Emini Course and Mentoring Program

In my Emini Trading Course, I show you how to utilize a “Sniper Trading” type approach using my tested method to earn at least 2 points per day from the markets. You could learn how to make consistent profits in good or bad markets. Our method focuses on high probability trading, delivering you your points for the day. Day trading for a living does not have to be hard, if you have the right method, plan, course of action and someone to explain it to you in a live market trading environment.

Price action, is driven by emotional buying and selling decisions for a variety of reasons, all of which are present in the current price at any given moment. Our job, is to find the turning points that exist in each session through precision market timing. These turning points are present every day the markets are open. Sniper Day trading will teach you to clearly spot where these turning points are, using a trading mastery type approach. These points show up like consistent “Sniper” shots on your trading screen and are clearly defined by using the custom tools I have created.

We strive to teach our students to learn price action apart from indicators or tools, but they are helpful to point out what may not be seen in the beginning. I am sure what I have in full is not being taught by anyone and is unique to me and the many years I have spent developing and now clearly defining the “Sniper Day Trading Method”. The signals generated by my method will produce the same signals to anyone who is following it, there is really no gray area, only which trades you decide to take and which you let go by.

Sniper Day Trading Method

We trade with tick data and use multiple time frames in timing our trade entries. I have three different styles I trade and bring them up as the price action dictates. One is a “Scalp Trading Method”, (T-1 Trade) that is very accurate in picking up 2,3 or 4 ticks on the S&P. My stops are such, that this approach averages a one to one risk/reward ratio, but enjoys a very high percentage “Win/Loss” ratio. This is bread and butter for me.
The second style enjoys the benefit of my “Precision Turning Points” model, (T-2 Trade) and is usually traded with multiple contracts. The first part is scaled out around 1 point, which quickly brings me to a no loose position and the second half is usually allowed to run. I have four incredible ways to get out, all of which act independently of each other, but are uncannily similar in their results.

The last, is a “Pyramid Trading Method”, that when conditions are right, you are able to keep your first risk small but scale into the trade, adding positions in the direction of the trend, but only at very low risk entry points, keeping your stops down to 1 S&P point. Each one of these methods are very clearly explained in my 80 page trading manual and followed up in the DVD training part of my course. They will also be gone over in our live trading sessions.

While only needing to pull 2 points after commission per day out of the market, (8 ticks) catching a few scalp trades or a T-2 trade, is really all you need to hit your daily goal. I believe in setting realistic goals, which increase your chances to meet them. By having a clear mind, a solid trading plan, with position sizing risk limits and rock solid money management, you come that much closer to trade your way to financial and time freedom.
Examples of two typical trading days back to back, applying the Sniper Day Trading Method. It only took about 20 minutes to get my daily goal plus on both of these days.

Mental Discipline and Trading Psychology. I have told you what I can offer to you, but this is not all you will need for success. I am convinced that my method, custom indicators and complete approach could make the aspiring trader profitable on a regular basis, but do you have what it takes? Trading psychology plays a huge roll in all traders, whether they know it or not. You have forces constantly working against you. Success is only going to become a reality to you, if you have the qualities needed to pull this off. What you are going to need is * Discipline * Patience * Ability to follow rules * Control your fears * Get a grip on personal greed. Frequently, I talk about this in my daily blog, because they are too often why traders fail to reach their goals.
I offer a lot of support in this area as well, if you are a struggling trader and want to change, I have the tools, method and know how to likely turn you around, so that you can create the consistent income, free up your time and fulfill your dreams in becoming a successful day trader.

Mental Exercises

In my program I address some of these issues in a series of “Mental Training Exercises” that I have put together. They are designed to get your mind thinking and believing that trading for a living and meeting your daily trading goal is normal, natural and the only outcome you will accept. The titles in the first series are; * Financial Freedom * Positive Risk Taking * Holding your concentration while trading * Achieving your Trading Goals. The titles in the second series are; * Overcoming Trading Obstacles * Controlling Emotions while Trading * Overcoming the Fear of Failure * Creating Hope & Success.

These I believe are very powerful and are in, “the first person” and will become personal to you. They are a form of Neuro-Linguistic programming that can take you farther and bring you closer to meeting your trading goals. They are, in written form and in audio CD and created by me. My plans are to continue to expand these in the future and make any new additions available to students who come on board, all at no extra charge. These training series are specific to traders and cover issues they face.

Solutions for traders, Sniper Day Trading

I realize that not everyone is born with all the qualities a successful trader will need, but I feel it can be learned if you want it bad enough. Ask yourself, how much do you want to become a consistent successful trader ? The answer to that is going to make all the difference in the world.

I know personally the things that hold traders back from bringing it all together and I know exactly what to do to help them change. I believe I can help the struggling trader as well as the trader who has never done this before.
I can set you on a course that is tailored to your experience level and walk you through everything needed and expected. The good part is, you won’t have to go it along. If you have any question, I can not only answer it, but help you apply it, to get the results you will need. Our daily goal is not to hard to hit, 2 points + per day. We can take a conservative approach to help you get that goal regularly.

If you are honest and know you need help and are willing to work hard and change what ever you have to, then I am sure I can help. Trading for a living is possible, but you need to do different, be different and think different from the majority of other traders. If you first commit to yourself these things, then I will commit to you, which will bring you one step closer to the success that we all strive for. Lastly, I want to assure anyone with doubts, my method, straight up works. The only question that remains is, will you move forward and decide to make it work for “YOU”.

