Posts Tagged ‘power of concentration’

Market Turning Point Coming, Get Ready !

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Today is Tuesday August 31st, 2010 and I really think tomorrow is the day, we rally.

I have taken things a little on easy side lately, trying to enjoy the summer days as they are here. I have wanted to write and keep up with my blog, but the calling for time off was just a little greater. So, to those who are loyal followers, I apologize.

In today’s trading action, I was on pins and needles as we were coming into the close. I kid you not. I saw few things that told me, “if we did not rally up as we did, there was trouble for tomorrows open”. I remember it clearly, as these thoughts were traveling through my mind. I looked at everything and it all said, rally or die. We rallied at the close and I felt revealed.

The reason is, traders pick up on were the close of the day is. If it is on the lows, it sets the tone for many scenario’s. Program traders, Black Box traders and on and on. This would have had very negative signals for the coming weeks. There is a path down to S&P 945 and I did not want to see that happen. I am a long term “Bear”, just to let you know, if you didn’t already, but I just don’t think it is going to come when everyone else thinks it should.

We are going into the worst two months of the year historically, September and October. I can not tell you how many bad periods I have seen first hand with these two months as they are in-front of us. With that said, their is always the exception and what a better time then now for it.

This market has been very tricky lately in trying to fake out those who believe they have it figured out. It has waited to the very last hour of the very last day, to make a lasting impression on those who believe we are about to crack on down to lower levels from here. I tell you know, I could be wrong as I have stated before. We have not as of yet cracked as those who say we are going to, but have waited for the last 6 days in a very narrow trading range to either prove me right or wrong. It is just an opinion and is not going to change one dollar from my personal bottom line, but, I would like to get this call right in that I see everyone biting on the short trade right now and would like to be in the minority to better prove them wrong and share my insight why to those who follow my writings.

OK, I think you know I am short term bullish from here and am expecting a big rally as of tomorrow. I can’t see this going another day. It looks so right for a rally and or a crash. I can’t be blind to the fact I could have it wrong, even if I don’t think so. I always need to look to the other side. Even in a short term trade, you have to look to both sides. If you don’t, you could be blinded to what you want to see, rather than what actually is.

I made that one mistake today. I was tired in doing a phone session with a potential client and did not take a break, but just stayed at the screen and I started to see what I wanted to see. Almost like a mirage, and suddenly it appeared. In my delusion, I created a scenario of what I wanted to see, not what was. This can happen to any of us and it is not the first time or won’t likely be the last time.

By being over stretched and not fresh and or having little ability to exercise “The Power of Concentration” I am not surprised I tried to create a trade in my own mind. If you watch the video below, you will see the trade I was talking about. Looking at my trade indicators, you can clearly see that I really making a stretch for a long in the place I took that trade.

After I woke up from my slumber, I could see I was only dreaming. To take a long trade where I did, I must have been asleep. The other trades were OK, as they were all winning trades, but I could have done better there still. I did have to compensate for a bad entry by a  couple of ticks, which I don’t really like to do. I should not be complaining as I had 5 of 6 and ended up very nicely for the day. I had one loss for 5 ticks and multiple points profits. 

To finish up, I see this market has gone 6 days in a very small range and it is wound up so tight, it is just waiting to pop. The question is, which way. With the market sentiment so negative, I have to give the bias to the upside and say the surprise is going to come in with a big rally. I mentioned a few days ago that 1100 is strong resistance and we will likely trade up to that level pretty soon. Backing off from their a little is normal and a little expected, but if a break above 1100 S&P futures kicks in, we will see higher prices on top of that. So everyone knows what I am looking for, but will it happen. It is not the popular opinion right now and I am OK with that. Either way, I will make my daily goals when I trade because I will be reading current price action. That is the basis for my trading method. All trade indicators are secondary. That is a real big point and is exactly as stated. With that said, I am happy to have the trade indicators I use of which I only show a very small part of them as in the video.

I wish all my readers the very best. If anyone has comments or wants to ask questions I am very available to answer and would be glad to do so. Even if it is not about my trading method. Just ask and I will respond to you ASAP.

Vince

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Solutions For Poor Day Trading Performance

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Special Edition for Traders !

Many traders have the hope and dream of day trading for a living. That is a very worthy goal and represents an opportunity for being your own boss as well as being free from a 9 to 5 type job. With the economy the way it is, living this dream is something that is sought after by many and for good reason.

