Trade to Win: Proven Strategies to Make Money

Chapter 19. The Last Word

When I look back over my trading career, I feel somewhat like a fossil. I am in my mid-fifties, but when it comes to trading, I have been around a long time. Most traders, especially those who do a lot of day trading, do not survive for the long haul. It is well known that the professional life span of floor traders is short and often not so sweet. I have never been a floor trader, but I have been a broker, a trading educator, and a professional trader managing my own finances. I am like the bunny on television that advertises batteries—I just keep on ticking.

My trading history has not always been easy. I have seen my fair share of hard times and losses. Wall Street has landed a few solid blows. My darkest days were the ones following Black Monday in 1987. My mistakes were very costly, and coming to terms with my personal errors as well as inherent issues with the markets themselves took time. In fact, it took me a few years to regain my footing and move on to better things. I succeeded because I did not give up and I educated myself anew and learned more about trading and about the markets.

If you are looking for a trading system that involves five easy steps, you will not find it in the pages of this book. In fact, you will not find it anywhere. Systems do not work because financial markets are always in a state of flux. A programmed trade that worked on Monday may not work on Tuesday because the markets are not the same. The markets are constantly adjusting, ...