Murphy's Law

When trading the markets, do you often feel that Murphy's Law says it all: "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."

Have you found yourself saying, "When I take a bullish position, the market always reverses and goes down."

Or, "When I am certain the market has topped and pull all my funds out, you can bet that will be the day a new rally starts."

Surprise! This is "not" Murphy's Law. This is simply a trader who is trading by the emotions of fear, greed, hope or wishful thinking. He or she is not following a plan.

A market timer who follows a good timing strategy may not always have a winning trade, but they know that the odds place them on the profitable side over time. Murphy's Law does not apply to those who follow a plan.

Predicting What The Masses Will Do

Can you predict what the masses will do? Sometimes, but not always. Profitable market timers, however, rely on their strategy. They do not try to predict.

A timing strategy removes emotion from the trading equation, and emotions, as we know, are the single most common reason that timers and traders lose.

All market timers should be students of the markets. They should study the markets and develop an intuitive feel for how they move. It is common sense to develop a good knowledge base when investing your money.

But unless you have magical powers of prediction, a time proven crystal ball or a star to wish upon, be sure follow a time tested and unemotional timing strategy for profits.

Crystal balls are great toys and fun for party games, but they are not tools for investing your money. Wishing upon a star worked for Jiminy Cricket in the Disney movie Pinocchio, but it does not work in the financial markets.