Trade Aptitude

personal development psychology May 09, 2024

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5185.25 stop 5181.75. Short 5249.50 stop 5253.50.

Wednesday’s results: Neither trade triggered.

The World Index: (+100/-100) improves from -14 to +14, mixed sentiment and low volatility.

Catalysts: Jobless Claims @ 8:30. 30-Year Bond Auction @ 13:00. Fed’s Daly @ 14:00.

Quick Tip: Is it fun?

In James Clear’s awesome book Atomic Habits, he reveals “The Truth About Talent.” While there is a genetic component to the answer, it’s not the only component.

Talent also comes from learning, training, and practice. But before you agree to dedicate yourself to all that work, you need to really like what you’re doing. It’s difficult to persist when you don’t like something. It’s easier to persist when you do.

Clear offers a few questions to ask yourself so you can “pick...

Trade Aptitude

personal development trade planning May 07, 2024

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5185.25 stop 5181.75. Short 5249.50 stop 5253.50.

Monday’s results: Shorting 5206.50 triggered at the close of the cash market and wasn’t taken. If you converted it to a swing trade it was only worth 4.25 points.

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from +60 to +29 as the Bullish sentiment fades on lower volatility.

Catalysts: Fed’s Kashkari @ 11:30.

Quick Tip: Intuition

The best way to start trading is to have a plan with an edge and the discipline to execute without emotion.

Once you’ve arrived there you will have considerable experience and that leads to intuition. The interplay between these two can often be the difference between a profitable trade and a significant loss.

Experience is gained through considerable time observing markets, making trades, witnessing cycles, and understanding economic indicators.

...

Trade Aptitude

personal development psychology May 06, 2024

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5156.50 stop 5152.25. Short 5206.50 stop 5211.25.

Friday’s results: Shorting 5142.00 was filtered out during the Non-Farm Payrolls release/volatility.

The World Index: (+100/-100) remains at +60 with all open major world markets Bullish.

Catalysts: Fed’s Barkin @ 12:50, Williams @ 13:00.

Quick Tip: Perfect Practice

If you were an actor you would not only memorize and practice your script, but you would listen to or watch a recording of your performance to hone your act. Repeatedly. Practice and review.

This sequence is the formula for mastery. It applies to anyone wanting to truly master their profession including traders.

It’s critical that you practice in simulated mode before risking real money. You want to develop “mental muscle memory” and confidence.

It’s even more critical that you develop a ...

Trade Aptitude

personal development psychology risk management Apr 26, 2024

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5082.75 stop 5078.25. Short 5176.00 stop 5181.75. Both are filtered out during the PCE news release @ 8:30 ET

Thursday’s results: The buy at 5048.50 was filtered out due to the GDP release volatility but did bounce for a quick 12-points.

The World Index: (+100/-100) soars from -14 to +64 with all major world markets firmly Bullish.

Catalysts: Core PCE Price Index, Personal Income & Spending @ 8:30. Revised UofM Consumer Sentiment @ 10:00. MSFT & GOOG earnings strong.

Quick Tip: Three Q’s

The best formulas for success are simple.

One of my favorites on decision making, which applies to trading very well, comes from Keith Cunningham, author of The Road Less Stupid:

1 – What is the upside?

2 – What is the downside?

3 – Can I live with the downside?

This ritual can be accomplished instantly with a little practice....

Trade Aptitude

personal development psychology trade planning Apr 16, 2024

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5046.75 stop 5042.75. Short 5176.00 stop 5181.75.

Monday’s results: Buying 5169.50 ran for 16 points.

The World Index: (+100/-100) PLUMMETS from +24 to -79 with all major world markets very Bearish on higher volatility, S&P Futures up slightly. Contrarian alert: historically longs outperform at this level.

Catalysts: Housing Starts & Permits @ 8:30. Fed’s Jefferson @ 9:00. Industrial Production @ 9:15. Fed’s Williams @ 12:30, Barkin @ 13:00, Powell @ 13:15.

Quick Tip: Consistency

Having taught over 4000 traders in the past 16 years the goal I’ve heard most often is the desire for consistent profitability.