Price Action Day Trading

“Price Action Day Trading”, is the key to your long term success. The markets do something everyday that is consistent since they began trading, over one hundred years ago. It exists in all time frames and gets played out on trading screens across the globe each day. It is important to understand and learn, “good price structure” and how it is built. That is what I teach and that is what students get when they partner with me at Sniper Day Trading. The key is learning what to do and when to do it and why. If you don’t know the answers to those questions you will eventually fall short. Many traders use indicators to help them and that is OK. I have them and use them also, but I do not base my trading decisions on the indicators. I base it on good price structure and trade setups that happen over and over, day after day. Traders and investors are very predictable, they base many of there trading decisions on emotion. Knowing slightly ahead, how they will react when certain prices are reached and breached, give us the trading edge we look for. With that said, the indicators magically line up with our trading decisions which can give us the added confidence to put our money on the line.

Below is a typical trading day where you will see the trading, “Turning Point”. I have stripped away everything from the screen except two things. There is much more, but I just want to show you that the indicators line up with our turning points. Which came first the chicken or the egg. The chicken and that is price. Price is always first and the indicators are second. That being said, the indicators can help traders see what is already on the trading screen. I hope this explanation helps clarify in the minds of seeking traders that what we have and do is real and works.

What You Get With Sniper Day Trading

• My E-Mini Trading Manual (hard copy 80 full pages) with future updates. (very nicely done)
• Complete DVD video training package in very nice hard cover locking case / extra: will include method applied to stock trading.
• Method explained throughout the week, with full screen video and audio illustration in both the T-1 and T-2 screens, “Turning Points”. Very powerful part of ongoing training. (This service will be included ongoing all at no extra charge)
• All custom chart settings to build your trading platform and help by me if needed to set it up.
• All of my custom and modified indicators I created, that will unmistakably identify my “TURNING POINTS” for the T-1 and T-2 trades, when applied to the method.
• Method checklist work-sheet ( for examining trades against method).
• Laminated 8×11 “Method Overview”, to pin up over trading screen. Laminated 8×11 “Mental Exercise Overview” pin up over screen.
• Mental Training Exercises: eight titles – audio CD and in written form. On-going future title releases no extra charge.
• Leather bound “Trading Journal”, to help you keep your thoughts, progress, questions and answers.
• I will personally work with each trader by screen sharing technology and voice of I.P. through SKYPE, in a live trading environment. After you go through the material, we will set appointments for our personal sessions together. We will apply live market data to the method and I will show you exactly what to do and how to do it. The manual and video’s will give you a head start, but working with me personally will undoubtedly bring it all together. I will spend as much time as needed with each trader who comes on board until he or she understands the complete trading method.

If in the future if you have questions, I will always be here to discuss them and go over your charts to help point you in the right direction. I am not just selling my trading method, but offering much more, mentoring and getting you profitable. Traders often face mental barriers that hold them back, but they do not know exactly what it is or why they consistently make the same mistakes over and over again. I can uncover the problems here, find the solutions and set you on your new course.

My goal is to get each trader that joins with Sniper Day Trading to book at least 2 points per day and gradually increasing contract size to a desired income goal. I will do my part as stated above, will you do yours?

ORDER HERE

Related posts:

1. Training series / First in a nine part series
2. Live S&P Futures Trading Video’s Today
3. Technical Analysis for Today’s S&P 500 E-Mini

Before you start trading, it is very important that you know what it is that you are doing and what you are trading. It is similar to trading stocks but at the same time, very different. There is a definition of terms for those who need to know the basic language in the glossary.

We are trading the S&P 500 E-Mini Futures contract. This represents a shadow or a mirror of movement in the S&P 500 cash index. Traders and institutions across the globe buy and sell contracts with each other. For many, it is a hedge against a portfolio they own and sell contracts equal to the value of their portfolio as a form of insurance. Pension funds and large institutions do the same as well as mutual fund managers.

They are buying and selling protection in the form of contracts against the Index. To do this they need a very liquid pool of futures contracts to draw from and that is where the trader comes into the picture. He or she may not want to hedge their portfolio, but may want to speculate on the future direction of the market. Traders are an essential ingredient to offer the liquidity that the institutions need to quickly move into and out of the market.

I once heard a man ask a trader what he does for a living and his answer was, “I am an asset liquidity provider, how about you”. That statement is true. That is what we do.

Each contract traded represents 50 times the current value of the index. Lets say that the Index is 1000, a nice round number. Multiply 1000 x 50 = $ 50,000 and that is the value of one contract. If the index was trading at 1100 the value of the contract would be $ 55,000. You need to put up a deposit for the right to buy and hold a contract. If you hold the position over night, you will need about $ 5,000 deposit. If you close the position at the end of the trading session the margin will go down to about $ 1,250 for one contract.(day trade margin)

At Sniper Day Trading, we trade for a modest daily goal most days, between 2-4 points. The S&P 500 emini futures trades in ticks. There are 4 ticks that make up one point. Each tick is $12.50 and since there is 4 ticks to a point, one point is $50, 4 x $12.50= $50. If our daily goal is capture 2-4 points we are trading for $100-$200 dollars per contract traded. With an opening balance of $5,000 you could conceivably buy or sell 4 contract. So to use the example above, 4 contracts traded x 100 to 200 each contract, you would be making $400-800 per day.

We don’t recommend that traders start trading the maximum, but start at the smallest and work your way up. It is possible, averaging 2 points per day that in 4 weeks you could be trading at 4 contracts and bringing in the kind of money above. You can stay at that level or increase it over time. What ever you feel comfortable with. You may decide to go slower and reach that level in 2 or 3 months and that is OK. The main thing is averaging that 2 points per day over an extended period. It is very possible, people are doing that and more all over the country and you could to.

On the main page we talk a lot about discipline, patients, and focus, all essential things for reaching your goals. But first you need to know how to trade. I offer that in my course and if you decide to become part of the family, I will see to it that you understand my trading method and how to apply it.

When we put on a trade, we teach how to enter at just the right moment as the momentum will carry you higher or lower which ever way to you are trading.

