Hey Market Pilot,
I use the phrase “not my trade” fairly often when my Moxie Indicator™ members ask me about stocks that moved and why I didn’t go in. Firstly, there are thousands of tickers out there moving in their own way, and I can only trade around 10 of them at a time. This means I am going to miss a majority of the moves that occur in the market. That’s ok and you need to be ok with it too otherwise you will drive yourself crazy.
Some names have huge gains. So when I come across them I ask myself, “Wow that was a heck of a move, what can I learn from this?” instead of kicking myself because I couldn’t catch it or didn’t even know about it. Sometimes it’s a stock I wouldn’t normally trade no matter how big the move is because it’s too neurotic, thinly traded, or in a sector that I don’t trust such as biotech.
When you have a solid understanding of your ideal type of trade and you trust yourself, then you should only take those that fit your ideal trade. This is particularly important to me because some well-known names have had some solid moves in the past that didn’t follow my most important set of rules but did follow one of my other sets. So when they would begin to set up on lower time frames, I wouldn’t take them because of the conflicting higher time frames.
After studying them and confirming that they followed a portion of my rules, it gave me another mental confirmation note that verified that my method works. In the moment, I couldn’t say with certainty that they were going to be solid moves that would’ve given me peace of mind.
Thankfully, since I didn’t distract myself with a mixed bag of trades during an awkward market phase, I was available to find setups that fit my style and rules perfectly. As a result, I captured those better moves with more assurance. Knowing your trade is critical to being successful in the markets, and knowing what isn’t your trade will keep your capital secure and your emotions at ease.
Your Profit Pilot, TG
