Maybe itâs time to call it quits â throw in the towel â and admit that the trading life just doesnât agree with me. All this buying and selling, selling and buying â it makes me nervous. So what do I do when my hands are shaking, my palms are sweaty, and Iâm starting to hear strange voices? I do what most any trader does â I reach for a little comfort food. So Iâm sitting here waiting for the market to open â and it starts â the trembling, the sweats, and the room begins to spin. Iâm already on my forth cup of coffee when I mindlessly start eating some sweet and sour pork from last nightâs takeout â I think it was from last night, I found it behind one of my monitors. Three jelly donuts, and a half a liverwurst sandwich with mustard and onions later, I polish off the last of a half gallon of buttermilk. Iâm sitting here watching the final few minutes of the pre-market with a handful of walnuts when I start passing gas out of one end, and throwing up out of the other! Man, we are talking one major league mess â and some serious smell to boot. Itâs all over the keyboard, the mouse and two of my monitors. So now the marketâs open, I see a trade setting up, and what do you think happens? I look down at this un-Godly goop, and I hesitate because I donât want to put my hands in this slop. Of course I did â what trader wouldnât â but by then the market moves away from my entry, and I miss the trade. That wouldnât have happened a year ago, even a month ago. Iâm losing my edge, man â maybe the time has come to move on â I guess I just have it any more.
Dear Vol, May I assume that you are new to trading? I ask that because a seasoned market player would have stood aside yesterday. With major news expected - and of course I refer to the Scott Peterson verdict - even the most seasoned participant can not judge how the market will react. If you are to survive in this game you must learn to keep your powder dry, and I would recommend a good news service so as not to be blind sided on the big stories. However, there should be clear sailing this day, as I see nothing on the horizon to spook the market.
Oh be still my heart! I got an e-mail from earlinarizona â he and Bernie are about to release another EFS update for Woodiee's CCI charts. God how I love new toys. Anyway, is there any doubt in your mind that fabulous, unimaginable riches will be mine just as soon as I get my hands on it? Well I have no doubt. Bells and whistles are good â they are my friends. Iâm counting the hours until itâs released. Now you probably think Iâm pulling your leg â rest assured that I am not. OK, the fabulous riches was a little over the top, but the new toys with bells and whistles bit is right on. Iâm addicted to charts with pizzazz - with flash and flare. I like charts that grab me by the lapels, make noises, and point the way Woodieâs cool and all that, but this âback to basicsâ bullcrap just donât cut it. Woodieâs charts put me to sleep. My charts invigorate me â make my heart beat faster. So maybe youâve got more going on in your life than Iâve got going on in mine. For me, this is major big time news. Laugh and snort if it pleases you, but I just canât waitâ¦.
I actually believe there is a syndrome of some sort that people can fall into. I spent four years playing with my charts and software. At one time I had 8 monitors going with every imaginable bell and whistle on them. I'm glad Im not smart enough to have gotten into the programming and backtesting or I would probably still be stuck there. I now have three monitors and only one of them has charts on it with price, volume and 3 ma's. I kind of miss it though. I was never bored.