Make Money as prices go up or down

Which brings me to my next point. You can make money in either direction, up or down. Often, prices go down a lot faster that they do going up. The principal works the same. When you put on a trade that is going up, we would call that a LONG TRADE and when you put on a trade that is going down, we call that a SHORT TRADE. We teach how to take these trades in a clear concise way. No gray area.

When we take a Long Trade, we Buy to Open / Sell to Close

When we take a Short Trade, we Sell to Open / Buy to Close

There is always someone on the other side of the trade to take the position, the price is the only thing that changes. If you sold the futures or “Shorted” the market at the S&P price of 1091 and you covered the trade by buying it back at a lower price at 1088, you just made a 3 point profit of $50 X 3 points = $ 150 dollars per contract traded.

Remember that each tick is broken up in quarters and 4 quarters make up 1 point. You can think of it like 4 quarters make a dollar, but in this case, it makes $50, because each tick is worth $12.50.

Commission cost for the transaction varies on the broker but the typical costs is about $2.00 to buy one contract and $2 to sell one contract. The complete transaction is called “round-turn”, buying, then selling.

TIME CHARTS

When building our charts on the screen, we use tick data. Tick data is different than time data. Trading in a one minute bar chart is the smallest increment of time that you can use. When using TICK CHARTS, you can create a much more detailed view of the trading history. It is through this trading history that we are able to draw up our entries in this much more detailed view. It allows us to enter at the exact point, Sniper Style, to hit our mark. Get in, Get out, Get done.

We teach precise entry and exit points using these tick charts and with the ongoing training you will always see the method applied to current data.

Above, is an example of a Candle Stick Chart. These are typical setups for us, as you can see the entries short and then long. The first trade was good for 1 to 2 points and the second good for the same or higher.

I usually follow bar charts that have an open, high, low and close to them, as shown above. Some people like using candle stick charts and that is a matter of preference. Candle charts have a wider body and make it a little easier to see the open, high, low and close, but using tick charts, often we need the screen room to see the complete patterns developing as well as one feature that I use to help visually see the change in direction. Often, this change in direction matches the other components of the method which helps to confirm our entry, LONG or SHORT.

Different Types of Orders

There are three main types of orders used in our style of trading. There are “Market Orders”, “Limit Orders” and “Stop Orders”. I use all three of them at different times for different reasons and explain it all in my course and mentoring program.

A market order, in our style of trading is typically used to close positions that are still open. Others may use them to start a position but we don’t often do that. It better serves us to use this order when we have an open position close to our stop loss and decide it is better to close the position and the protective stop at once. Both done with one click of the mouse at the same time.

A “Limit Order”, is an order to buy or sell at the specific price that we specify. See the example below. There is a blue column, the “Bid Size” and red column, the “Ask Size” This is where I place my orders. By clicking inside the blue column, price 1091.50, I am willing to buy at that price only. When contracts become available from the other side, the red column, my order is filled and I will have gone “Long the S&P emini futures market”. The opposite is true for “Selling Short”. This is an example of buying or selling with a “Limit Order”.

The last order type, “Stop Orders”, are usually used to protect a trader from incurring a greater loss than what he has predetermined ahead of time. For me, it is 1 point or less on all trades I put on. ($50 dollars per contract traded or less). That is the maximum loss and is set automatically at the time I click the order to buy. No need to do anything else. You can set predefined limit order targets and they can go up at the same time as your order entry as well. One click of the mouse and the rest of the entire process is complete. You can even stagger your “Limit Order Targets” if you trade more than one contract, say 1 point and 2 points. If the first one gets hit and filled, your stop loss will automatically adjust itself to only protect now the remaining half of your open position. Nothing else needs to be done, but just the one click order entry, period.

This is a very nice feature for those who may lack discipline in placing their stops and targets when and where they should after they enter the market. You can even use the one click feature just explained and use a “Trailing Stop Loss”. This will automatically move your protective Stop Loss up with say a rising market. You can set a trigger point, say its one point. When you reach that one point level you sell half your first position, every tick the market rises from there, your stop will rise by that much, keeping a 4 tick stop position. If the market had moved up 3 points quickly and came back 1 point, you would automatically sell your remaining position at 2 points, locking in your profit. This is because you preprogrammed it to do just that. This again is a great way to capture more profit in a fast moving market all automatically. The only thing that starts the process is just the one click of the mouse. Done. Very Cool. I, most often do it manually, but that is me. I can show you how to set this upin a blink of an eye and teach you to effectively use this feature.

Different Types Of Trading

There are different types of trading. The three most common, “Day Trading”, “Swing Trading” and “Position Trading”. Day Trading is what we do, because we never hold any position over night and make a few trades inside the daily session. Swing Trading, will carry positions over-night and hold those positions for several days. Position Trading, will hold similar trades but for several weeks or months.

Inside of Day Trading, there are several approaches as well. We look at three main tick charts, separated by small, medium and large time frames. Depending on the traders preference, if he or she has one, we can tailor our program to match your current trading style, or mirror what I am using for my trading. In our first meeting together, I will be able to help you discover what is the best time frame for you to start with. Naturally, I will show you how I set up my charts and fully explain the way that I trade. After that, we can go from there.

Scalp Trading

Scalp Trading, is often misunderstood. There is really no set definition that will clearly define it. It may mean one thing to someone and something else to another. That said, what I most often do is Scalp Trade the S&P 500 futures emini market. You can trade other markets like the Russell, the NASDAQ, or the Dow Jones. Each has an emini futures market that is liquid and very trade-able.

When the trading range is very narrow, scalping 2, 3 or 4 ticks, may be all the market safely gives you, without waiting around hours for a good trade setup. This is how I would define Scalp Trading.

With our base daily goal of 2 points or 8 ticks, you only really need say, 1 trade for 1 point and two trades for 3 ticks and that would also cover commissions and you are done for the day.

