My 2 Cents on Trading ... YouTube Video

Friday Day Trading: Trading is like an Artist and a Blank Canvas

Please click on chart for comments and a closer picture of the ES market chart.

Trading is like an ARTist and a blank Canvas ... this more than any other thought is something I would like to talk about today. The chart above is in the eMini S&P 500, or simply said, the ES market.

What we are looking at this week is one person's interpretation of price action over the trading week, and just like economists no two trader's interpretation seem to exactly fit with each other.

So those that know me, know that I am of the belief center that a person can be taught to trade, and they can come from any, and I mean any walk of life. I believe that a homeless person has about just as much chance to make it in trading as a rich person.

So if the playing field is level why is it so tough? The obvious first answer that comes creeping in to your thought pattern is that the homeless person, or those without the resources do not have the required funds available to participate in trading.

I would argue that the rich person is just as likely as the homeless, or down on their luck person, to lose money in the market, perhaps even more than their account balance when they have to face a margin call.

Why is this? I believe that the source of this problem when it relates to trading is how we are conditioned as students in a school atmosphere. We are taught that if we achieve good grades, then we can get into a good college, and then we can get a good job to pay us what we are WORTH.

Does this sound familiar to you? If so, you are not in the minority that share this kind of view about how life should work. But life is not a dress rehearsal, some people do get lucky breaks, and do WIN the lottery leaving other people behind scratching their heads, and asking why not me?

Bad things happen to good people, and the SUN shines on both the good and the bad alike. I do believe that our environment can influence the way we think, if we let it to do so. For example, if you are told over and over again, how much of a loser you are and you can't accomplish anything, then our tendency is to believe that in our innermost core of our being. That is when we are truthful with ourselves and strip ourselves down.

So what kind of person can succeed at trading? First of all, there has to be a passion. This passion can be about living, or family, or God, or you name it, but there has to be a reason for the person to get up each day. Some people will call this their, "WHY?"

What is your WHY?

Why do you want to be successful in trading? Why is it so important to succeed where so many other people have failed? If you believe the statistics, then being a trader you have a 90% chance of failure.

Why is that?

Once again, I believe that you can place your finger on the "I am always right," philosophy of how to be a success in life syndrome. We are rewarded for being right, not wrong. For instance, if we get straight A's on this report card, then you can have a steak dinner at your favorite restaurant. This behavior is rewarded much like Pavlov's dogs when they hear the dinner bell they start salivating.

I would argue, when it comes to trading, you better get used to the idea that LOSING is going to happen. And more importantly, the quicker that you allow yourself to grasp this concept, then the faster you will be able to allow yourself to become a WINNER in trading.

There are proven systems that are profitable with only a 30% win rate ... such as ... the Turtle Traders led by Richard Dennis, for example. If you don't know who Richard Dennis is, then I would like to suggest you watch a movie called, "Trading Places." This movie incorporates the thought process like one of the Moritmer brothers thought they could take a bum off the street and teach them how to trade.

Mr. Dennis did exactly the same type of thing, although, they were not bums off the street. But he did take people into his program from different walks of life. Even in his program, their were failures and success stories. Some of these people you can read about, if you do some research and your due diligence.

So I believe that one of the key components in success as a trader is to as much as you can take your emotions out of your trading. Allow yourself to have winning and losing streaks. Recognize that you are not a trading god, and move on with your trading goals.

It has been said, that you have to GIVE to RECEIVE. Many of you have given a lot, and some of you have given a little, but in the end, the prize comes to those that perservere. That is the person that finishes the race. The race does not always go to the fastest, are the bravest, but it goes to the person willing to put in the time and effort to make it work.

It goes to the person that can take their emotions, as best as they are able, out of their trading decisions. That is not to revenge trade, and not to want it all your losses back now. People have heard me say, if you get to the point that you are praying that this trade will work out, then you need to push the FLATTEN button on your platform right then and there, and stop trading.

Why? Because, if you are praying that things will work out for you, then I can guarantee you that their is another person praying for the exact opposite of what you want. Who is to say which of you is the more righteous? As in the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective saying. If the other person is more righteous than you, then their prayer is answered not yours. And more importantly, when you start praying about a trade, more times than not, it will be a LOSS.

You can take that to the BANK!!

In the end, I do believe trading is more of an art, than a science. We each have a blank canvass to work with, and what we do with that canvas, proper training, and guidance can eventually lead you to the promise land of being a success as a trader, if trading is your true passion.


Good Trades,

David AKA Tiger

Tuesday Day Trading: ZB Long 1st Bar Trade $656.25 per 2 contracts

Click on chart for comments on the ZB market trade.

Good Trades,

David AKA Tiger

Babe Ruth quote

"Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back."

- Babe Ruth

$800 Day Trading Gold for every 2 Contracts Video

Click on chart for comments on the Gold Market Trade.

This trade went for $800 for every 2 contracts traded. I look forward to seeing you in my live trading chat room soon.

