IRE BELLOC
Day traders are no different in their unwillingness to follow rulesthan are most traders. The good news is that if the day trader failsto follow the rules of successful trading, his or her end will comeswiftly and decisively. The consequences will be quick and the les-son will be a definitive one. There will be very little waiting orwondering. Why is this good news? I say it’s good news becausewhen you break the rules of profitable day trading you'll get yourfeedback promptly. And this will give you an opportunity tochange and to learn, provided you want to. The position trader, onthe other hand, may often need to wait many weeks or evenmonths before he or she realizes that a faux pas has been commit-ted. And this will slow the learning process significantly.
It is impossible for me to overemphasize the fact that consistent-ly profitable traders, and in particular, consistently profitable daytraders, are great because they have mastered the discipline oftrading as well as the necessary and reliable mechanical aspects ofday trading. Throughout this book I have emphasized the great
197198 = Chapier Sixteen
importance of self-discipline as a trader. Clearly, the weakest linkin the chain of trading is the trader. There can be no consistentsuccess without a mastery of self and self-discipline. There aremany opinions as to what constitutes discipline. And there aremany different opinions as to how one may undertake the oftenarduous and self-effacing task of acquiring self-discipline.
Different traders, different writers, and different behavioral ana-lysts will give you distinctly different opinions, all based in parton their observations and experiences. But take care if you heedany advice you are given by someone who has never traded.Unless the individual who is giving you assistance is a profession-al psychologist, counselor, or behavioral therapist, take all pointsof view and all directions of assistance with a few grains of salt.
Know that the following suggestions and observations havebeen tempered and shaped by nearly 30 years of trading, marketanalysis, research, and observation. My trading has exposed me toevery conceivable type of market and every conceivable type ofnews event. My trading has taken me to the highest of emotionalhighs and the lowest of emotional lows. I have been on all sides ofthe trading fence. I have broken practically every rule in the book,and I have even broken rules that were not in the book. My ownlosses and failures have forced me to develop an arsenal of time-tested methods, attitudes, opinions, and procedures, which I nowshare with you. The best way for me to convey this information isby listing, not necessarily in order of importance, what J have dis-covered.
Determine Your Orientation—Know Your Direction
One of the most important things a day trader can do is to arriveat a comfortable and confident place in terms of system, method,procedure, and orientation. It is important for the trader to findhis or her place in the ever-growing world of day-trading possibil-ities. What markets should you trade? What systems or indicatorsshould you use? What quotation system or data feed should youuse? How often should you trade? Should you be a “scalper” orshould you take things more slowly? Should you give up your jobto trade full-time or should you wait and take things slowly?There are many things a day trader can do, but only a limitednumber of them can be done at the same time. Using the informa-The Day Trader’s Rules for Success 199
tion presented in this book and in The Compleat Day Trader, findone or several techniques that make sense to you. Try them out onpaper or on a modest basis in real time until you feel confidentwith them. These will be the techniques you should use in yourtrading.
Once you have chosen your methods, use them consistently,day in and day out, whenever you have a signal or a trade. Makea commitment to trade the signals strictly by the rules for a certainamount of time, for a given number of trades, or for a givenamount of risk capital.
You will find that certain techniques work best in certain mar-kets: S&P futures, for example, are especially well suited to themany of the systems I have described earlier. However, you maynot feel comfortable with S&P futures. T-bond futures are particu-larly well suited to the support and resistance, scalping-typemethods I have discussed. Currency futures, given their sharp andfairly quick moves, are especially well suited to hit-and-run trad-ing methods and/or to some of the spread indicators contained inthis book. The gap methods I have presented herein also workwell in currencies but with some variation on the theme.Determine which approaches suit you best and devote your timeto those methods consistently and for a reasonable period. Findyour place and rest in it for a while. Learn from your mistakes andfrom your visceral and emotional reactions. Make every losscount. Losses are your tuition.
Don’t Be Surprised If YouLose Money at First—SomePeople May Never Succeed
Many traders are disappointed and frustrated when immediatesuccess in day trading isn’t forthcoming. I urge you to persevere.Be persistent in giving yourself sufficient time to achieve success.We know from our evaluation of trading systems and methodsthat even the best system can lose money 7 or 8 or even 10 times ina row. It is the nature of the trading beast to bite you a few timesbefore you show a profit.
