How Many Times Do I Have To Say It, You Have To Have A Plan

So how many times do I have to say it. You have to have a plan. Trading is a business and just like any other business you have to have a business plan. I know there is a lot of traders out there that think there is "a plan" that all traders use. But like any other business we are all going to find ourselves fitting into a niche that fits our trading styles and personalities. Even if you are a beginner, you must develop your style and your plan.

I ended the last 15 minutes of today's trading with 5 trades. There is no way that I could execute these trades in that time if I did not have a specific, detailed plan. And I even have to write out the numbers and tickers on sticky notes and put them on my computer monitor. I am jealous of you guys that don't need to do that, but for me it works.

By the way, those 5 trades were selling off UPL, FLR and NOV all up about 10%. I then bought the QID Ultra Short ETF at $54.95, then placed a stop/loss at $49.00. I am sticking to my plan of selling into strength every chance we get and that the trend right now is down.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow! Now let's take some time to relax.

Goodbye Microsoft!

I finally threw in the towel on Microsoft. It has just been dead money for to long for me. Don't get me wrong, a large portion of my portfolio [over 60 stocks as of today] are long term positions but I had to question my sanity for considering Microsoft [MSFT] a good long term bet. I mean what more can they do! That combined with everything else in my portfolio [at least it feels like it] being on sell right now I had to sell it off.

So now what? Stay tuned for Monday picks! As I move my cash position into FWLT? Or UPL?UPL? Or or FLR? So many stocks, so little time!

Tonight is the big game, no not the Super Bowl or the World Series but the "Bury Lehman Brothers Bowl"! We as American citizens will spend much more on this game then we do the Super Bowl and World Series combined. Somehow I don't think we will consume as much beer for this game. But I have to believe there will be plenty of alcohol consumed in some backrooms on Wall Street.