The #1 Account Killer: Emotion
Well, I have to say that emotions always lose out to a solid game plan when it comes to the markets. Here's a recent example; we received a buy signal for gold (XAUUSDO) at $905 basis spot on May 19th. The gold market ran up and reached an intra-day high of $935.30 before it subsequently collapsed. I'm sure many traders held on thinking that the sharp pullback was just a pullback and that gold would soon regain its footing and once again go higher. Why subject yourself to that kind guessing and emotional type trading when there's a better way? Using the MarketClub's non-emotional "Trade Triangle" technology we were able to exit the market with a small profit of $10.25 an ounce and rest on the sidelines as gold collapsed. There's really no room for emotion in the market place. This is one of the greatest downfalls of most traders. You need to go into the market with a solid game plan, this could be in the form of MarketClub's "Trade Triangles" or it could be another form of discipline, but having a solid game plan does give you a reference point to work from. When you are making trading decisions about the market while it is still trading is generally not a good idea. Here's a recent trading recap: 
Gold (XAUUSDO): We are out of the gold buy trade from $905 on 5/19 to 5/27 at $915.25 for a profit of $10.25. We are resting on the sidelines based on "Trade Triangle" technology. See video.
Crude Oil (CL.N08): We exited our long July position from $125.63 purchased on 5/15 at 126.90 on 5/28 (original signal $128.69) for a gain of $1.27. We are out of this market and on the sidelines based on our "Trade Triangle" technology. See video.
Whether the "Trade Triangles" turned out to be correct or incorrect, they do provide you with discipline and a reference point that you can hang your hat on. "Trade Triangles" are consistent and not a willy-nilly approach to the market. Using MarketClub's "Trade Triangles" gives you confidence as they represent a defined, measured approach that if followed consistently will make you money in the long run.
Every success in the markets and in life,
Adam Hewison
Co-Creator, MarketClub.com
the ability to close a trade, on a signal generated by your system or "game plan" ... therein lies the ability to remove emotional bagage and focus on the next trade.
Respect is building for your approach and character.
Mark
A person who participated in my survey asked:
"If the whole reason we become traders is based on emotion (i.e. the drive to be financially free etc), then how the hell are we supposed to trade without emotions?"
I thought that was a great question.
What I immediately thought of was 'focus'. When one is intently focused on something, there is really no emotion involved. It's like doing a prtoject or something, and while you are 100% focused, the project is being completed, and once it is completed then the focus can stop and the emotions can flow, i.e. the emotions of achievement and a job well done etc.
This is the same for trading, which is why it is so important to have a game plan. While you are executing your game plan, you should be focused on the game plan and nothing else. If you feel you start second guessing the game plan, which means you are losing focus then my guess is it means you are now 'thinking about the money'.
If you can stop thinking about the money, and just execute the game plan, then at the end of the day, trade, week, whatever it may be, you should then congratulate yourself, reward your self, regardless of whether you won or lost.
Emotions, especially greed, happen to the best of traders, especially the price breaks away in earnest.
A mechanical exit strategy is the best, it may cut down on the gains but then you are able to preserve capital and come back another day.
Jeff
http://jeflin.net
Adam, I've watched all the videos and from I've seen TTs could be optimized in fast markets by using the weekly soley for trend identification and then trading off the daily signals. You have been entering off the weeklies and using the dailies for stops and I believe you may be leaving some money on the table with that approach. What do you think?
Mark
How does one get access to the trade triangles? I made the purchase suggested. Do you send an advisory when a signal changes? Please respond. I'm in a big hole right now.
Hi Gary,
When you sign-up for a subscription to MarketClub you will have access to the "Trade Triangle" technology. The triangles are placed on the the charts of the 237,000 symbols that we cover. There are a couple of ways you can check your portfolio to see if a triangle has been issued. We have a nightly email that goes out that will tell if you if a triangle has been issued either on a quarterly, monthly, weekly or daily level. You can also use the "Chart Portfolio" tab to quickly look for triangle for every symbol in your portfolio. You can also use the "Chart Analyze My Entire Portfolio" to see if the score has been change as a reflection of a new triangle. Lastly we are working on an alert system. I do not know when this will be ready, but it will alert you on criteria you set and then you will be email to prompt action.
Let me know if you have any further questions,
Lindsay Thompson
Director of New Business Development
INO.com & MarketClub.com