Learning day trading from a book is like learning how to ride abicycle by reading a book. Once you try to do it on your own, youhave to be prepared for a few falls. But with care, precautions, andconsistency you'll avoid breaking your neck when you fall.200 = Chapter Sixteen
Even if you have more than a slight amount of experience inposition trading, you may still find yourself initially losing as aday trader. Although you may feel that your position-tradingexperience will serve you well, it may actually prove detrimental,since you have approached day trading with preconceived notionsthat may stand in your way, clouding issues and confoundingyour thinking. You will need to abandon these dysfunctional ideasin favor of those that I have offered in this book, if what I’ve saidmakes sense to you. Remember that this process takes time. Somefailures at first are unavoidable. You will need to fall off the bicy-cle a few times before you can ride it. At first your riding will beshaky and slow. After a while, however, you will feel at home onthe day-trading bicycle, and it will take you where you choose togo, provided you follow a smooth road.
How long will it take you to become a successful day trader?There is no answer other than perhaps more than 2 weeks and lessthan 2 years, perhaps never; however, these are certainly not hard-and-fast rules. Some of you will become successful day traders inseveral weeks, whereas others will never achieve consistent success.
Expect the Least,
Not the Most
There are too many books on positive mental attitude that tell youto have great expectations. They tell you to visualize success. Theyencourage you to engage in affirmations. They push you to seeyourself as a highly profitable trader or investor. I take issue withall of these books, and I caution you against having unrealisticexpectations. Try not to have great expectations. Expect to lose.Expect that with time you should begin to break even. Expect thatwith more time and with more experience you will begin to showprofitable results.
Do not expect profits at first. Rather, expect that learning thegame will cost you tuition both in terms of time and money.Therefore, you must understand the reasons for your every lossand you must learn from them. There are hundreds if not thou-sands of traders who begin their trading with unrealistic expecta-tions, a few thousand dollars in risk capital, and a total lack of dis-cipline or method. They soon leave the markets beaten, broke, andbroken. In the meantime, their money has been gobbled up byprofessional traders who thrive on the losses of tyros. If you haveThe Day Trader's Rules for Success 201
any expectation, then expect failure while hoping that throughyour learning experiences you can minimize the failures and max-imize the successes.
Shut Out the Input ofOthers—Play Your Game byYour Own Rules
Should you allow yourself to be exposed to, pandered to, and inti-mately influenced by the many fantastic claims for perfect tradingsystems and “Holy Grail” seminars, then you will be diverted onyour road to success. There is nothing wrong with attempting toimprove on what you are doing, but the act of endless searchingwill distract you from your goal. Don’t get sidetracked on yourjourney. If you are confident with your trading methods and rules,then use them and profit by them. Persevere and ignore the claimsand opinions of others as much as you can.
Those who purport to have better systems, better methods, fool-proof indicators, outstanding results, and fail-safe risk manage-ment will constantly barrage traders with their claims. Before yougive any of these serious attention, make sure that what you’redoing is not better. Every system you test, every seminar youattend, every piece of software you buy, and every path you takemay prove to be a costly excursion away from your final destina-tion. Each takes time, effort, and money. And these are the mostprecious commodities in the world. They are limited resources noteasily replaced.
Therefore, I suggest you find a methodology and commit to itfor a predetermined length of time. And during this period of timedo not allow yourself to become distracted by anything else, evenif it means that you need to close your eyes and ears to the maga-zines, newspapers, and mail you receive.
Take Your Losses WhenYour Signals So Dictate—Don’t Make Excuses!
Riding losses is the worst thing a trader can do. Not taking a losswhen you should take the loss is the worst thing you could do. Ihave stated repeatedly throughout this book that the single200 = Chapier Sixteen
Even if you have more than a slight amount of experience inposition trading, you may still find yourself initially losing as aday trader. Although you may feel that your position-tradingexperience will serve you well, it may actually prove detrimental,since you have approached day trading with preconceived notionsthat may stand in your way, clouding issues and confoundingyour thinking. You will need to abandon these dysfunctional ideasin favor of those that I have offered in this book, if what I’ve saidmakes sense to you. Remember that this process takes time. Somefailures at first are unavoidable. You will need to fall off the bicy-cle a few times before you-can ride it. At first your riding will beshaky and slow. After a while, however, you will feel at home onthe day-trading bicycle, and it will take you where you choose togo, provided you follow a smooth road.
