As A Stock Trader, Be Like Mr. Spock! By Gregory Mannarino

Let me start off with saying this, trying to stay ahead of this market could even make Mr. Spock become unglued.

If you are the type of person who believes that putting in an almost ridiculous amount of hours analyzing charts, trying to understand the fundamental factors behind this market along with Geo-political events, and then having it all go south on you in the blink of an eye sounds like fun well, then being a trader might just be for you!

Seriously, this business can really get into your head!

Over the years I personally found that trading is "streaky," that is you will enjoy a few weeks of profitable trades followed by a few weeks of unprofitable ones, and that's just the way it is. However just knowing that trading can be "streaky" puts the ball further in your court, and you can profit from this streakiness.

When you get yourself on a good streak you can feel like you're on top of the world however, keep in mind that even for the best of traders you will run into streaks of frankly bad trades.

As I have been saying for quite a long time publicly, the key to being a successful trader overtime comes down to some very basic money management skills.
It would seem "logical," (thanks Mr. Spock), that when you are running good you should be maximizing those profits.

Whenever I enter a trade I tend to limit my initial exposure by opening a half position. That is for example let's say I have $10,000 I would like to allocate into a particular trade, I will never put the whole $10,000 in when opening the trade. Instead of simply dumping $10,000 into a trade, I will open it with half of my proposed total investment, which in this case would be $5000. My reasoning behind opening a position in this manner is also quite "logical." In the event that the trade goes against me, trading in this manner, I will close the trade as soon as I recognize that it has gone against me with a minimal loss.
In the event that that a trade I opened with a half position begins to move in my expected direction, I will allocate the second half of the total funds into the trade. By trading in this manner over time I will keep my losses to a minimum while maximizing my gains. Trading in this manner, that is using proper money management skills, is absolutely essential to trading successfully over time.

It is important to remember especially after a run of several unsuccessful trades, that this is a business which cannot measure it's success on a daily, weekly, or sometimes even monthly basis, you measure your success as a trader over time.

So when you find yourself running bad, do like Mr. Spock does and stay calm, cool, and collected.

Live long and prosper. (Check out my publications page!) Click here: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/thegameisrigged

Gregory Mannarino @marketreport