Having the vision is always the start, executing the vision is another story. Everyone starting out, always has the highest of expectations and why not. No one would want to go into a new venture thinking that they are going to fail, it is normal to hope for the best.

What happens next is often the unseen struggles that traders face. Most all, traders have some knowledge of how to put on a buy or sell order, place a stop and a target, move there stop up to lock in profit, etc. But being a successful trader, long term has a lot more to it than what first meets the eye. As the struggles begin for many traders, they can start to feel angry, frustrated, anxious, confused and at times depressed. Many sense a loss of control over there trading and it is this loss of control that can leave the would be trader feeling powerless.

Lets see if we can help. Most day traders, set out with very high expectations about becoming rich. These thoughts can at times cloud the vision of what it is really going to take to bring it all together. To begin the process of turning things around, “Set smaller achievable goals” for yourself. If you were to go back and check your account to see where it was that you went wrong, many times it is going to be a few bad days that really set you back and put you under water. If you could remove those really bad days and at worst replace them with only minor losses, that right there could make all the difference.

If you notice that you are making repetitively the same mistakes, DON’T DO THAT. It sounds like a no brainier, but you would be surprised by how many people do just that, or maybe you won’t. I am not throwing stones. I have made all the mistakes there are to make while trading, so I can speak from experience. Not exactly the kind of experience we like to talk about, but that is apart of learning. Take the struggles and mistakes, especially the ones that are repeated several times and put a stop to it. Find a way to overcome it. It may mean you need to take a small break and pull things together before re-entering the arena.

Never increase your trading size to try and make up for previous losses. That is pretty important, but it is done all the time. If you are not trading well, what would make you think that trading larger size is going to make you trade better. If you are not trading well, you have two choices.

1)   STOP  & WAIT – give yourself a cooling off period.

2)  Trade smaller size until you get your rhythm back, then as you are connecting with the market, increase your size then and only then.

By increasing your size while taking losses, you are being influence by the money. You want to get back what you feel the market took from you. First of all, that is the wrong mindset and that is the reason, you are increasing your size. You are being controlled by your emotions and are making a bad judgment, which will likely hurt you even greater.

If you take additional losses, with increased size, you can soon see the snow ball effect, well, that is what I call it. Things will only escalate into bigger and greater problems. This is where you could start to feel that “Loss of Control”.

These are where those big loosing days come from. It is days like this, that can mean all the difference in the world to being profitable.

There are many good traders out there, that just need a little adjustment here and there, to turn the corner. Holding onto bad patterns produce consistent results when executed, but these are not the results we are looking for. Separate yourself from your problem and examine exactly what is missing.

It may be that you pull your stops because you don’t want to be proven wrong yet again. That loss is going to to much to bear so, you pull your stop at times.  You may move it by a full S&P point or any unit of measure depending on what you are trading. Other times you leave yourself with No Stop at all, which is always a big mistake. This again is something that you did not plan to do before you entered the trade, but something that you just did. Often, you look back and wonder why did I do that in the first place. Only after all the dust settles can you see that you were not acting rational.

There is a root cause to all of these and many other trading problems that are faced day in and day out across the globe by those pursuing there dream of day trading for a living and experiencing the freedom and the lifestyle that comes with the territory. But what is it and how can I get it. There is no easy quick definite answer that fits for everyone, but I can give you a clue. It all starts in what is between your ears. “THE MIND”. The power of the mind is often overlooked in resolving traders problems. They just think that if I do this or make that change, things will be all better. It goes a little deeper than that.

A successful trader needs to have “Mind Power”. That is not some fancy new age mantra, but the reality that stands in the way for so many. The power of concentration and the ability to focus and only do those things that will produce the results you are looking for is where the base of the solution lie’s.

Take a step in the right direction, TAKE CONTROL, live and fulfill your dreams, I am here to help. Visit www.sniperdaytrading.com and request your free copy of my branded Book on “The Power of Concentration” and see what you can accomplish with your new powers.

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Newsletter

Friday, March 5th, 2010

The Power of ConcentrationGet your free copy of my Branded E-Book, “The Power of Concentration”. There are 138 insightful, thought provoking and powerful pages directly related to day trading for a living.