For more information and to take advantage of the dollar trial: http://www.rockwelltrading.com/products-and-services/live-trading-room

Take a look at my new short eBook: Day Trading Knight: Trading with the Tiger http://www.rockwelltrading.com/files/Day_Trading_Knight_Version_1.1.pdf

If I can be of any assistance, feel free to send me an email.


Good Trades,

David AKA Tiger

Thursday Day Trading: ES Long SR Trade

Click on chart for comments on the ES market trade. Here is the trade that we waited all week to happen. It was a very nice trade after treading water basically all week.

One comment I want to make is that in the Live Trading Chat Room, I will be changing things up just a little bit ... I look forward to sharing the changes with you. One involves having a green light to share trades that I am considering that may or may not be a firm Rockwell trade, but still an A+ trade in my books.

Good Trades and See You Next Week,

David AKA Tiger

Wednesday Day Trading: ES Trades

Click on chart for comments on the ES market trade. The setups above are what seem to be the best possible trades to be taken in the emini today.

Friday the employment numbers come out ... how will the report be manipulated this time? The best advice is not to trade on Friday as a rule.

We finally saw the ES go down late in the day today after being up for the morning. There are a couple of red reports that will affect trading early tomorrow morning, then I am expecting pretty much a non event day in front of the Friday numbers.

Good Trades,

David AKA Tiger

Tuesday Day Trading: ES Long Trades

Click on chart for a larger chart picture. Today we had a breakout in the afternoon, but our entries did not work out. This happens at times. We get a valid signal, nice volume, but ol momo doesn't want to come along for the ride.

What do you do when these times happen? You either tread water waiting for the next trade, or you could even possibly take some time off waiting for the market to pick up again. With that being said, you tighten down your entries only looking for the best possible setups and trading them.

In the long run, trading is a numbers game when you are trading a trading method. You have to take the good with the bad. You will have draw down periods followed by gain periods, then breakeven periods. Your overall shape of your equity curve over time should be in an upward pattern, but with this being said, you can't SWEAT the SMALL stuff.

If you have a valid trading method or system, then trade it. Do not be afraid to adjust to current market conditions, as not everything goes in a straight up pattern.

Trading is not like movie, Back to the Future, where we can tell someone what to do. What we can control is our entry point, our exit point, and the size of contracts we will trade on each trade.

When you are first starting out trading one contract, I personally believe that this is the hardest thing to get yourself to the point where you can add contracts. Because when you have additional contracts, you can always scale back, but when you are trading one contract, there is no such thing as 1/2 of a contract.

My advice for what it is worth, is to be patient, disciplined, and self-controlled. Trust in your trading method, and allow the numbers game to work in your favor.

Good Trades,

David AKA Tiger

Monday Day Trading: ZB Long Trade $281.25 for every 2 contracts.

Click on chart for comments on the ZB Market Trade. This was a trade that we had to be a little careful from the morning high in bonds, and also the daily high from the previous day. The second contract was a trailer and the bonds moved back to backfill the last contract out.

This was still a great trade with conservative trade management on multiple contracts.

Good Trades,

David AKA Tiger

P.S. Once again, for those that don't know this by now, but I am hosting a LIVE Trading Chat Room with audio and video. Right now Rockwell Trading is still running a $1 USD Trial period for 7 days for you. I look forward to seeing you in the room soon.

www.RockwellTrading.com

Here We Go Steelers Song after Ravens Win ..

Polamalu Song & Video ... :-) Go Steelers!!

Here We GO STEELERS! Pittsburgh Going to the Superbowl!

Before the Super Bowl

‘Twas the night before the Super Bowl, when along the gulf shore,
Steelers fans were praying for “just one more;”

The players were nestled all snug in the sack,
With visions of the first NFL Six-Pack;

Coach Tomlin was young, but wise for his years,
So I drifted off to sleep without any fears;

When at the stadium there arose some strange chatter,
The Cardinals feared, what was the matter;

We heard “Okel Dokel”, we heard “Double Yoi,”
We jumped from our beds, our hearts jumped for joy;

He stood at the fifty with a grin ear to ear,
Steelers fans everywhere started to cheer;

Then in an instant to our surprise,
This little old man had tears in his eyes;

He went to the booth and there took his chair,
While Terrible Towels waved in the air;

Then over the airwaves came his shrill voice,
The Steelers Nation began to rejoice;

He said, “I am back, but you know I can’t stay,
I just had to see my Steelers play;

From my home up above, I have a great view,
But I wanted to celebrate here with you;

So bring on the Birds, we’ll send them a flyin’,
On the way back to Phoenix, they will be cryin’;

Ben, Hines, Troy, Jeff and all of the rest,
No matter the outcome, to me you’re the best;”

The airwaves went silent, the stadium still,
Was this just a dream, it seemed so real;

In our team we have faith, in our team we have hope,
But the game’s not the same without Myron Cope;


Written by:
A.K. Young
01-23-09

What You Can Learn From Sesame Street

What You Can Learn From Sesame Street

By: Markus Heitkoetter

I wake up at 7:00am in the morning, and I rarely expect to learn a new lesson in day trading before heading to the office. This morning, however, was different. I often join my kids in the living room watching Sesame Street, and, today, while sitting on the couch with my coffee trying to wake up, I was greeted with a bit of wisdom that all day traders should keep in mind: a lesson about the value of practice and persistence.

