“The secret to being successful from a trading perspective is to have an indefatigable and an undying and unquenchable thirst for information and knowledge.”

2.   “Intellectual capital will always trump financial capital.”

3.   “Every day I assume every position I have is wrong.”

4.   “Losers average losers.”

5.   “You adapt, evolve, compete or die.”

6.   “Trading is very competitive and you have to be able to handle getting your butt kicked.”

7.   “The whole world is simply nothing more than a flow chart for capital.”

8.   “At the end of the day, the most important thing is how good are you at risk control.”

9.   “Always think of your entry point as last night’s close.”

10.   “I will keep cutting my position size down as I have losing trades. When I am trading poorly, I keep reducing my position size. That way, I will be trading my smallest position size when my trading is worst.”

11.   “Don’t be a hero. Don’t have an ego. Always question yourself and your ability. Don’t ever feel that you are very good. The second you do, you are dead.”

12.   “Markets trend only about 15 percent of the time; the rest of the time they move sideways.”

sell any bounce

The first week of 2016 to the year marks the worst start in the history of the stock market.

The devaluing Chinese yuan, slack global growth, divergences in the major averages, the slide in junk bonds, the slide in oil and other commodities reaching multi-year lows, and the prospect of rate hikes all contributed to the market's troubles.

"DON’T HOPE AND PRAY. IF YOU DO YOU WILL LOSE."

DON’T HOPE AND PRAY. IF YOU DO YOU WILL LOSE.
When I was a new and undisciplined trader, I can’t tell you how many times that I prayed to the “Emini god”. My prayers were a plea to help me out of a less‐than‐pleasant trade position. I would pray for some sort of divine intervention that, by the way, never materialized. I soon realized that praying to the “Emini god” or any other "financial markets God” was a wasted exercise. Just get out! 

"GET OUT OF YOUR LOSERS"

GET OUT OF YOUR LOSERS You are not a “loser” Because you have a losing trade on. You are, however, a loser if you do not get out of the losing trade once you recognize that the trade is no good. It’s amazing to me how accurate your gut is as a market indicator. If, in your gut, you have the idea that the trade is no good then it’s probably no good. Time to exit.

"EARN THE RIGHT TO TRADE BIGGER."

"YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND PLAY THE NEXT DAY."

YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND PLAY THE NEXT DAY. Never put yourself in the precarious position of losing more money than you can afford. The worst feeling in the world is wanting to trade and not being able to do so because the equity in your account is too low and your brokerage firm will not allow you to continue unless you submit more funds.
The most important rule is survival. If you don't survive, you can't keep on playing.

wondering

                        today you can, it's the first business day of the year, do it now
                   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svi-efuZBR8

My message for 2016 is simple: Predictions are useless. Keep an open mind and let the market tell you what it is doing in real-time, and be prepared and ready to put yourself in the position of being able to "get lucky."

"BE YOURSELF. DON’T TRY TO BE SOMEONE ELSE."

BE YOURSELF. DON’T TRY TO BE SOMEONE ELSE.

"In all of my years as a trader I never traded more than a 50 lot on any individual trade. Sure, I would have liked to be able to trade like colleagues in the pit who were regularly trading 100 or 200 lots per trade. However, I didn’t possess the emotional or psychological skill set necessary to trade such big size. That’s OK. I knew that my comfort zone was somewhere between 10 and 20 lots per trade. Typically, if I traded more than 20 lots, I would “butcher” the trade. Emotionally I could not handle that size. The trade would inevitably turn into a loser because I could not trade with the same talent level that I possessed with a 10 lot."
Learn to accept your comfort zone as it relates to trade size. You are who you are. 

"THE FIRST LOSS IS THE BEST LOSS"

THE FIRST LOSS IS THE BEST LOSS Once you come to the realization that your trade is no good it’s best to exit immediately. “It’s never a loser until you get out” and “Not to worry, it’ll come back” are often said tongue in cheek, by traders in the pit. Once the phrase is stated, it is an affirmation that the trader realizes that the trade is no good, it is not coming back and it is time to exit

"YOUR BIGGEST LOSER CAN’T EXCEED YOUR BIGGEST WINNER."

YOUR BIGGEST LOSER CAN’T EXCEED YOUR BIGGEST WINNER.

Keep a trade log of all your trades throughout the session. If, for example, you know that, so far, your biggest winner on the day is five e‐Mini S&P points, then do not allow a losing trade to exceed those five points. If you do allow a loss to exceed your biggest gain then, effectively, what you have when you net out the biggest winner and biggest loss is a net loss on the two trades. Not good.

"NEVER TURN A WINNER INTO A LOSER."

NEVER TURN A WINNER INTO A LOSER.

We have all violated this rule. However, it should be our goal to try harder not to violate it in the future. What we are really talking about here is the greed factor. The market has rewarded you by moving in the direction of your position, however, you are not satisfied with a small winner. Thus you hold onto the trade in the hopes of a larger gain, only to watch the market turn and move against you. Of course, inevitably you now hesitate and the trade further deteriorates into a substantial loss.
There’s no need to be greedy. It’s only one trade. You’ll make many more trades throughout the session and many more throughout the next trading sessions. Opportunity exists in the marketplace all of the time. Remember: No one trade should make or break your performance or the day. Don’t be greedy. 

"ALWAYS LOWER YOUR TRADE SIZE WHEN YOU’RE TRADING POORLY."

ALWAYS LOWER YOUR TRADE SIZE WHEN YOU’RE TRADING POORLY.

All good traders follow this rule. Why continue to lose on five lots (contracts) per trade when you could save yourself a lot of money by lowering your trade size down to a one lot on your next trade? If I have two losing trades in a row, I always lower my trade size down to a one lot. If my next two trades are profitable, then I move my trade size back up to my original lot size.
It’s like a batter in baseball who has struck out his last two times at bat. The next time up he will choke up on the bat, shorten his swing and try to make contact. Trading is the same: lower your trade size, try to make a tick or two ‐ or even scratch the trade ‐ and then raise your trade size after two consecutive winning trades. 

"BE DISCIPLINED EVERY DAY, IN EVERY TRADE, AND THE MARKET WILL REWARD YOU. BUT DON’T CLAIM TO BE DISCIPLINED IF YOU ARE NOT 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME."

BE DISCIPLINED EVERY DAY, IN EVERY TRADE, AND THE MARKET WILL REWARD YOU. BUT DON’T CLAIM TO BE DISCIPLINED IF YOU ARE NOT 100 PERCENT OF THE TIME.. Being disciplined is of the utmost importance, but It’s not a sometimes thing, like claiming you quit a bad habit, such as smoking. If you claim to quit smoking but you sneak a cigarette every once in a while, then you clearly have not quit smoking. If you trade with discipline nine out of ten trades, then you can’t claim to be a disciplined trader. It is the one undisciplined trade that will really hurt your overall performance for the day, Discipline must be practiced on every trade.

"THE MARKET PAYS YOU TO BE DISCIPLINED"

THE MARKET PAYS YOU  TO BE  DISCIPLINED. Trading with discipline will put more money in your pocket and take less money out. The one constant truth concerning the markets is that discipline = increased profits.

"You are most likely to find success in markets if you can draw upon the best of who you are–your distinctive strengths–and find ever new ways to apply those to ever-changing markets."

       

? little bounce into Wednesday's FOMC announcement

He started to sing as he tackled the thing That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
on his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing That couldn't be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.

by Edgar A. Guest

itek

                               fail-safe below today's low

A basket of commodities as represented by the Commodity Research Bureau Index is in danger of hitting lows not seen since the early 1970s