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As he felt more comfortable, he held the stock for hours at a time, doing swing trading. This was the equivalent of showing interest and going on dates with a woman to really get to know her. If this dating worked out and he didn't lose any money holding his position for hours, sooner or later he would take the next step in the "relationship" and take the stock home with him overnight. This was the same for him as a couple deciding to finally spend the night together. |
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If he didn't end up with a losing position by holding her overnight (still liked her the next morning), he began to think maybe it wasn't just a fling. Maybe he could develop a longer-term arrangement with his new sweetheart stock. He would then consider holding the stock for weeks or months, in a steady (but not necessarily exclusive) dating relationship. If all went well, he might eventually marry the stock (as he had Microsoft) and never sell her no matter how badly she treated him; he took her for good or bad, 'til death do they part. |
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This trader/investor had developed a method of making the stock prove itself worthy of becoming a long-term hold. But the point here is he made room in his thinking and behavior to become not just a day trader but an investor as well. He borrowed something useful from investor's-mind to add to his armamentarium as a trader. While most men and women don't put the stocks that end up in their portfolio through the same kind of rigorous courting ritual as they do their potential love partners, it isn't a bad model or analogy for the day trader to consider. |
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Be a Trader for All Markets |
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Smart, disciplined online traders need to be flexible in their trading style. Just as it is useful for a trader to have personality characteristics that balance both attention to detail, good concentration, discipline, and a dash of the risk-taking gambler, it is also useful to have a flexibility of approach to trading. This enables traders to meet the market under any conditions they might find it. |
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We can think of this flexibility as being like expert skiers who can ski well under any physical conditions. They can enjoy cross country or downhill, and varying degrees of difficulty. They can handle it when the snow is packed, when it is slushy, or when the slopes require caution rather than all-out downhill exuberance. And they know when it might be best to stay off the slopes altogether. |
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