Simon says touch your nose

Simon says grab your ear

Simon says get long $REE

Get short $MCP … you lose!

If you can learn to play Simon Says your trading will improve. If you listen to what Simon (your screen) says you will increase your chances of becoming a consistently profitable pro intraday trader. When you listen to the things  Simon isn’t saying you hurt your chances of realizing this. This sometimes fast paced, mentally challenging and without bounds stimulating job of intraday trading needs to be played like a kid.

If I explain the rules of “Simon Says” to a kid I would tell them…”Only do what Simon says”. If you do something other than what Simon says you will lose.

Wow what a novel trading lesson for a day trader- do what your screen is telling you. Makes sense to me.I should place a lot of importance on what my screen is telling me today. As a day trader what is happening on the screen today is my freshest and best news. It just doesn’t get any fresher.  Stick to what Simon is saying and filter out the rest. Leave your biases out in the backyard. Learn to love KISS.

Over the next few days I will blog some of what Simon says daily that helps me. Today I will get the game started with :

Simon Says Get To Know Your Relatives…no I don’t mean get to know your cousins better. Get to know your relatives means let your screen tell you about your stocks relative strength or weakness.  Where the stock is relative to the days range, the previous days range, and average true range.  This information is easy to discern and can save you a bunch of frustration and help keep you from that “ripper”.

This is KISS at its best. As a day trader keeping the relative strength or weakness on your side can make it easier to stay in the trade. Those shakes and fakes aren’t as tough when you are short a weak stock and long a strong stock. When the buy and sell programs start flying in the opposite direction of your position most times the move against you is muted.

It’s nice when the buy program fires and your stock pops like a dud. Notice where your stock is trading in relation to the days range…near the top or near the bottom? Notice how your stock has traded for the first 30 minutes or so. Is it upper left to lower right or lower left to upper right on the chart? Keep it simple. No rocket science here, just good old fashioned tape reading.  Listen to what Simon says it will help.

Jeff Davis     @Shaq48_Trading