Seeing the Future?
It would be nice to have a crystal ball. But that’s not what trading is all about. Timing is everything. Although we might accurately predict the next move of a stock or the market itself, as traders we must still place the corresponding orders to enter and exit positions at the right times and in the right directions in order to profit. Simply understanding the direction to trade in won’t help you near as much as knowing when to get in and when to get out.
While I think it’s important to be able to locate and use chart patterns and technical analysis for trading, I sure don’t think a trader’s ability to tell the future (or backtest the past) will make him a profitable trader. Chart pattern recognition is certainly helpful to traders, but what about execution? What about psychology and knowing when to ride out a pullback versus recognizing a reversal and knowing when to bail out? The learning curve can be steep. Some things you just have to learn by trading.
Don’t get tied up trying to hone your prediction skills! Every trader is going to go through times of being right and being wrong. Successful trading is about damage control when you’re wrong and pressing it when you’re right. What’s most important is staying in sync with the market and adjusting your trading size and frequency at the right times in order to maximize your profitability.
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
www.TheStockBandit.com
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