Custom Search

trader who can follow a system or method thoroughly is a rare trader indeed

Finally, there will be traders who are angry with me because they applied some of my principles and lost money with them. In most cases such losses are the fault of the trader and not the method. The trader who can follow a system or method thoroughly is a rare trader indeed. The trader who claims to have lost money following a system will, upon being questioned, admit that the system was not followed consistently. Traders will break rules no matter how specifically the rules have been stated and no matter how many times they have been warned not to break the rules. While I cannot guarantee that the methods and systems presented in this book will continue to be profitable, I do feel that the underlying concepts are valid and will withstand the test of time. The intelligent trader will take my ideas and adapt them to current markets and conditions. The undisciplined trader will subvert and pervert my ideas, using them willy-nilly, whimsically, and inconsistently. And I have no control over such abuses.

Although I have done my best to be specific in this book, presenting you with concise rules and methods, I urge you to do your own work in going forward with my methods. The search for cookbook trading methods will never end. Traders will always seek such approaches. While there is much to be said in favor of such mechanical methods, there is also much to be said in favor of adapting your system or method to current market conditions and to markets where they may perform optimally. I have discussed this above and in previous chapters. Please consider my comments seriously before you trade.

Perhaps I have spent too much time defending my position against potential attack or in cautioning you against the abuse of my ideas and systems. But I do so because I feel that since your hard-earned money is at stake, you will appreciate my cautions. Day trading is not as difficult as some would have you believe, but it is also not as simple as others would have you believe. To be successful at the fastest game in town, you will need to be consistent, adaptable to changing market conditions, strict in managing risk, unemotional, and open to new ideas.

My work is now done. I have given you systems, methods, indicators, analyses, rules, observations, insights, and understandings. The rest is up to you. Armed with my information and your understandings, and equipped with sufficient starting capital, accurate price quotations, a good working relationship with a broker, and motivation, you're now ready to either step out on your own for the first time, or you are prepared to step back into the trading arena more confident, more protected, and more educated.

You can use what I have taught you, or you can integrate my tools into your trading style. I don't claim to have all the answers, and I don't give you any guarantees other than to tell you that with persistence, patience, and motivation you will succeed. If I can help you on the road to success as a day trader or if I can clarify any of the information presented herein, then please don't hesitate to contact me. You may wish to contact my Internet Web site at http://www.trade-futures.com for more information and updates on my work.

I have learned enough about the markets in my more than 30 years of trading to know that the more I learn, the more there is to learn. And I also know more than ever before that what has worked best for me is that which is both the most simple to do and the most simple to understand. I have shared this knowledge with you in the hope that it can help you as well. If my writing, research, and observations can improve your results or change your point of view for the better, then I will have done my job and I will be happy.

Jake Bernstein