The setups are the same in the smallest time frame, as compared to the highest time frame, because the market is “Fractal” in nature. That means the same patterns and setups occur in all time frames across the board, showing a trading symmetry that is often seen in nature, below is an example of that.

With my trading approach, we are able to capture what the market is giving us. If the trading range is expanding and large swings are showing up, we can capture those moves for multiple point returns.

Scalp Trading, gives you the ability to save time in your trading, by getting in getting out and getting done with it and on to other things. I don’t trade all day, like many do. This style of trading offers the “Time Freedom” that many covet. Having the Trading Discipline to walk away after hitting our Day Trading Goal is key in keeping the struggle to a minimum.

Getting what you need from the market, is like shopping for fresh meat and produce at your local supermarket. If you try to stock up on too much, it will go bad and you will lose it all. I find the same true in trading, getting what you need for today is a better approach and produces trading discipline, controls greed and keeps the traders struggle manageable. It is a lot easier to get 2-4 point in a day verses 8-10 points in a day. When you are not able to reach this high trading goal, it will produce frustration and feelings of failure can creep in, derailing all of your efforts.

Controlling Fear and Greed

Many traders just starting out, soon discover that they have almost what seems like uncontrollable trading emotions. They find it difficult to stay focused and maintain control. Often, traders find themselves trading with their minds to focused on the money. That is a sure-fire way to slow your progress and often ruin it entirely.

Most traders have gone through this, but most don’t know how to break the bonds of these powerful emotions, Fear and Greed while Day Trading. The good news is, I do know and is very much apart of the Sniper Trading approach. These are things that I uncover and address to my students and take this part very seriously. Starting out, many are not even aware of these dangers, but that is my job to prepare you for any unforeseen problems that can come between you and your modest daily trading goal each day.

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Related posts:

1. Training series / First in a nine part series
2. Technical Analysis for Today’s S&P 500 E-Mini
3. Trading Discipline, Part 4

Fear and “Day Trading” do not mix. The successful trader needs to find himself well before he sets out to trade the emini market, stock market or, forex markets. If you wait until you are trading against the professionals, you will wish you had not. The best way to get a handle on fear and trading, is to face it, head on. Write down, what it is that you are afraid of while trading. Lets give it a try.

Your list may include things like this; * I am afraid of getting stopped out * I am afraid of missing the big move * I am afraid of not hitting my daily goal * I am afraid of losing money * I am afraid of being wrong * I am afraid of being a failure before my friends * I am afraid of never making it as a successful day trader.

I could go on and I am sure you could find a bunch more. Those were a few off the top of my head. Write down, what your fears are as they relate to day trading and then you will be able to address each one of those and take concrete steps to overcome them.

I will break down the list above. I am afraid of getting stopped out. OK, first you need a plan, method or system of some kind to follow. I don’t recommend systems, because the markets are every changing and systems tend to fall in favor and out of favor, as many traders abandon them as soon as drawn downs hit, so a trading method is better. After you have that, learn it, get inside of it, take it apart and put it back together again to find out how best to make it work for you. When conditions call for a buy, place your order, set your stop and follow your method. Trade by exception as I have said, you should let the trades come to you. This is what you can do to overcome the fear of getting stopped out. Get educated, calculate your risk, see your reward and place the trade. You should have traded it successfully in practice sessions, which will give you confidence when you trade live. Let me say this, you should trade at least two weeks and make money each week. As a day trader, trading short-term swings, you should make money 8 or 9 days out of 10 before you trade live. If you can not do this, save your money. You are not ready. It takes time to get to this point and many are in too much of a hurry. Think about it. If you lose your trading capital, you die, just like blood to the body.

Fear; I am afraid of missing the big move. There will be others coming soon, don’t chase the markets and don’t be anxious. Let the conditions set up or forget it. Don’t feel you have to take a trade, there is no rule and if you have one like that, get rid of it. If price action says no, just wait. You need to know what it is that you are looking for. If you don’t, it will create fear and indecision. Don’t force the trade, it should come natural to you. If it doesn’t, do not trade it. You need to be relaxed, not tense with sweaty palms. If this is you, don’t trade, you are not ready. Practice taking trades where it seems natural to you. Recreate the environment that this is real, imagine, that you are trading real dollars and you are looking for a method setup. See yourself as it will be, when that time comes. This is like mirroring the environment before it actually happens. You will get a lot more out of these sessions like this. Also, do not take any trades for fun or just to see what will happen. That is useless behavior. Once you know how the trading platform works. respect it and take any practice trades as though they were real, period. When you book a few weeks of profit, you can ease into the market at the smallest contract size only and work up from there with market driven profits, even if you have a $25 or 50k account.

Fear; I am afraid of not hitting my daily goal. Don’t be afraid of something that has not happened yet, if you are not prepared, then you need to take that hesitation as a sign you need more time. Most traders believe they are ready well ahead of the actual fact. Don’t be one of them, keep your assets safe until you know what you are doing. If you go for the, “on the job training approach”, you will drain your account, for sure. The ratio of traders that are actually able to do this is very small, 5%. That is one in 20 traders. Some say that it is 10% but those are traders who may just be getting by with a slight profit, not exactly anything you could spend. Traders who make good money year after year are as small as, 1 in 20. What are you going to do different that puts you in that small minority. Be willing to work hard, practice and get to know how price action works. Reading the charts without indicators and understanding why they are making the moves they do. We need to have a respect for the markets, but not fear them. If you don’t respect it, it will strip you clean and you will only be left in confusion.