It is of the utmost value to learn how to concentrate. To make the greatest impact on your trading, you must be able to concentrate your entire thought process on the venture at hand. The person able to concentrate, utilizes all constructive thoughts and shuts out all destructive ones. Concentration makes the will and intellect act in unison and means strength of mind, exactly what we need as traders.

Don’t underestimate how much of an impact this book can have in helping bring it all together; “The Profit Column”. Sign up for my FREE newsletter to receive your free e-book: “The Power of Concentration”

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Reach Your Trading Goals With The Power Of Concentration

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Today is Wednesday February 17th

Continuing from yesterday: Becoming your own Trading Coach. Yesterdays trading lesson, may have seemed a bit harsh for some, but it is the truth that will set us free to live our trading dreams. With that said, having identified what some of our biggest trading problems are, we can now set on a course to find solutions to those problems.

The ability to focus our concentration on our trading setups is going to be key. Let us assume your trading plan is to trade the first 90 minutes of the day or less, which is a good plan. There you will have volume and usually plenty of trades to choose from. If you have a daily goal, like I do, 2-4 points most days, then you can break your goal down to a few bit size pieces or you may get it all at once. The trading session will have to determine that.

You need to be mentally prepared to see and wait for what you believe is a high probability set up. If you take less than that, you put yourself at risk for getting stopped out. You will have to make that up, if you expect to hit your goal within the morning session, so be a little particular, but not so much to where you don’t end up taking any trades. You can not have fear as part of your self talk or underlying mindset. You should be calm and relaxed. It is normal to be a little anxious, but that is what we want to work on. RELAX, but get and stay focused on what you are looking for.

Let the trade come to you, don’t go out searching for it. If you know what you are looking for, then wait for it. A sniper does not go out and use his rifle like a machine gun, hoping to hit something, but he waits for his target, sets his sites and lets the target come to him. When it all lines up, he takes the shot. This reminds me of the resent movie, “The Shooter”. That is what we should be doing, lining up our entries and letting our targets come to us. You will need the power of concentration behind you, to focus and execute the trade.

If you are not exactly sure you know what you are looking for, then you have a problem. You need to be sure, what you are waiting for. If you get confused about your entry, how can you be sure about getting your target. So, that may be one of the things you need to put on your list to solve and resolve.

Assuming you know what your target looks like, you should have a tight set of conditions that can put you in the trade. I, often times put up a small circle on the screen as an acceptable entry area. Going outside that entry area posses more risk on getting stopped out, but also of not hitting my target. Every trader needs a reference point for his entries, something that tells him he is paying too much or just right. If you don’t have one, that to is a problem and another item to put on your list of trading solutions.

Trading for extended periods of time can work against you. So be sure you do not find yourself glued to the chair for 3, 4, or 5 hours straight. You will not be helping yourself, by doing this.  Your ability to concentrate will go down as more time goes by. Sitting at your computer and trying to follow and or trade most of the day is very draining and you will  make mistakes. You may just be trying to work hard and that is admirable but we need to do more activities with direct purpose and concentrated effort. Think of it as leveraging your time, the same way that we leverage ourselves in contract purchases.  You will get far superior results by executing your trading plan this way.  But again, this is only my opinion.

The last point for today. One key element for trading success is going to be your ability to stay focused and concentrate through the whole process as mentioned. Staying sharp and fresh, first starts by making a decision and then doing those things that will bring it about.

Read about the life of any great man and you will generally find that the dominent quality that made him successful was in his ability to concentrate. Study those that were failures and you will often find that there lack of concentration was the cause.

I have tried to give you a few different things to think about here, but the main point is your ability to concentrate and execute your trade plans.

Good Trading to all !

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Todays trades; just small scalp trades today. I have not done this for a long time. I usually have trades for 1 or 2 points or more, but today, I did not have all that much time in between doing other things. I find it odd, that the subject I spoke of today, is what I did not have. I was not as focused as I should have been, but just trying to do too much.

 I do know that I came in late on the first trade and a touch to early on the second trade, the third trade I added on and averaged out a larger position the fourth trade was flat and I re-entered for the last. All winning trades but all small. I just took what I saw quickly in and out. +2 ticks, +2 ticks, + 2 and +1 tick (avg), flat and +2 ticks. These trades were not pretty but it counts and I will take it. I should have a little more time tomorrow.

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