Search Results for 'traders'
Market View Video September 21, 2008
What a wild one last week was! Incredible volatility provided sharp moves on both the downside and upside, bringing about new 52-week lows as well as a major rebound to a degree not seen in quite some time.
The week ahead might not hold quite as much excitement, but it’s still to be packed with uncertainty and elevated emotions which should keep prices on the move. That translates into opportunity for traders like you and me!
So before you even push a single button in your trading platform this week, be sure to check out the Market View video over at the main site for a close look at the overall market and some things to consider in the week ahead.
(Click image to view video)
Trade well this week!
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com
[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]
Welcome to The Kirk Report Readers!
I just want to welcome those of you who arrived here on the blog today as a result of the Q&A post on The Kirk Report. I’m glad you stopped by and hope you’ll return often!
Charles is a great friend, a class act, successful trader, and of course top-shelf blogger who works hard day after day to churn out only the highest-quality content for his readers. Needless to say, I’m honored to have been invited for a “Q&A” on his site! It was without a doubt the most in-depth, challenging interview I’ve ever done, and I really enjoyed the thought-provoking questions Charles asked. Hopefully you find it beneficial to read!
While you’re here, let me point you to a few posts which will help you get a bit more familiar with my style of trading and writing…
You can read the about page for more info on my background and this blog. I’m a technical trader, a family man, and I wear t-shirts to work!
I write a nightly stock newsletter over at TheStockBandit.com for traders wanting daily ideas, but I put out regular content here on the blog which I hope you find useful whether or not you subscribe to the paid service. There is also a Free Video Newsletter which I publish nightly that you can sign up to receive. Just see the top-right corner of the blog sidebar and add your email address there to get it (you can opt out anytime).
As for the tour of this blog, you will find over 300 posts here from the past couple of years along a variety of trading subjects. I’ll run through a few highlights from the archives which you might want to check out.
Here are a few articles about my trading style…
*Deciding if a Stock is Trade-Worthy
*Small Mistakes = Small Consequences
*Goal Number 1
*The Day After
*Check Your Rolex
*Another Definition of Trading
*TASC Magazine Interview
A few articles on trading psychology…
*Slay Your Trading Giants
*Trading Discipline
*How Gaps Change Motivations in the Market
*When Bulls Become Sellers
*The 2nd Worst Feeling in Trading
*My Biggest Trading Fear
*3 Signs You Have a Pet Stock
*Gap Lessons: When Trades Get Lucky
Here are a few how-to articles I’ve written…
*How to Grow Your Trading Account (Part 1)
*How to Grow Your Trading Account (Part 2)
*Gauging Urgency in Chart Patterns
*3 Keys to Buying Dips
*Finding Short Sale Candidates
*Stop It!
*How I Use Worden’s TeleChart 2007
*Watch List Management
*Blending Your Style With the Current Environment
Regardless of what you choose to read about while you’re here, I hope you find it useful to your trading approach. This blog exists for that very purpose, so make yourself at home and come back often!
If you’d like to subscribe to this blog, here’s the RSS feed. There’s also a feed reader icon in the righthand sidebar which will do the trick, or just beneath it you can subscribe by email so that you won’t ever miss a post!
Thanks again for stopping by to visit, enjoy your weekend, and I hope to see you back here soon!
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com
[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading, Charles Kirk[/tags]
Market View Video September 14, 2008
Volatility is climbing in the market and we’ve seen some increased activity in the past 2 weeks, bringing along with it many opportunities for short-term traders.
Looking toward the week ahead, there are 2 big keys to keep an eye on which I discuss in this week’s video. If they end up complimenting each other, it could spark the next major move for this market.
So before you push a single button in your trading platform this week, be sure to check out the Market View video over at the main site for a close look at those 2 big keys for the days ahead.
(Click image to view video)
Trade well this week!
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com
[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]
Beware of Traps!
A relative of mine runs a ranch and occasionally has to capture animals which don’t belong there. So in order to rid the place of persistent pests, he sets out traps with intriguing lures. Most of the time, the offending critter simply can’t resist what appears to be a risk-free, tasty meal, and they fall for it – to their demise.
Some things just look too good to be true, and at times in the market that’s certainly the case.
Watch Where You Step
Take Monday’s huge gap higher, for example. Overnight news related to one of the biggest problems this market has faced (housing and foreclosures) produced some early fireworks as shorts ran for cover and many traders on the sidelines reacted to hopes that a significant turning point had finally arrived. However, the session highs were set in the opening minutes and before the morning was over, the bulk of those gains had been erased – trapping all who bought into the hype as prices rapidly returned to much lower levels.
Few stop to consider the psychology at work in the market, on both sides, leaving them vulnerable to become victims of such traps. The news isn’t everything, so the failure to recognize that it’s how the market responds and adjusts to that news can invite some significant pain. After all, even good news which isn’t good enough can bring about selling.
An overnight gift in the form of a gap like we saw Monday can also invite heavy selling, as can a timid breakout. Also, if you determine that the easy money has been made in the short-term, then you’re staring right in the face of a possible reversal situation.
Look At Every Angle
Remember, the market is a forward-looking mechanism, so whenever the majority has already benefited from a move, there’s not enough power to push stocks much further. As a result, stocks can easily head the other direction…usually quite fast!