How long will it take you to become a successful day trader?There is no answer other than perhaps more than 2 weeks and lessthan 2 years, perhaps never; however, these are certainly not hard-and-fast rules. Some of you will become successful day traders inseveral weeks, whereas others will never achieve consistent success.
Expect the Least,
Not the Most
There are too many books on positive mental attitude that tell youto have great expectations. They tell you to visualize success. Theyencourage you to engage in affirmations. They push you to seeyourself as a highly profitable trader or investor. I take issue withall of these books, and I caution you against having unrealisticexpectations. Try not to have great expectations. Expect to lose.Expect that with time you should begin to break even. Expect thatwith more time and with more experience you will begin to showprofitable results.
Do not expect profits at first. Rather, expect that learning thegame will cost you tuition both in terms of time and money.Therefore, you must understand the reasons for your every lossand you must learn from them. There are hundreds if not thou-sands of traders who begin their trading with unrealistic expecta-tions, a few thousand dollars in risk capital, and a total lack of dis-cipline or method. They soon leave the markets beaten, broke, andbroken. In the meantime, their money has been gobbled up byprofessional traders who thrive on the losses of tyros. If you haveThe Day Trader's Rules for Success 201
any expectation, then expect failure while hoping that throughyour learning experiences you can minimize the failures and max-imize the successes.
Shut Out the Input ofOthers—Play Your Game byYour Own Rules
Should you allow yourself to be exposed to, pandered to, and inti-mately influenced by the many fantastic claims for perfect tradingsystems and “Holy Grail” seminars, then you will be diverted onyour road to success. There is nothing wrong with attempting toimprove on what you are doing, but the act of endless searchingwill distract you from your goal. Don’t get sidetracked on yourjourney. If you are confident with your trading methods and rules,then use them and profit by them. Persevere and ignore the claimsand opinions of others as much as you can.
Those who purport to have better systems, better methods, fool-proof indicators, outstanding results, and fail-safe risk manage-ment will constantly barrage traders with their claims. Before yougive any of these serious attention, make sure that what you’redoing is not better. Every system you test, every seminar youattend, every piece of software you buy, and every path you takemay prove to be a costly excursion away from your final destina-tion. Each takes time, effort, and money. And these are the mostprecious commodities in the world. They are limited resources noteasily replaced.
Therefore, I suggest you find a methodology and commit to itfor a predetermined length of time. And during this period of timedo not allow yourself to become distracted by anything else, evenif it means that you need to close your eyes and ears to the maga-zines, newspapers, and mail you receive.
Take Your Losses WhenYour Signals So Dictate—Don’t Make Excuses!
Riding losses is the worst thing a trader can do. Not taking a losswhen you should take the loss is the worst thing you could do. Ihave stated repeatedly throughout this book that the single202
Chapter Sixteen
worst offense a day trader can commit is to carry a positionbeyond the end of the trading day, particularly if it is a losingtrade. At times a profitable trade carried overnight may becomeeven more profitable on the next opening. This issue has alreadybeen discussed objectively as the FPO exit (first profitable open-ing) and the nth profitable exit. But a losing trade usually getsworse if not closed out. If you fail to exit a trade at the end of the day,then you are violating the essence of day trading and you therefore riskexposure to everything that a day trader seeks to avoid. Do not, underany circumstances violate this cardinal rule regardless of what theexcuse or excuses may be.
But what if you are locked into a position due to a limit moveagainst you? In such an event you have no choice but to carryyour position. You could spread a position off (take an oppositeposition in a different contract month if possible) in order to avoidthe exposure; however, there is still danger, even in a spread.Remember that you are either a day trader or you are not a daytrader. There is nothing wrong if you choose not to be a day trad-er. But note that you must not change horses in midstream, sincethis will, in the long run, cause you losses. In the short run, youmay be very pleased with the results. But in time, your lack of dis-cipline will haunt you.
In the event of a limit move in your favor, you may be temptedto hold your position overnight, expecting that there will be moreprofits in the morning. Even this is a dangerous procedurebecause a limit move in either direction on any given day does notnecessarily guarantee follow-through in the same direction on thenext day. You will note from some of my research in the precedingchapters that holding a day trade until the nth profitable openingmay in certain very specific circumstances prove more profitableon than exiting on the close of the day. But note that these are veryspecific conditions that are related to the day-trading systems andindicators being used.