Fear; I am afraid of losing money. If that is the case, you are not ready, period. That kind of fear will make you do all kinds of strange things. You will get out, only to see the market rise, get frustrated and jump in at the top only to see the market fall before you eyes. You will then wait for what looks like a good counter trend trade and it will roll over on you continuing the downtrend, you will never get close to being successful if you have this emotion, for this reason. Don’t trade with scared money, get in a better financial position so that the loses do not affect you, free yourself from this and you will have a chance to unleash your new talent.

That has to it for now, I will continue tomorrow from here. I hope this is helping my readers, I welcome any feedback or questions.

No related posts.

This is going to be a very important week to watch. We are currently resting on key market support that goes a long way back. This support has many times proven itself as a point of interest. Each time the price has moved higher, but will it happen again? That is the 64,000 dollar question that everyone wants to know. Well, anyone who trades for longer swing moves and those that may be trading stocks. The general market trend, accounts for the majority of a stocks overall movement. I don’t remember the actual percentage, but it is very high. So this kind of information is key, to those traders for sure.

Day trading the S&P E-Mini’s for daily income, is very different. We look for the short-term direction and move with it, at low risk entry points along the way. It is different for everyone, most traders trade differently. Almost like snow flakes, no two are the same. Well, maybe not that extreme, but you get the point.

It is vital to have a set strategy as you approach any market. Trading stocks is really no different from trading the Index Futures, because the index consists of stocks. Often, it is much easier to trade the emini index futures, because you do not have to look for what to trade. Each stock does have a certain personality to it and learning the many nuances of each, can be time-consuming. Trading the E-Mini’s you don’t have to hunt or look for what you are going to trade and you do have the leverage to go with it.

OK, I don’t want to get side-tracked and promised to talk about Fear and Greed and how it relates to trading in the way that I see it. Everyone has a perspective on this topic and many things have been said regaurding these two trading emotions. It effects everyone differently and many learn different lessons as they have dealt with this in there past and continue to deal with it at times in the future. It is not something that goes away. You have to manage it and put it in its place. By managing it, I mean, not letting it take root in you, effecting your trading results. It can destroy any trader and humble the most arrogant, very quickly.

Nothing good comes from Fear based day trading. We often react to our positions with this strong emotion. It can make us do things that we would not normally do, only to regret it all at the close of the trading day. We may often ask ourselves, why did I do this or that. It may be, that we pulled our stops and tried to give the trading position more room, only to find out that our first small loss would be the only acceptable loss for us.

Now we find ourselves, not willing to take a loss that large and give it more room, only to find that the more room you give it, it just never seems like its enough. During a time like this, you are not reacting rationally, but out of fear. That fear, can be coming from many directions. One is as simple as not wanting to accept you may be wrong. We may feel at times that our ego and trading confidence are tied to winning trades and when we are not posting them, the thought of losing, just does not match our ideal.

Trading from a fear base, is only going to bring you down any way you look at it. All traders need to accept the fact that you will have losing trades. If you can not handle that simple fact, you may not be ready to trade. I know that I reacted last week to fear, in one trading scenario. I don’t remember which day it was, but, I saw the bottom of the market and felt we were going to go higher, I jumped in to soon and did not follow my entry method and it cost. I was reacting out of fear, but this fear was a little different. It was the fear of missing a move, that caused me to take action to soon and not wait for my base method entry.

It happens to all of us, but the best thing you can do as a trader is go back and write it down. This will cause you to remember why you did that and understanding that, you will have the basis for making changes. People move whole markets based on fear. Trading stops are often triggered by this emotion.

Traders who trade without a trading stop often react to the whims of the market, by getting out at the bottom, only to find the market move up again, but without them. As the price drops against them, they convince themselves that it will come back, it has too, is how it usually goes. Traders often talk to the price as if it can hear them. Fear based trading will produce adrenaline, but that is not what you want. Get that at the gym or some other form of exercise.

You want to have as little emotion as possible and want to remain level and in control. That goes for large gains and your loses. If you feel that you made a mistake, your first loss it best. Never pull your stops, never. Close the trade out right where it is, no matter what and re-evaluate after you are flat. Often, you will be more objective when you are out of the trade and see it more clearly.

Try and trade with as little of a market bias as you can. The danger is in establishing a strong mental opinion, where prices could and should go, only then trying to confirm your predisposed position. We need to follow the market not the other way around.

These are some short answers to help defend against getting in that fear based trading mode in the first place. The opposite of fear, to me, is peace. You are content and at ease with where you are. That is what every trader needs to find. There are many ways to help you get in that state of mind and we can explore them in the coming posts this week. I have many suggestion that I use and will be willing to share them with you, so check back Monday afternoon or early evening and I will continue.  Until then, good trading.

Below is my trading from Fridays session.

Related posts:

1. Controlling Day Trading Emotions, Fear
2. Trading Psychology, should not be overlooked
3. Technical Analysis for Today’s S&P 500 E-Mini

As you know, I have watched the market sentiment numbers pretty closely and it has not given an extreme reading since the March lows. One side of the market is at an extreme reading now and has been there for several weeks now, but the most important numbers to watch is the bullish readings.

Currently, after having come off substantially the week before, the numbers came all the way back and then some. I am very confident that when these numbers reach an extreme, you had better hold on, because the volume and market volatility is going to come back and it will not likely be to the upside. We may still have some to go.

Currently the bullish numbers are at 53.4% up 5.1%.  That is a big move for one week. The bearish numbers are at 15.9%. This is a 9 year high, as best as I can see. It was not until back in 2001 that so few people were bearish. What do you think that is saying? Well, let me interpret. The majority is never right for very long, lets just leave it like that.

These numbers work in the opposite direction. Isn’t that strange? If you understand how Trading Price Action works, you would think it is really quite normal. The market takes you up, so that it can take you down and visa versa.

It is possible that we could see numbers as high as 60%. If we do, that is a super strong reading. Anything over 55% is considered the danger zone for a Major Turing Point and it could be coming soon.

