Happy New Year. I have been battling some sort of an “on again off again” stomach virus since Christmas that has made me miss many days of trading over the past couple of weeks. But after returning to trading, I have found myself struggling. This gives me a perfect topic with which to start the new year. How to combat a “slump”. I hate to use that word. I like to say that I am “off”. It is pretty simple but you need discipline to implement.

–Getting back to the basics–

1. CUT YOUR POSITION SIZE DOWN–Trading with the same amount of shares that you do when you are trading is just a disaster waiting to happen.
2. BE PATIENT–Wait for the stars to align. Wait for your perfect set-up. It is important not to over-trade.
3. REVIEW TAPE–This is new to me but I think it is one of the best tools we have to help you actually see what you are doing and how good and bad you are doing it.
4. REVIEW RULES–Always helpful to read over and reevaluate your trading rules.
5. VISUALIZE–Visualize yourself make a good trade. From seeing the perfect setup to executing the trade to exiting the trade.
6. MAKE ONE GOOD TRADE- This is all it takes and then build on it.
7. TALK TO EXPERIENCE TRADERS–Again helpful to get ideas and see what these traders are doing. Sometimes I will go an watch a good trader trade the morning or the close this can help make me realize what I am not doing correctly.
8. TAKE A DAY OFF IF NEEDED–I am not a big proponent of this, but it might help to clear your head and get perspective.
****9. KEEP PROFITS–If you are up on the day, set a tighter stop loss to keep your profits***
10. BUCKLE DOWN AND PREPARE– Preparation is Key for success!

Also, It is very important to ask yourself good questions through out the day (I talked about about this in a previous blog). This will keep you in tune to what is going on in the market and help you recognize when the market is changing so you can adapt.

Good Luck.

Jtoma