My research has shown that over the next several days theremay be follow-through; however, what happens between now andthen may wipe you out. I have already given you certain very spe-cific conditions under which a day trade may be kept overnight,but beyond these suggestions, I emphasize once again that a daytrade must be closed out by the end of the day unless there is sta-tistical evidence to support carrying the trade overnight or to thenth profitable opening.The Day Trader's Rules for Success 203
Your Goals as a Day Trader
Your first goal every day of your life as a day trader is to end theday with a profit. Place no dollar amount on the profit. To set <goal too high would be unrealistic and to set a goal too low mighibe aiming too low. Another type. of goal—the goal of followingyour rules and being true to your methods—is the major goal ojthe day trader. However, if you do need to establish a goal foiyourself in terms of dollars, then try to end each day with a smal.profit at the very minimum. As a secondary goal, you shoulcattempt to follow all your rules and methods. In fact, your goal o:ending each day with a profit will not be possible unless you havebeen true to your systems and methods.
Don’t Exit Trades Too Soon
Too many traders exit their profits too soon. Note that the histori.cal results and statistics on the indicators and systems presentecin this book are based on exit at the end of the trading day or onitrailing stop loss. To exit trades before the system or method scdictates is to violate the rules that I have presented to you. All tocoften you will exit a trade based on a whim, a hunch, a fear, «concern, or a news item, and you will be very sorry later that youdid so. A good trade is a good trade. Do not exit a profitable daytrade either until the end of the day or unless your trailing stotloss is triggered according to the rules. I cannot stress this tocstrongly.
At times you will want to exit a trade, but you will follow thirules and avoid the temptation. At the end of the day you wilrealize that breaking the rules would have resulted in a large profit. Instead, you followed the rules and took a small profit. This ithe nature of the markets. For every one time that you break thirules, at least twice as often you will find that following the rulewould have been more profitable.
Furthermore, not following the rules teaches you nothing. Evertime you break a rule you will have a different excuse. The onhthing that breaking the rules will teach you is to break the rulesAs a result, your trading will deteriorate and you will quickhbecome one of the thousands of undisciplined traders who inhabithe vast wasteland of losses.204
Chapter Sixteen
Don’t Hold a Profitable Day TradeBeyond Its Ideal Exit Point
Many a good day trade has become a bad day trade, turning froma profit into a loss, because of poor intraday risk management orto the tenacity of the trader. Holding on to a winning tradebeyond its exit point (ie., trailing stop loss) can also get you intotrouble. Please remember the rules I have given you about trail-ing stops based on the systems presented herein. This is animportant rule that you must not violate. Preservation of capitalis quintessential to consistent success as a day trader, and preser-vation of profits is equally as important. The mere fact that atrade looks too good to exit is just as much a violation of the rulesas is exiting a trade because it looks bad. Remember that “lookinggood” or “looking bad” are subjective and intuitive responsesthat have no place in the repertoire of a day trader unless that daytrader is a bona fide psychic with a proven track record of tradingsuccess.
Don't “Force” Day Trades IfThere Are No Signals
Many traders have the personality type that thrives on action andwithers on inaction This fatal flaw causes them to search out trad-ing opportunities where none exist. If you have day-trading signalsbut find yourself anxiously searching through your screens andintraday charts for trading opportunities, then you're headed for adisaster. If you find yourself looking at markets that you nevertrade for opportunities that you have not seen previously in the day,then you are most likely headed for trouble. Do not attempt to cre-ate an opportunity where one does not exist. Be patient. There willbe trades tomorrow or the next day. The market always providesopportunities over time even though none may exist today. Don’tever, ever force yourself to trade if an opportunity does not exist.One excellent way to overcome this problem is to use a softwareprogram such as TradeStation™, FutureSource™, CommodityQuote Graphics™, MetaStock™ or Aspen Graphics™. These trad-ing software programs will gather your intraday data for you and,once set up with your parameters and/or signals, alert you totrading opportunities. If there are no signals, then there are notrades. You will save time and errors, and you will improve yourThe Day Trader's Rules for Success 205
trading discipline by using such programs. I highly recommendthem.
Hesitate and You Lose!
Hesitation is one of the worst enemies of the day trader. The age-old expression “he who hesitates has lost” is truer in the futuresmarkets than in any other venture other than life-and-death situa-tions. Since day trading occurs within a circumscribed period oftime, every moment you lose in entering or exiting a position is amoment that may cost you money.