We are in a Rising Wedge on the S&P 500 Index and if it gets broken, there is a statistical percentage that the market is going to go down with some significance. That is just how it is and how it works. We are in a pressure cooker, that is for sure and I can see it as plain as day. There are so many action points for traders when the market starts to roll over. Let me put it another way, we all know about the game of domino’s, right. OK, we keep setting up domino’s with each passing day and week and month go by. The longer this rally continues, the more painful it will be for those caught in the down draft to adjust themself and their portfolio.

I don’t have any answers, but, this is what I saw happening 9 months ago. We were going to trade back up to the middle of the range and at some point, the dam would break. We all had better stay clear of the path of the water and make preparations. If it does not happen, that is great, but I know of no other way to work off the excess optimism other than a decline.

We may have more to go to the upside  and that would be a good thing for others to get a better price as they prepare to sell into strength. OK, that is it for now on that. I was a little surprised that the numbers snapped back so strong. Wait and see for now.  

I will have to take a rain check on the post I mentioned about yesterday, Fear and Greed. It is a topic I will share my thoughts on in more detail. I will try to put it out in tomorrow’s post so it could make for interesting reading over the weekend.

Todays trading, was OK, but back to very slow trading. At 12 pm West Coast, there was just 1 million contracts traded. That was half of what Wednesdays volume was. There was some nice trades in the morning for anyone trading then, but mid day it got very boring and slow. I was still able to pick up my daily goal, without much trouble. I have a couple of video’s of the action below.

Until tomorrow, Good Trading !  

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2. Expecting Bullish Market Sentiment to Rise Further
3. Market Sentiment

The direction was, well, exactly like I thought, in that the first move after the open was a nice move up. At that point we would have put in a pivot high and  a pivot low. The move after that was going to determine the direction of the trend and when broken it was going to be with increased volatility. That was pretty much what I said was going to happen, and it did. I will say, I did not know yesterday, which way the market was going to break after the first big move up as I said. I could see a push up, as a natural rhythm flow of market action after the open, again that is what we got. The move after that was the key. As I was talking about in some of last weeks posts, “If this, then that”, statements.

I could not see two moves in advance, but really only one first, then after that, the second one. You can not get ahead of the market, but you can rehearse in your mind what you will do if this happens or that happens. So, the second move took place at 11:15 am West Coast time Short, we had a reaction move back up off that and really got the break that took off at 12:14. The next 45 minutes, we saw a 23 point drop in the S&P to the low. That is a lot. I pointed it out to my subscribers in their daily turning points video. You saw where to get in exactly and where to get out exactly on the smaller time frames

We react to what takes place in the market, not the other way around, that does not work. In chess you need to look ahead and be ready for what your opponent will throw at you, but being proactive and seeing the potential ahead of time, in either direction, you will not be taken by surprise, but be ready to act without fear. You can only really play the move that is in front of you at the time, but ready for surprises.

I don’t have time to show the turning points here today as I said I would. I am traveling in the Bay Area and will be back in my office in the next day or two. So lets hope for tomorrow when I have more time.

Vince

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Well, we did pull back, but not before the future’s market pushed higher by 5 S&P points. That was just about the amount I saw, in higher prices. The thing is, the move was made in the future’s market not the cash market. We trade out of the future’s market, so the call was some what right. The point to that was the pull back off the last push higher. Smart money saw what I saw and said, I am not going to wait for tomorrows open to cover my position and take my profit, I am going to do it right now. They sure did and prices pulled back until the open and then just continued to fall. The cash market caught up to the futures and fell with it. As mentioned before, the cash market very often will follow the futures prices and move accordingly.

I think this move may be marking a little time, moving over in the chart to create more room, so that prices can go higher and not run into resistance. That process, may take a few days and slightly down is OK. If the index drops more than about 3 points on the S&P, it is going to bring in some additional selling and we may see a drop of 20 points or so. Currently we are sitting on some key support in the hourly cash chart. That is the next move. If this, then that. The break first, then the drop.

Just a reminder, It was two years and a week now that the all time high was reached in October 11th, 2007. Everyone is just remembering the big drop from last October, but we were in the process of dropping a whole year before that. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE. I remember a song titled like that, I think it was from the 80’s, O well. That is the question?

I recently spoke to a few people who thought the market was going to continue higher over the next couple of years and had to disagree with them. To many things to say exactly why, but is this time different? That is alway the age old question. Every time the market has dropped, we have always pulled back up. The answer to that is yes and no. Yes before and possibly no now?

It has been 11 years since the first time the markets saw this price. That is a long time. Eleven years ago, in 1998 October, we briefly brushed up against a recession and quickly bounced back to soon there after bolt to the all time high a couple of years later. The market has not made any progress for all that time. If someone was wanting to retire and needed the money, he may or may not have gotten out at a good time. We have gone up, down, all the way back up and all the way back down since that time. As of late, another attempt for higher prices, but will this attempt be met with stiff opposition or not.

The P/E ratio’s are priced as such looking forward to earings of the future and they are very optimistic in reflecting a robust outlook, because currently by all measure of historical standards, we are way overpriced.

If anything happens to disrupt this rosy earnings rebound we will be met with a violent, fast adjustment down. Only after the market starts to interpret the news and reallocate its opinion, will it be able to tell us its next move. A move back down to the middle of this rally range, will be the best case scenario if this break and adjustment happen. Lets hope for that. If the drop does not stop, it will be because of serious problems we can not control.

The dollar is on the edge of its seat right now. The pressure coming against it is very strong. I believe I have written about it before. If anyone is interested I can give you a few articles explaining in great detail what may be about to happen. vinnie@sniperdaytrading.com  This is not a theory, but it is fact and can not be hide forever. There are some serious problems in the country, don’t be surprised if things go sour once again. There is a giant band-aid on an open wound. Is it going to stop the bleeding? No one really knows but all we can do is look at the signs.

