Ever notice how you get the best signals after you have taken a break? You come back to the computer and say, "Oh man, everything is down I better sell!" Then after a few hours of staring at charts, you can get the same signal, but you say,"Oh no. I'm too clever to fall for this. This is a bear trap if I ever saw one." I make the most money on the stupidist trades. I need a sign over my desk which says, "THINK STUPID"
This is something I have been trying to figure out for quite some time. The whole concept of working hard is all screwed up in this business.
I work very hard when the market is closed. I'm not sure if it is just guilt to justify the easy money that sometimes comes my way. But when the market is open and I'm trading, I throw everything I studied out the window. I figure, if any of it had any worth, it will have seeped in and stayed with me. I am not a quick decision maker, especially under pressure, so I work hard when I can make slow decisions with no pressure. And that makes trading go a lot easier for me.