Bulls and bears alike get trapped on occasion in the market, and every time it happens emotions are sure to run high. It’s obvious that pain is in store for one camp while profits are banked for the other, so in order to place yourself in the right camp you must learn to recognize situations which have potential for big short-term reversals. Developing that skill will help you avoid falling victim to these traps.
So whether you’re eyeing new entries or evaluating current positions after some big overnight news, always consider the flip side of the trade and what your opponents are thinking. If you sense their case is better than the arguments you might pose, then there’s no reason to put yourself in harm’s way for getting trapped. Back down or pass up the trade completely – that way you can still roam freely. 😉
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com
[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]
Hit Singles for Satisfaction
The allure of swinging for the fence is common in the trading world, and it appeals to each of us from time to time. However, that sure doesn’t mean it’s the thing to aim for in our trading from week to week or month to month.
Rather than gunning for home runs at every at-bat, I’m content to hit singles, knowing that getting on base is the biggest key in this game. There are a few advantages and motivating factors to this mentality, so let’s take a quick look at them.
- I do my best to avoid the “I don’t want to miss anything” mindset of a longer-term position trader by placing zero pressure on myself to participate in every move that comes along. For me, good trading doesn’t require that I catch the entire trend.
- I don’t enjoy letting good profits evaporate, so I’d rather Take the Money & Run and ring the register in most cases. I might miss out on the occasional double or triple, but I’ve found that when strong trends are present, multiple entries will set up along the way. That enables me to trade the same stock a few times profitably even if I don’t sit in for the entire move.
- I feel no obligation to stay with a position for the long haul. Ideally, I’m participating in the best portions of the move while having either zero risk (cash) or limited risk (tight stop) during those times when a rest phase or pullback comes along.
- For most of my swing trades, I tend to set an entry, stop, and usually 2 profit targets. That lets me book some gains along the way to ring the register while staying on for a continued move should it come. It also helps me offset the urge to take a good trade off the table, so partial sales are definitely helpful for leaving on less and less exposure particularly when a move begins to get a bit extended.
You don’t have to be a hero every day with your trading, so take some heat off yourself and do what you can to get on base. There are a lot of Hall-of-Fame members who weren’t big-time sluggers.
Aim for consistent success in your trading – you don’t have to trade big to find it. Patient progress goes a long way not only for your account, but also for your emotional stability along the way.
Plus, those base hits add up quite nicely.
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com
[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]
Quick-Hit Trading
Say a friend offered to give you a penny today and then double the money every day for a month. “Gee, thanks” you might say, expecting that to add up to maybe $25 or so.
But that response would make you rather ungrateful considering that you’re looking at more than $10,737,418 by the end of that month. You have a better friend than you thought! As Gary B. Smith once noted, constantly compounding money can bring truly amazing results.
I’m a short-term trader, and I don’t at all mind getting into and out of most positions over the course of just a few days. As a result, it’s only natural that Bandit is the word I use to describe my style. Rather than let long-term themes try to develop, I’m far more interested in compounding my money at a faster rate, making sure it’s doing its job whenever I put it to work. I love to catch the quick-hit moves.
Short or Long (Term)?
My swing trading approach necessitates that I use pretty tight stops to keep my risk in check at all times, so it’s typical that I’m shooting for moves more like 10% than 50 in my trades. I also scale the risk side properly as well, limiting losses on average to 3-4%, as opposed to the 15-25% a longer-term trader might allow.
A true hands-off trend follower might be looking to call the top or the bottom in the overall market or a given sector, but they’re also going to have to endure some difficult times along the way. Whenever their trades go stagnant, they stay with them in hopes they’ll get back on the move. Painful pullbacks and drawdowns must all be endured for the purpose of letting a larger move unfold, and those can often be of the gut-wrenching variety!
Some very successful traders have been longer-term trend followers, and I won’t argue with some of the advantages of that approach. It just isn’t best for me.
Get In, Get Out, Getaway
I don’t mind booking smaller but more frequent gains over the course of a few days. Quick money is fine with me – it adds up more rapidly and I rarely have the patience of a Turtle to stay long or short a stock for more than about 2-3 weeks. I want my money turning over more rapidly, so the tighter stops and narrower targets I tend to use help me to accomplish that.
As traders, every one of us must determine what we want out of the market, and then employ the best approach to get there. Take a closer look at your trading and consider what you want out of it. Consider the holding periods which suit you best – that’s how you’ll know the kind of trading style you ought to have.
From there, continually look to improve your approach over time, getting more and more efficient with your timing, entries and exits. Evaluating your trading for the sake of growth will pay off big, because even the occasional minor change can make a big difference. Review your results regularly, and you’ll start to make out like a Bandit!
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com
[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]
Market View Video 8-24-2008
Very poor volume has plagued the market lately with many traders taking a late-summer opportunity to go on vacation and get away from their screens. We might be in for another week of that, but perhaps it will improve after Labor Day as is typically the case.
On a technical basis, the major averages do have a little something going for them in a positive light, which I discuss in more detail during this week’s video.
So don’t go pushing buttons this week until you’ve checked out this week’s Market View video over at the main site for a closer look at the averages and some things to consider if you’re trading.
Trade well this week!
Jeff White
President, The Stock Bandit, Inc.
Swing Trading & Day Trading Service
www.TheStockBandit.com
[tags]Stock Market, Day Trading, Stock Trading, Investing, Swing Trading[/tags]
