Category Archives for "Trading Pyschology"

Stop Trying to Hit the Home Run Trade…and be a Babe Ruth Trader

In my trading past I have often thought about and tried to hit the “home run trade”. And yes I have hit many home run trades, but over time I learned that becoming a better all around trader was more important and more productive.

We are deep in the heart of baseball season here in the United States. As I thought about hitting home runs, baseball and trading… I thought about Babe Ruth. So in doing a little research, I found that Babe Ruth was not just a great home run king, he was a great overall hitter. He would have probably made a great trader today. Let’s call him a Babe Ruth Trader. Continue reading

Trading the Stock Market is a Lot Like Playing Golf

On this U.S. Open Championship weekend I thought it appropriate to discuss golf and how it relates to trading the stock market.  I can think of at least 5 ways that golf can help your trading…there are probably many more. Continue reading

VIX at Extreme Lows Again, But for How Long?

Yes the VIX has been low off and on over the last few years. And by low I mean in the 10.5 to 12.0 range. But over the last 4 weeks we’ve had several closes below 10.

Friday’s close was the lowest since December 27, 1993.

There have only been two other days in the history of the VIX with lower closes. Both of those were December 22nd and 23rd of…you guessed it…December 1993. Continue reading

5 Trading Tips You Can Implement on Monday

Sorry, these are not trading tips for stocks to buy.

These are trading tips for the process you use to buy stocks, options, ETFs, whatever.

1. Have a methodology (trade setup) that you use for finding opportunities.
2. Know exactly how much money you plan to risk on the trade.
3. Set a stop for how you will exit the trade if it doesn’t work out.
4. Set a point at which you will lock in some profits.
5. All of this feeds a plan that you follow for the trade BUT most importantly…

Continue reading

One of the Hardest Things to Learn

Whether you are a trader or an investor, it doesn’t matter.

One of the hardest things to learn is to take a loss. Losses are part of the trading/investing business.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of.  You have to work your plan. (you do have a plan don’t you?) Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Sometimes it doesn’t work out several times in a row. Continue reading