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Responsibilities and Goals of the Day Trader

My task is not to analyze or moralize about the multiplicity of factors which have stimulated the growth of short-term and day trading, rather it is to accept the facts as they are and to teach you how you may take advantage of them for the purposes of day trading. It is not the job of the day trader to understand the whys and /or the wherefores of market movement. The day trader's sole responsibilities are these:

/ First to end each day "flat," that is, without any positions / Second, to make a profit, no matter how large or small / Third, to keep all losses small and manageable

Within the context of these very general responsibilities and guideВэlines for the day trader, all market volatility, regardless of cause, must be approached as an opportunity for potential profit. We are neither defenders of what is right or just in the markets nor pedagogues who must determine why things are the way they are. We are interested in being true to our tripartite credo as expressed above and in attaining three distinct goals which are the essence of what this book is designed to teach you. These goals are as follows:

1. To profit consistently and significantly from day trading

2. To become better day traders with more experience

3. To maintain a disciplined and business-oriented approach to help attain day-trading objectives

About This Book

The purpose of this book is to acquaint all day traders, aspiring day traders, and other interested parties with the basics of successful day trading. My goal is to expand considerably on the basic day-trading building blocks, in order to provide concise methods, indicators, and guidelines, which, it is hoped, will prove beneficial on the road to profВэits. Please note that this book is not designed to serve as a cookbook or "no brain" approach to day trading. I am absolutely convinced, after my many years of experience as a trader, that effective trading can be learned and moreover that many traders are quite capable of learning to be effective. One of the prerequisites, however, is to learn from a teacher who is organized, experienced, lucid, and, above all, specific.

My experiences as a trader have led me to the conclusion that successВэful day trading is built upon a unique foundation combining art and science. If pressed to "guesstimate" as to the proper mix of both qualities, I'd say that approximately 70 percent of successful day trading consists of techВэnique or science and 30 percent of skill and/or art. This, however, would be a misleading statement inasmuch as both elements are symbiotic;

without one, the other would be ineffective. The successful day trader combines both elements synergistically to produce profits, consistency, and longevity.

Beware of Tall Tales

Even if you're a newcomer to the futures markets, you have likely been exposed to the numerous tall tales of great successes by novice traders or by those who have discovered hot new systems. This is all old stuff. Such tales have existed since the first trader traded the first futures conВэtract. And they will exist as long as there are markets to trade and traders to trade them. Don't bother chasing these dead endsтАФthey will lead you astray. Also, don't compete with any of them, they will lead you, more often than not, to frustration and losses.

My best advice is to compete only with yourself. If you attempt to play others' games by their rules, you will frequently be a loser. The quintesВэsential element of successful day trading is to find something that you can do well and do it consistently day in and day out. I don't mean to imply by any means that day trading is an effortless proposition or that it is something as simple as finding a good bread recipe and following it.