Saturday, September 26, 2009

Essentials of Trading by Larry Pesavento

Essentials of Trading: It's Not WHAT You Think, It's HOW You Think
The smart man learns from his mistakes, but the wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

The worst thing that you can do in trading is to add to a losing position.

Losers think how much can I win – Winners think how much can I lose.

Risk is the only thing a trader can control.

"The man who loves his job is always on vacation." "Find a job that you truly love and you will be on a life long vacation."

The news follows the trend.

It's much better to lose your opinion instead of your money.

The 3 day rule is simple – If you position is not profitable at the end of the third trading day, exit the position on the close of the 3rd day.

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real

Ask yourself what is the worst possible thing that could go wrong with the trade and what would be the best possible outcome that could happen with the trade? Somewhere in between these two extremes is the logical outcome.

The mastery of a difficult and intricate science.

Discipline: All trading opportunities should be explored. A daily ritual scanning charts will present many good opportunities. This is the time consuming part of trading.

Monitoring a profitable trade in progress also requires discipline – you must follow the trading plan. Don't be concerned about the little fluctuations if your goal is higher. Ask yourself these questions: Has the market changed since I placed the trade? Can I afford the risk on this trade? If the answer to both of these questions is yes, then you must stay in the trade.

Place a written statement on the computer. The statement says: "Has the pattern in the trade changed from the original pattern? Has the initial price objective been reached?" If the answer to both of these questions is "yes", it is time to exit the trade. If the answer is "no", then the trade must continue.

Prepare, execute and manage the positions.

Confidence and courage are required to overcome fear an greed. Courage is inborn. Confidence is gained by study, study and more study.

Perhaps my number one rule is: Don't try to make a profit on a bad trade, just try to find the best way to get out.

My ski instructor told me the water would seek the path of least resistance and it would ebb and flow effortlessly down through the mogul field. When you have the right direction in a trade it is exactly the same feeling as that image of water flowing effortlessly down the mogul run.

Learn to recognize the emotions that negatively affect trading and learn to re-organize those emotions in a manner that they will become team players for you.

All men die but most men never live.

"Thank God it's Monday."

Trader should never be hoping and always trying to control the amount of risk at stake at all times. Always trading, never hoping.

There are no dead ends in life – only missed opportunities.

Trading is a business of dealing with probabilities, not certainties. Probabilities assures that losing streaks will develop just as winning streaks will. p95

The correct mindset from the very beginning can make or break you as a trader.

“I must capitalize on every opportunity to make a profit.”These expectations are so high that they can cause fear and anxiety. p115

“The Bradley Stock Market Model” p115

At major bottoms we should expect negative sentiment at extremely high levels if not at record levels. Let's defy human nature – Trade what you see – Not what you believe. p117

The best way to stop overtrading is to turn off your monitor after initiating a trade. The monitor is your enemy – not your friend. It will cause you to focus on the upticks if you are long and on the downticks if you are short! The monitor is a mirror of your psychological weaknesses. p123

Today is only here once. Use it while you have it. Make it count; make it special as only you can do. p127

The traders who go with the tide are more free and easy. They know there is no point in fighting the force of the market. p135

Never, ever answer a margin call. p139

Fear knocked at the door; Faith opened it – and lo, there was no one there.

Some things never change. Old book: Only Yesterday. p165

War is bullish on the stock market over the past 150 years. p175

The opening price is usually near the high or low of the day approximately 80% of the time. Try to trade in the direction of the opening price. p190.

Learning to stay in the now moment will help the trader to view the market action as it is unfolding not as they would like it to unfold. p206

I use 4-min charts because the earth rotates one degree every 4 minutes making it a natural cycle. p214

This Alchemy may yield real gold. (Business Week. April 17, 2000, p170) p214

A habit is like a tiny strand of steel that you weave each day until it becomes an unbreakable cable. p220

Lose your opinion instead of your money. p226

Experienced traders have learned to brush off the opinion and trade what they see and not what they believe. p227

Trouble comes without warning in most instances. Acknowledging that you are always challenged mentally can be your armour against the appearance of trouble. 3 warning signs: over-trading, wider than normal swings in the trader's equity, and the most dangerous, failure to follow the trader's plan! p233

Truth kills those that run from it. p235

The first mistake teaches - the second mistake kills! p235

A "sure" sign of potential disaster is the trader who holds large losses in open positions while at the same time takes many small profits. p239

When in doubt - get out and stay out. p241

The rule of thumb is to reduce your risk on any trade to 2% of working capital. p243

Place the thing you want to wish for right in front of your face. Gaze at it as though it were already there. Now the important step! Take the trade strategy (entry, exit, stop protection, profit objective and move it in front of the wish list. The wish list is now in the background. And that is where it should stay! Concentrate on doing the right thing and the money will come easily! Why, because your focus must be on the proper execution and not what the outcome might be! p245-246

Finished reading on Jan 23, 2010.

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