If you choose to hesitate, then do so with premeditation and cal-culated caution. Never allow yourself to hesitate out of fear or indeci-sion. Hesitation subsequent to a clear trading signal or opportuni-ty indicates a lack of confidence, and a lack of confidence indicatesthat you are not comfortable with your choice of systems and/ormethods or with your skills as a day trader. Hesitation can be cost-ly. Fortunately, you will know that you are hesitating the instantyou do so. Use this as a trigger to let yourself know that you areabout to make a potentially expensive error.
Keep a Record of Your Trades—theGood, the Bad, and the Ugly
I pointed out earlier in this book—in fact, I noted a number oftimes—that every loss you take is an important learning experi-ence. But a loss can be of no value unless you know why you tookthe loss and what you will do in the future to avoid making thesame mistake. Clearly not all losses are a result of breaking rules.Many losses are a simple result of your system being wrong. Butyou must know when your system was wrong and when you werewrong. There is a significant difference between the two.
Therefore, I urge you to keep a log or a diary of your trades,noting each trade with a brief commentary as to whether the tradewas a profit or a loss due to following your system or due tobreaking your rules. A profit that resulted from breaking yourrules will teach you something wrong. A loss that has occurred asa result of breaking your rules may be very instructive. A diaryshould not only be kept, but it should also be referred to both atthe end of each trading day and at the beginning of the new day.Refer to everything you did the day before and learn from it.206 = Chapter Sixteen
Don’t Day Trade UnlessYou’re Properly Informed
Some of the techniques I have discussed in this book are almostentirely mechanical. In order to trade them, your presence is notrequired and live price quotes are unnecessary. In most cases abroker can actually do the trades for you, depending upon theground rules and understandings you have established with thatbroker. Other methods, however, require your presence and closeattention. If a situation arises during the day that requires you toleave your quote system, then either close out your positionsimmediately or give your broker stop close only or market-on-close orders. Do not attempt to keep in touch with the markets by call-ing frequently for quotes or by using a portable quotation system. This isnot a good way to operate.
And this brings me to the question of whether a trader shouldattempt to trade when on vacation or when separated from his orher quotation system or computer. Clearly, my reply is no, unlessyou have a partner or broker who can follow the trades for you.
When in Doubt, Stay Out
The old expression “when in doubt, stay out” is especially appro-priate for the day trader. Not all indicators or signals will be com-pletely clear all the time. Furthermore, some other developmentssuch as news, reports, or short-term fundamentals make signalsunclear or market response uncertain. In such cases my bestadvice is to stay out; do not trade. There will always be plenty oftrades, and there is no need to enter a trade unless its potentialoutcome is relatively clear and free from the erratic influence ofnews or other fundamental events.
You Can't Succeed UnlessYou Do Your Homework
I have found few traders who are consistent and conscientiousabout doing their market homework. All too often they slip intothe abyss of laziness in the hope that they have somehow internal-ized their system rules. But the fact is that they expect to show aprofit without having to work for it. There can be no success witha system unless you follow the system. And you can’t follow the 
The Day Trader's Rules for Success 207
system unless you perform the necessary daily calculations or pro-cedures.
It never ceases to amaze me how few traders consistently dotheir market homework. Even though they have developed goodmarket indicators and effective trading techniques, they fail to con-sistently keep up-to-date on the markets and allow a good method-ology to turn into a bad one by virtue of their laziness. This makesno sense to me whatsoever. The fact is that if you develop some-thing that works, and if it is making money for you or facilitatingyour ability to make money, then by all means you ought to contin-ue with it. Too many traders become complacent about their mar-ket studies, fail to do their homework, and then wonder why theylose money. If you intend to succeed, then you must do your home-work no matter how simple or complex it may be.
Perhaps you have developed a trading system that requires nchomework. This is certainly possible. A number of the techniquesdescribed in this book do not require homework. However, youwill still need to work on your trading diary, and you will stillneed to keep in close touch with trading opportunities that maydevelop during the next trading day. The only way to do this is tcstudy the markets. This is what I mean by homework, and this iswhy it must be done.
Keep Close Track of Your Results
Some traders refuse to monitor their trading results as a form o}defense against being distressed by bad results. This is neuroticbehavior, and you should not engage in it. It will cost you moneyKnow where you stand and keep in touch with your resultsalways comparing them to what your systems should ideally begenerating. Always keep close track of your results on a trade-by-trade and day-by-day basis. If you know how your systems areperforming, you will have effective and valuable feedback abouthe techniques you're using.
