Our understanding of whether something is good or bad for us can change over time, especially when it comes to forming an opinion about the Market. I learned a long time ago that what I think the market should or should not do has absolutely nothing to do with what it does. I also learned that those things that I thought were good for my trading eventually revealed themselves to be worthless. Take the above ad for lard. Not too many people think lard is good for them anymore and for good reason. Lard is nothing more than fat from a pig, to be trimmed off and discarded. The following is my LARD LIST: those things that I once thought was important but are no longer as none of them contribute to my success as a trader.
My LARD LIST:
1. Bollinger Bands
2. Volume
3. Bob Pisani (I respect Bob Pisani I just do not listen to him)
4. CNBC
5. Jim Cramer (I respect Jim Cramer I just do not listen to him)
6. Fast Money
7. Chat Rooms
8. Put/Call Ratios
9. Economic Reports (good, bad, or indifferent)
10. The Wall Street Journal
11. Candlestick Patterns Such as a Doji or Bearish Cloud Cover
12. Popular Patterns Such as Head and Shoulders
13. The Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns
14. Penny Stocks
15. 5 Minute Charts
16. Margin
17. Live News Feeds
18. A Company’s Fundamentals (What does P/E have to do with technical analysis anyway?)
19. VIX
20. The Opinions of Government Officials
My rules for entering and exiting a trade are just that…my rules. What is important for each of us is that we have rules and follow them. Whatever does not make sense to us is left out, much like lard, leaving what matters the most…and what makes us really happy.
The hilarious photo above is courtesy of Dave over at Stumptown Blogger.