On the show, a young boy was trying to learn how to skate, but after 2-3 faltering strides, he falls down. Instead of crying or giving up, the boy maintains a positive attitude and says, "Practicing tomorrow I'll be better than today." The next day, he manages to take 3-4 strides before falling down, saying once again: "Practicing tomorrow I'll be better than today." The boy practices every day, and each day he manages to take a few more steps. Finally, one day he stays on his feet the enter time, and even shows off a bit, proving that he can skate like a seasoned professional. At the end of this small episode, he looks in the camera and tells my children and me: "See? Don't give up too easily. There are some things you need to practice before you can do them. Practice every day and you will get better every day."

While the simplicity of this lesson suggests that it is only for children, too many day traders prove through their actions that they need to hear it as well. Many traders, and not just beginners, give up too easily. They start trading, but after only a few losses in a row, they give up, looking for another strategy. They fall for the old paradigm which says that "If you don't make money immediately, change the strategy." As I’ve said many times before, if you don’t give your trading strategy enough time to work, you won’t know whether the problem is in the strategy itself, in a market slump, or simply bad luck. The key to successful day trading is in maintaining a consistent plan, and abandoning a plan too quickly will never teach you anything. You won’t know whether the plan is really designed for the long rather than the short term, whether the problem was in your entry or exit strategy, or any other details that can help you revise how you trade.

The child who continued to practice skating never quit after only a few tries. He never thought that he couldn’t skate simply because he didn’t immediately master the skill. Rather, he knew that he would have to fail a number of times before he could recognize and adjust what he was doing wrong.

Traders who find themselves giving up on their strategies very quickly, or who are constantly changing strategies looking for one that works on the first or second try, need to remember this young boy. He should remind us of two things that, as day traders, we should never forget:

1. Practice! Don't jump with both feet into the water. Backtest your strategies. Practice on a paper trading account. Start small and trade with one contract first. The boy would never have succeeded if he tried to skate like a champion on his first try.

2. Don't give up too easily! Losses are part of our business. Don't expect to make millions in your first week of trading. "Practicing tomorrow I will be better than today." Learn from your successes and learn from your mistakes, and pledge to become a better trader every day. The boy knew that a failure today could turn into more success tomorrow, and he reminded himself of that each time he had a setback.

Sesame Street may not offer you the most timely stock tips, but it can definitely teach you how not to sabotage yourself and your strategies by abandoning them too early or expecting success too quickly.



As CEO at Rockwell Trading, Inc., Markus has taught hundreds of investors in the U.S. and European markets. Throughout his career, Markus has traded EVERYTHING: stocks, options, futures, commodities, spreads, Forex, foreign markets, interest rates, etc. If its out there, he has probably traded it. In the past 5 years, Markus has taught his strategies and methods to hundreds of traders all over the world, offering educational webinars for the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), Eurex, FxStreet, Strategy Runner, and other financial companies. He has written articles on over 500 websites, and has become an expert contributor on ezinearticles.com, Yahoo Answers, and FAQTs.com. www.rockwelltrading.com

Wednesday Day Trading: ES Trades Long and Short

Today was basically a non event day trading in the ES market. We made a couple of attempts to enter the market today. Both attempts did not work out. This happens in trading. You can't possibly win them all.

In any case, trading 2 contracts today we took two attempts, on both occasions the entry point was valid, but the momentum to carry the trade to victory was not. The total loss trading 2 contracts today was $600, or $150 per contract today ... two separate trades. Each trade individually lost $300 per trade today.

I know a lot of times I show the positive side of trading, and how much you can make. But the other side of this is you have to be prepared to take losses and drawdown to your account. There is no way that you will win every day.

On average I run between 60% to 70% Win Percentage and around a 2.0 Profit Factor. So for every dollar risked I make 2 dollars. We are coming into another month end and personally I start shutting down the trading for the month around the 28th. Tomorrow there are a couple of economic reports that I would like to trade after the release of them.

Another thing about trading is you will have streaks. You will have winning streaks and you will have losing streaks. Being able to continue to trade through the drawdowns is important. Perhaps, you have to adjust your contract size accordingly as you experience a drawdown period.

Nothing, and I mean nothing goes straight up ... your account will have peaks and valleys. What you are trying to accomplish is to make each valley a little less than than the last valley so your overall performance is in an upward movement.

With all this being said, day trading is perhaps one of the most rewarding things that you can do, but keeping your patience, discipline, and self-controll will determine in the long run along with your trading plan ... your overall success as a trader.

Good Trades,

David AKA Tiger