A weekend spent doing little if anything (including non-daily chores) turns a light on in a dark room. Simply turn off those things in the brain that caused the light to flicker off and on and you get a steadiness that brings clarity to what otherwise is a muddy mush flowing through the brain channels. I read a book on The Dow Theory (which I will discuss in the near future), spent two days adding dollars to my tournament bank (I am playing really well now), and I didn’t think about the markets at all, other than to decide that I needed a break from the same. So, I am taking a break from the markets. Instead, I will read more books on trading (I have four in line to go), and I will play more poker.
The lesson for me in this, and I learned this some time ago, as in trading, so goes life – take a break when losing, strike hard when winning. You see, the markets as they were last week are not my markets. They do not fit well into my style of trading. I don’t like surprises, and when the markets are running on “sell the news,” well, it is time for me to get out. When I gamble, I like to move the odds as close to “in my favor” as I can. When the markets trade on emotion (fear, uncertainty, greed), I can do little to move the odds in my favor. My best course of action is to wait until the roiling waters settle …
And so it goes … Since I am out of the markets, I am into poker because I am winning, and when one is winning, one needs to ride the horse to the finish line. In fact, in the last week, I just about tripled my bank roll. I found some smaller tournaments with less players and a bigger “payout to buy-in” ratio. I had been playing much larger tournaments (to get the really big payouts), but I was only getting close, and close does not count in poker. You are either “in the money” or you are not.
Again, as it is in poker, so it is in trading. One must adapt to the conditions of the moment, conditions, mind you, over which one has no control. So I lowered my aim and began hitting the target again (finishing in the money), along with an occasional bulls eye (1st place finish). All of that added up to almost tripling my poker bank.
Along with simply kicking back this past weekend, I also read the comments that came in my posts from last week. The clarity I received from those is not to be underestimated. I have always known that underneath the still waters of little commentary, a strong current of trading/market knowledge flows. That flow slipped to the surface this past week, and it has helped me get some clarity, as well as many others for sure. Believe me when I tell you that ALL of your comments are valuable and needed. It is a tough world out there in trading land.
Ultimately, we are alone when we pull the trigger for a trade, which can make the trading world a lonely place, but when others speak up and share their knowledge, it not only gives comfort, but the simple act of sharing can take away the sense of loneliness. Better yet, sharing can make us all feel a part of a community, which is one essential factor in the success of humans as a species on this planet. Yes, community in countries, states, cities, towns, and neighborhoods has done the trick for humans, but I am finding out that community in our world of trading is doing the trick for me. The more I read from others, and the more I share, the more clarity I get, and the more clarity I get, the sharper my trading vision.
TraderPlanet is our community, and as we grow and share with one another, we become better traders and better humans as well. Keep it up for all of us …
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
