Nice Surf. Cyprus=Greece, it twas eventually going to happen. Interesting how it played out over a weekend....hmmmm. We are now back to "tough times" once again. Well this is definitely a rally ender.
Not to blow my own horn Surf, but my journal has been in the Metals futures subforum. I've been calling for weak copper for quite some time and finally the break below $3.50 has now confirmed that. Thanks Cyprus ! http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3761733#post3761733 There's been a lot of drama in that market due to the hoarding of the red metal by the Chinese. No one wanted to bet against them. And who knows what position Farmer is in right now ? The way that market was being held-up by chewing gum and old twine just reeked that he was in there long. Today's nearly 10 cent move down has been significant IMHO.
My experience so far is mixing rules with discretionary trading only suits very skilled traders. Most newbies stumble upon exactly that: discretionary factor. I observed it many, many times. So even in the case of chart pattern reading, one better "automate herself", which is probably easier vs. constructing a true algo bot and effective in the results. Effort is directed towards discipline then, which is easier to achieve when focus is narrow as opposed to mastering the intuitive trading and discipline simultaneously. Also I concluded that eliminating as many discretionary inputs as possible is overall to the benefit of a trader even if there's theoretical decline in profits, because practical results rarely get worse, just the opposite.