You know what profitability is but how do you define consistency in trading? Time certainly enters the definition. Short term traders would likely strive for weekly profitability. Long-term traders look to monthly, quarterly, or...

Trade Aptitude

personal development psychology Apr 15, 2024

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5169.50 stop 5164.75. Short 5249.50 stop 5253.50.

Friday’s results: Buying 5215.25 stopped out.

The World Index: (+100/-100) improves from +7 to +24 with mixed sentiment worldwide.

Catalysts: Retail Sales, Empire State MFG Index, Fed’s Williams @ 8:30. Housing Market Index @ 10:00.

Quick Tip: 5 Fears

Fear paralyzes progress in anything you do. In trading, there are 5 types of fear. Recognizing you’re susceptible to them is the first step to a solution.

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) – you can’t tolerate watching a winning trade from the sidelines. This breeds impulsivity. Solution: Have an abundance of trade opportunities.

Fear of Loss – you still feel upset about losing money. Solution: Lower your risk and find a strategy you have confidence in

Fear of Being Wrong – you are embarrassed to be wrong...

Trade Aptitude

personal development psychology trade planning Apr 09, 2024

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: Buy 5213.00 stop 5208.50. Short 5296.25 stop 5300.75.

Monday's Results: Neither trade triggered and remain on the chart.

The World Index: (+100/-100) eases from +14 to +7 with most major world markets flat or modestly Bullish.

Catalysts: Nothing on the economic calendar today.

Quick Tip: Think like a CEO.

You should manage your trading like a business. Even if you’re employed, think of it as a side business. You’re unlikely to have employees and that means you need to wear different “hats” to be successful. You’re the CEO, CFO, and Trader.

The CEO creates the vision then ensures it becomes a reality. He is the author of the trading plan, documentation, and review processes. He is not mired in day-to-day performance. His focus is on long term growth and goal attainment. Spend some time developing a written vision statement and goals...

Trade Aptitude

day trading personal development psychology swing trading Mar 28, 2024

Results of Wednesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No trade triggered.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets):

Buy 5280.00 stop 5274.25. Short 5274.25 stop 5280.00 if price drops below and retraces to entry.

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -14 to +21 with most major world markets mildly Bullish.

Catalysts: GDP & Jobless Claims @ 8:30. Chicago PMI @ 9:45. Pending Home Sales & UofM Consumer Sentiment/Inflation Expectations (revised).

Quick Tip: Expectations

“What are you struggling with?” was the question I asked a group of traders a while back. One woman said she had “expectation” challenges. She felt she needed to acknowledge that every trade cannot be a home run, or “10 to 1” as she phrased it.

I respected her self-awareness. Expectations is not a commonly voiced trading...

Trade Aptitude

personal development psychology trade planning Mar 27, 2024

Results of Tuesday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No trade triggered.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets):

Buy 5242.00 stop 5236.25. Short 5314.50 stop 5320.25 (same as yesterday).

The World Index: (+100/-100) drops from +36 to -14 with major markets mixed.

Catalysts: Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30.

Quick Tip: Great Job

Your focus when trading should be on doing your job well. Don’t think that winning is good and losing is bad though. You can do your job well and still lose. Why? Because we have no control over the outcome, only our behavior.

Here are your main “job” components as a trader: Research, practice, preparation, execution, and review. Your trade plan should be organized along these lines.

There are plenty of analogies that compare traders with athletes, musicians, artists,...

Trade Aptitude

personal development psychology Mar 26, 2024

Results of Friday’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points: No trade triggered in another narrow day.

Today’s Best S&P Futures Turning Points (consider wider stops and less size in fast moving markets):

Buy 5242.00 stop 5236.25. Short 5314.50 stop 5320.25.

The World Index: (+100/-100) jumps from -50 to +36 with most major world markets mildly Bullish.

Catalysts: Durable Goods @ 8:30. Home Price Index @ 9:00. Consumer Confidence & Richmond MFG Index @ 10:00.

Quick Tip: Your Behavior

Imagine starting in trading without any historical information. No price charts. No patterns to study. No economic information. No annual reports. What would you use to determine if it was time to buy or sell?

Thankfully, we needn’t dwell on that question at all. We have incredible historical information available that we can research for potential edge in our trading. The fact is that historical information is ...

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