Unless you know your trading results, you will not have suffi-cient information about how well or how poorly your methods areperforming. I suggest you use one of the many computerizecaccounting programs to keep track of your results, or at the veryminimum, a spreadsheet that is updated manually will certainlydo the job. Pay especially close attention to your average winningtrade and your average losing trade. Your average winners shoulc208 = Chapter Sixteen
be consistently larger than your average losers. If they are not,then you are risking too much and getting too little for yourefforts. This is an indication that change is necessary.
Another good reason for keeping track of all your trades andtheir results is to determine if and when your trading technique,system, or indicators have deteriorated and are in need of changeor review. Unless you check your performance, you will not becognizant that change is necessary, other than perhaps a vaguefeeling that all is not going well.
More Complicated Is NotSynonymous with More
Profitable
There is no doubt that you will be tempted many times to usemore complicated trading systems. You will be tempted to buildmore and more rules into your system, feeling, erroneously, thatyour system will work better if it has more rules. You may feelthat if your system takes more market variables into considera-tion, you will trade more profitably. My experience strongly sug-gests otherwise. With the exception of artificial intelligence-basedsystems that can process vast amounts of data in exceedingly com-plex ways by relating data to market patterns and relationships,adding new inputs or variables to your own analytical techniquesdoes not necessarily improve them and may in fact cause them todeteriorate.
I have found that if there is a relationship between complexityof system and profitability of system, then it may well be aninverse relationship. The simpler a system is, the more likely it isto be profitable. So, please, don’t confuse apparent complexitywith profitability.
The Danger of Market Myths
Be careful what you believe. Be careful whom you believe. Becareful what you read. Be careful who influences you. The mar-kets are forever subject to the emotional influence of traders.Through the years traders have come to believe that certain rela-tionships exist in the markets when in fact these relationships donot exist at all. Statistically, few consistent market relationshipsThe Day Trader's Rules for Success 209
have persisted over many years. Therefore, be careful not to getcaught up in the cycle of hope that perpetuates market myths.
In this respect, you must also be careful about the informationyou allow to filter into your unconscious mind. The lure of fantas-tic claims and outstanding new discoveries about trading willalways be there to play with your insecure side. Don’t give in toany of these claims. If your systems are making you money, thendon’t look for greener pastures. This does not mean that you can-not or should not engage in ongoing research. But remember thatthere is a big difference between productive and objective researchand emotional response to a claim. Should you be attracted by aclaim, a system, or a promising indicator, test it before you use it.
The Dangers of Pyramiding
Pyramiding is the act of adding increasingly larger units to yourposition as a market moves in your favor. Therefore, you maybegin by buying one unit and adding two additional units oncethe trade has moved in your favor. If the trade continues to movein your favor, you may add four new units, and then, assumingthat it continues in your favor, you might add six or eight units.The upside of this methodology is that you will accumulate a verylarge position consistent with the trend and you will use the capi-tal available in open profits to margin new positions.
The danger of pyramiding is that this is a pyramid clearly builtupside down. It is heaviest at the top and rests on only one unit atthe bottom. It is therefore subject to violent collapse at the slightestindication of a trend reversal. If you intend to build a pyramid,then do so by establishing your largest position first and follow itup by successively smaller numbers of units.
Avoid Inactive Markets
Ihave already given you guidelines on which markets to day tradeand how to determine if a market should be day traded. Followthose rules. By trading active markets only, you will avoid theproblems that come with thinly traded markets and the relativelypoor price executions that are so common in such markets. As aday trader, you must have liquidity in order to move into and outof your positions easily and without too much slippage. Moreover,210 ~~ Chapter Sixteen
if you intend to trade large positions, then liquidity is absolutelyessential for success. As a day trader, you do not have the time towait too long for price executions to be reported to you, nor willyou have the time to go back and forth with different price ordersin an effort to have your positions either entered or closed out.
Since markets wax and wane in terms of trading activity, youwill need to evaluate this on an ongoing basis in order to makecertain that you are participating in actively traded markets. If youfind yourself trading thin markets and experiencing all the diffi-culties that go along with such markets, then J assure you that youhave no one to blame but yourself, since you have violated one ofthe cardinal rules of day trading.
As this book is being written, the active futures markets are asfollows: S&P 500, Treasury bonds, Swiss franc, Deutsche mark,yen, British pound, crude oil, and heating oil. Coffee has spur