only one out there in cyberspace trading all by yourself. Very important!

There are about a dozen or so traders that post their trades before or while they make them. Foos will post his entries and exits long before the market gets there so you can do the trades right along side of him.... and yes, make money! Others will post as they do them and so you can see quickly who is on the wrong side of the market (and yes they are consistently on the wrong side which can help you too if you are looking to do a trade and they post that they are looking at the same trade you might want to rethink yours) and who is on the right side (the traders you want to keep in lockstep with).

One other point of importance before I close this lengthy post. Patience... one thing that I usually lack. Foos will teach this by example very well. There have been more than few days that he makes no entries at all, because no setups appear. He doesn't push it. I have learned the hard way to follow his lead on this one the hard way. While others are trying to push a trade because they feel they have to do something, good ol' Foos will just sit there and wait... sometimes for hours or days before he sees something he will trade. Man Oh man... that is the hardest part but everytime I try to push a trade just to have a trade I get burned. I have learned.... the hard way. Don't do it!

The other side of patience is waiting for your exit, and waiting, and waiting... sometimes Foos will get in the AM and not exit until just before market close. Sometime I just have to set my stops (commonly below a support or above a resistance line) and put my limit exit order in and just walk away! Very hard to do since I tend to micro trade if the trade doesn't make money right now! I mean NOW! I have learned this patience the hard way as well by going back and seeing that I would exit a trade at a 1/2 point profit because I was getting nervous just before it moved 3 points! The Foos would always wait and get those points! He leads by example. He is also good at taking his losers off before they do too much damage.

OK, this is getting long in the tooth! Here are some details you will need to investigate.

http://current.fooserandpals.com/

Start here and sign up to get the daily emails and passwords. I haven't spent much time on the website so I don't know what's there because it is pretty new. Check it out!

Trader X