The time to make money is still at hand, so let us not roll up in a ball of fear, but face our fears. I have met a lot of people who can not handle the possibility that things may not always be as they were in this country. For them, not knowing is the best way they can coup. I guess if I had limited knowledge I may be inclined to think that way, but I am glad I see life clearly, the world clearly, the trading markets clearly and many other areas. I am not afraid of the future but look at it through the eyes of opportunity and not only for myself, but for others.

We have the ability to make choice everyday. Sometimes we make good ones and other times not so good. It is not where you were that counts, but it’s WHERE ARE YOU GOING, that matters. We only go around this globe once and I think we should make it count. It is time for all those who aspire to live and experience there dreams to do so now.

That is what I have decided and I am investing myself into the things that will take me there. Financial freedom is just one of those area’s. Not having to worry about money is a worthy goal, but how you get there does make a difference. Day Trading the S&P E-Mini Futures is just one of the ways I am able to live my dreams. It is a means to an end, not the end.

http://www.screencast.com/t/WyQNJoc8vmj             Turning points in “Scalp Mode” Fridays session

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2. Called Live, Short Term Top In Today’s market.
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Very nice day today to the upside as I had said in Fridays blog. The Dow was up around 230 point and the S&P 26 points. About half of the move was before the market opened, so full participation on the move by all was slightly hampered.

Over the course of this week we should see some higher prices overall and retest the old highs of last week. I had said a couple weeks ago that I was expecting prices to go to around 940 on the S&P and we came up to around 930 and backed off.

I still think the market will want to push itself up into that outside resistance area which is around 940 ish. That would give us a slightly higher high and would put in a nice fat pivot point to trade short off of, if in fact we get it.

If today’s lows get taken out, all bets may be off. Today’s low is the line in the sand for this move of the last couple of months. If it gets taken out, the move should be back to the middle of the previous range at a minimum.

In today’s trading, I did good, picking up my daily goal, as I have come to expect. But I did take a few stops on some split trades early on. I had missed three real good trades because of my computer acting slow at the order point, very frustrating. Others who were following me had no problems picking up those good entries, capturing their points early on. I took a break after the first hour and finished up a little later, capturing a few nice trades to more than put me over the top for today.

I still have not upgraded my trading software which is going to fix the problem I have had with posting my equity chart like I had been, but I have included today a short video of a few trades that I actually took and a recap of the day’s trading signals in another video.

I will post the video on cattle futures maybe tomorrow that I did on the weekend. This is just showing that if you understand how price action works, combined with support and resistance and other techniques, that you will be able to put yourself in front of trades that can carry you to profitability no matter what you like to trade.

Trading Lesson:    Trading is by no means easy, but you can do a few things to put the odds of profitability in your favor. One of those things, as it has been talked about in trading circles, is to control your emotions. Emotions make people do things that they would not otherwise do. Fear and Greed can make people enter bad positions and take you out of good ones.

One of the ways to help overcome some of these problems is to be able to settle in your mind what is a good trading goal for the day. If you want to be a millionaire and you want it to happen now, that is not a realistic objective. If you want to replace other income with trading income, you still need to answer the question:  How much is enough?

If you are realistic, and come up with a modest figure and work towards that goal slowly, you will have a far better chance in reaching that, but more importantly, sustaining that over a long period of time. I have come up with a figure that will work for me and it seems reasonable at 2-3 S&P points per day. I have not had any problem getting to this figure for months now and it is because my expectations are reasonable in what I can safely take out of the market today, tomorrow and the next.

If your expectations are 8-10 points per day, that is not realistic over a long period of time. You may be able to hit that some days, but the psychological pressure you will be putting yourself under to obtain that figure will take a toll on you over time. It will make you reach for trades that are just not there, inevitably making costly mistakes and having to struggle to just make up for those mis-trades. If you are honest and realistic with your daily goal, assuming that you have one, something much smaller is sustainable and will not create the anxiety that hitting such a lofty goal will put you under.

That being said, once you hit your goal and you are in sync with the market flow, you can at times continue to trade but you should consider cutting down on your trade size. This will again take the pressure off and allow you to concentrate on the just the pure move, by removing some of the fear that can creep in by trading your P&L.   If you trade on your own, you have to be your own risk manager, there is no one there to rein you in if you put your account at risk by taking multiple losses. Do you have a plan if that happens?  You should, because it happens to everyone at some point and others all too often.

We as traders need to always work on performance as a means of extending your personal mastery. This is done by repeating the same base trade setups that happen again and again each and every day. Waiting for the trade to come to you is key. You cannot go looking for it, you will get lost. The markets have a rhythm to each and every one of them. A collection of people’s emotions taking prices up and down. I have said this before but it bears repeating. Find the rhythm and go with it.  Doing so will put you into a small group of traders that can, versus the traders that can’t. Which do you aspire to be?

http://www.screencast.com/t/8ce2iH3Df              Some of today’s available trades

No related posts.

I have not talked much about daily market direction lately, because I had not seen anything that was worth pointing out. I wish I had posted what I saw yesterday, but today is still OK. I will give you a 5 minute overview on what I see and how it could be played out over the days to come. But before I do that I want to give a quick recap of today’s trading.

It turned out good. That is always music to my ears, but as I mentioned before, if you are not in focus and have distractions going on, your performance is going to suffer. That is how I started out. I was giving a trading lesson to one of my students and I had not yet gotten my points. My mind was not on the current price action and when I got around to taking a few trades, they were good for gain, loss, gain, loss.

I did that three times, back and forth, until I settled down. Part of the problem is trying to trade in the slow patch of the day. I needed to take my own advice from yesterday’s trading tip.

