One could get whiplash! Down, up, down....

Can you feel (yes I said FEEL) the difference from the the slow upward grind we had been in from March 2009? More importantly, do you know what to do about it?

Does it make sense to have the exact same trade plan in a market that has changed its stripes? It almost never does. Professionals know that they make most of their money when the volatility shows up and they just bide their time and make a few bucks during much of the consolidation, congestion or non-volatility times.

But let's say you have the same plan - and aren't sure how to change it... well then, I suggest you start with the analyze technique of average true range and run it on the time-frame you trade and the next 3 higher time-frames. Right away you should find that if you compare that to say this past February, you will immediately see why you need to give trades more room AND you need to expect to get more out of them.

See this is the thing that is so evil in standard trading education - the static plan idea. That and stops that are just too too too tight is what derails most unsuccessful traders. Don't take the 4/1 or 6/1 or 3/1 too literally...

Now I know this isn't easy... I don't pretend to claim that it is. But there is a reason 95% or more of independent traders fail and if you are going to make it into the 5% it isn't that one day you are going to wake up to be annointed with special knowledge... it is that one day you are going to learn to deal with the relentless uncertainty and the psychological strategies to deal with that fact of the market.

Last night I talked to the top trader on a desk at a major NYC based investment bank. It was odd... the amateurs think these guys have some sort of special knowledge ... but he sounded just like the calls I get from people who have never made it before ... with one difference, he isn't looking for the next great indicator - he is looking inside of himself - and his processes so that he can continue to rack up the most cash for his prop desk. Think about it.....

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