Thursday Notes – Zoned In

The “Zone”.

As athletes will tell you, it’s a wonderful place.

If May 6th is trading hell, then the last several weeks of trading in the zone have been heaven.

It’s that time when trades roll off your fingertips and it seems like the market just hands you money … day after day.

You’re locked into every tick and pattern, while dancing cheek to cheek with the market.

It backs up, you move forward.  You move backward, the market moves toward you … as if you’re a magnet.

You get tired, it gets tired.

And while you know it won’t last, you dance the dance as long as you can.

Frankly, it’s a bit eerie … with a feeling similar to the extended runs of ’02, ’03, ’05, and the mother of all zones, late 07 thru mid-09.  Well now I guess I have to add the summer of ’10.

Whatever people think of the diary attribute of this blog, it simply “is what it is” … a 100% non-fictional account of one man’s ongoing trading journey meant to tear down the hidden curtains and rid this small corner of the industry of the smoke and mirrors.

And while I hate talking about personal zones as I prefer to emphasize the misses for all to see, I’d be flat out lying if I didn’t say I’m as locked in as I’ve ever been as was the case again today.

Can I improve in certain areas?  Darn right.

Yet in this ongoing tell-all autobiography, the theme remains all about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

And lately, it’s been good.  Very good.

If you’ve heard me speak over the last decade, you know that I consider this business a daily battle between the casino and the speculator.  And while casinos occasionally take their hits, their win rate is so darn high, it’s why their business plan works.

“Tis why I’ll always prefer to teach people to be the casino.