I thought about that today as I found myself in the red. On my way into negative equity territory, I had to pause, take a deep breath and relax. The market has a natural flow to it and you need to find that rhythm or flow. I cleared everything out of my mind and just waited for the trade to come to me. I did not have to go after it.  After that point, I had 10 gains, one loss and one even, to go from -600 to + $2,000, much better.

My daily loss limit is two times my minimum daily goal, (between 2 & 3 point) and I have yet to stop trading because of my loss limit. It has not happened yet with my daily gains now stretching into the start of my third month in a row. The actual trading totals have been on average about 3 times my daily goal. For a long time, I was struck on trading 5 contracts and I must have been averaging 3 times that on a daily basis. I have currently wanted to trade less and increase size, so I have been doing an OK job with that.

You need to be emotionally ready, as well as financially, to increase your size. But, if you are able to see the trades each day and know why and where it is you are taking those trades, then it is just a matter of doing what you know. Leave the fear behind. In a market with volume, you will not be in the trade for very long and this will cut your anxiety or fear down to manageable levels.

Again, for the trader who is just getting started, you need to be able to put those winning days together, one after another. That is why, I feel, you should not be in the market all day. It is too much for most to handle. The market has a way of wearing you down, until you get sloppy or let your guard down. Then you may find yourself in the fight of your life. Don’t put yourself into that position. Get your points and get out.

I have seen just about everything the market can throw at me, but I need to respect it, or I too will be humbled. There are times when you should not trade at all. Erratic movement without periods of consolidation and choppy direction-less formations are all telling you to take a break.

It is amazing what that decision can do for you. When you come back after an hour or so, it can look like a whole new market, with predictable swings and volume.  That is the environment you want to be in.

Tomorrow I will record a few of my live trades with commentary as I was doing before, for those who are looking for that.

 As I promised, below is a short overview of how I see things in the daily’s. I hope it helps, but remember, you need to think for yourself and see it for yourself to be able to trade it for yourself. 

http://www.screencast.com/t/qCTlcKhG         Today’s equity chart

http://www.screencast.com/t/bljwZXzuz9e   Market overview on the Daily – video 5 minutes

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2. Trading Discipline, Part 4
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The Market, in general, slowly backed off its highs from yesterday. The night trading saw a move back up to yesterday’s high and when the general market opened at 6:30, the Dow shot up 50 points and the S&P about 7 points. There was a gap in the S&P and when you get an extended move, like what we have had the last couple of weeks, with the market trading near its high at 800, it was likely the gap would be filled rather quickly.

I missed the initial move down by a second and found myself a little frustrated, not a good emotion when trading. I was looking for a low risk short entry and took a trade a little early and got high tick stopped. I was in a little heavy, I think 7 contracts. I was sure we were going down but was just a little too anxious. So I started to back off on size a little. I had to wait the market out, but I was still a little anxious. I prefer to see a choppy market early on, because there are usually a lot of small trade set ups, but when it is trending right off the bat, it can be hard to find a low risk place to get in.

All in all, I did OK, making 15 trades with 9 gains and 6 losses. I scaled out of all the trades with 2 targets. Posted about $800 dollars in profit. I made a few mistakes today, but it happens. The market did just what it always does, so I definitely can say that I was to blame on a few of the losses that I could have avoided. The other losses were no one’s fault – just probabilities that show up.

After yesterday’s big gains, I decided to back off a bit. I am trading a lot more than I usually do and I can’t complain. I have been posting very solid profit every day for about 7 weeks of trading. I need to do some assessments and go over my trading plan. I do not want to lose sight of my goals. I had wanted to increase my contract size and make less trades, but I have been making more trades with small contract size. Again, I can’t complain. I have been getting the increased gains that I had planned on, but I have been having to work a lot harder to get it.

One interesting thing I recently saw, there is a TV show in England that took 100 people and interviewed them for a trading career. Out of the 100, only 8 were chosen, with a mixed level of education. To make a long story short, within 2-3 weeks of being properly trained, 4 were making money and 4 were losing money.

The person who did the best was a mother of two children who had an entrepreneurial background. The person who did the worst was a I.T. engineer. The I.T. guy said this was the hardest thing he has had to do in his life. When a program is not working right, he just reprograms it with the right settings and the problem is solved. He tried to apply the same principles to trading and could not do it. The next best trader was an ex-soldier. He said he was used to making quick decisions and was flexible to the current task at hand. He was not boxed in, with seemingly an absolute frame of mind.

The moral of the story is, that being successful at trading has more to do with your personality than intelligence or I.Q.  We follow principals and not so much rules. There are definitely guidelines to follow and you have to know what you are looking for, but having the right personality for the job is essential. The Mother of two was cool under pressure and applied what she learned. She was not overly scared, but placed the trades as they came up and she got the expected results.

We all can learn from this story, including myself. There is no place for FEAR when trading. If you are afraid, then you are not ready. You may be trading with too small of an account or you may not really be able to take on the risk. The best way to approach this is to allocate an amount in your account that you can comfortably risk. If you draw down to that amount you will stop trading and give yourself a month off to assess the whole situation.

So if you are OK with risking, say $500, that would be 10 S&P points with only one contract. You could give yourself a daily loss limit of say just 2 trades or 2 points. If you are not on it, with gains out of the gate, then you wait until tomorrow and try again.

But do not trade with fear at your side. The worst thing that can happen is already predefined, so accept that fact and go forward. You have 5 days of losses, assuming you lose every day, before you get to your total limit for the month. That is really not too much damage to take on, when you look at the big picture of hitting your daily goal of 2-3 points per day.

http://www.screencast.com/t/RVRfEqSe19Y             Some of today’s trades - Still shot

 http://www.screencast.com/t/vGOqsxDEII               Today’s equity chart

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