Hosted By
Robin Dayne
"The Trader's Coach"
16 years as a trading and life coach

Coaching for:
 Individual Traders - all levels
Trading and Hedge Firms
 Brokerage Firms

Trading Mindset Focus:
 Managing Loses
 Establishing a Game Plan
 Removing Mental Blocks
 Reversing a Losing Streak
 Overcoming Fears
 Improving - Consistency,
 Confidence and  Certainty 

How to Attack the
New Year with a Plan
 
By Robin Dayne

OK, I know you're going to say, "Here we are in 2010 and now I have to do the plan again?"  YES, now is the time to create your 2010 trading plan if you haven't done so already. It IS so very important and will last the whole year because it should be a "living" document that is always being worked and changed as needed.

We (traders) seem to get rejuvenated in January for some reason. I think it happens because of the sluggish December markets and low volumes. If you were trading at the end of December it was like watching grass grow. When it's so slow and few trades show materialize, traders tend to build up trading anxiety.

Some will even go into overwhelm not knowing what to do, with the desire to trade so strong. The descriptions I hear are "antsy, irritable, anxious frustrated. The only solution is to stop with everyone else and stay away till everyone returns from the holidays.

This year in particular December seemed extremely slow. The year seemed to exhaust traders with all the challenges and stricken economy, it was difficult to stay up-beat.

Well no worries the big guys that checked out early in December to lock in their profits and take a vacation from their trading, will be back now. They also will be ready to trade to get a good start to the New Year.

With trading firms changing their policies and commissions up and down Wall St. and know one knowing what regulations the Fed will come up with, my guess is many traders might be looking to head out on their own to trade and add to the pool of trader at home.  Those that have made this transition already in the past year are beginning to understand that this is not such a bad idea and one can do nicely with the right knowledge and preparation. Trading from home does have its advantages.

Regardless if your new to trading on your own or you are working for a firm "The Plan" you create for yourself is still an important part of the years success.

Why do we need a plan?

An amazing thing happens when you can add detailed definition to an outcome. The more detail you can pour into a plan the more things seem to just happen. Many say that just the mental process of designing and defining the plan has a higher possibility of automatically manifest the results.

When I had the radio show and interviewed experienced successful traders there was a consistent commonality, they all had a plan. Many of them worked on the plan throughout the year changing and refining things as they went along.  Changing, adding, adjusting monthly, increases the percentage of success, keeps the trader focused and aware of where they are in relation to the outcomes they want.

This is specifically WHY the trading PLAN is so important.  It's there to provide direction, certainty and a way to attack the year with confidence.

I did find that the most successful traders have plan. So you will be in good company when you get yours together.

So let's break down where to begin, let's not go into overwhelm and let's design a plan that will work to clear the cobwebs and get your trading moving in a great forward direction. Besides, how will you know you did the right thing if you have nothing to compare it to?

OK, first things first. To move forward you have to know where you've been.

It's important to take an assessment of what happened last year. One way to do this is to look at several areas of your trading and life and ask some questions that will than provide you direction in developing what you want for the New Year.

Here are some suggestions of questions to start with:

• What markets were you trading and were you happy with the results you got from them in 2009?
• If not – than what markets would you be exploring for 2010?
• What do you need to do to educate yourself in these new areas?
   
• What were your biggest obstacles from last year in your trading?
• Emotional challenges
• What were the specific emotional issues and how will you provide focus to address them?
• Would coaching help?
• Technical challenges
• Is your methodology working?
• If not how will you adjust it
• What additional training or books can be used
• Market challenges
• Define issues and fixes

• What did you do well in your trading or what worked the best?
• Be sure to include everything that works
• How did you do financially?
• Daily, monthly and yearly

• What were your obstacles in reaching your financial goals?

• How will you address them and change for 2010?

• What else happened last year in your business, personally, and financially
• Be sure to include family, friends, health your environment (home and office)
• What needs to be changed, refined or added

From these questions and one for your specific situation come up with the areas you want to attack in 2010 and be sure to incorporate the solutions to the challenges you experienced in 2009.

Many traders have the tendency to do the trading parts of their plan and forget the other parts of their lives that come into play. Include those parts that create a good "balance" and add to you well-being and those around you.

Add parts to the plan and consider "time" needed.  Creating a plan that can't be implemented makes no sense.  That's one of the reasons to revisit the plan from time to time so adjustments to reality can happen.

Oh I almost forgot the most important thing create your plan and include F-U-N. What activities can you do to have fun create "magic moments" those experiences you will have for a lifetime and memories that those around you will also enjoy. Like visiting the grand canyon with the family or a hot air balloon ride or seeing a favorite performance.

Go for it and create your magic! And I wish you great success in 2010!

Disclaimer/Nondisclosure 

ALL the information in the Robin Dayne Newsletter is for educational purposes only and is the sole property of Robin Dayne Inc. (RDI) and may not be duplicated, recorded or reproduced in any way and includes: verbal, print, e-mail, or any media vehicle without the written permission of RDI.

Welcome back everyone! It's time to buckle up and get ready for another exciting year of trading.

When the market is moving on light volume I tend to focus on very short term plays to minimize my exposure to volatility. The past couple of weeks have been great for day traders and futures trades as we took advantage of the short term seasonal holiday rally in the broad market and also by shorting gold when bounces reached resistance levels.

This year I will be providing many more trades as I focus more on 60 minute trading charts to scalp the market with low risk quick reward setups. Also I will start providing futures trading analysis and signals for those who want to be more active and generate more income on a monthly basis.

DIA – Dow Jones Exchange Traded Fund – 60 Minute Chart

The Dow has been trading in this range for a couple weeks providing some excellent short plays. Although I tell members not to short in a bull market, there are times when shorting in a bull market looks and feels right. The past month has been the perfect mix for shorting using the 60 minute charts. Read More

 I will attempt to give you a brief glimpse into one of the greatest investment opportunities I have ever seen in my 49 year career. 

 If you only believe only a fraction of what Dr, West said in his Annual  Meeting address(see video @ www.biotimeinc.com  )  given to stockholders you could be on your way to Ultra-Wealth by investing in Biotime(BTIM). Here we are talking about a cure for cancer, reversing aging,restoring youth and lengthening lives or a proverbial fountain of youth etc.  

Before I hit a few high notes let me take you back a few years ago when I first started to talk to a few of you about BTIM. Back in 2007 BTIM had less than 7 employees no analyst coverage,listed on the bulletin board,trading around $.30-$.40 a share with no real business as The Bush stopped funding Stem Cell research. BTIM had an approved Blood expander Hextend but the product has not reached profitability yet 

Dr. West BTIM's CEO was considered a pioneer in the STEM Cell space.. He was the founder of the first 2 real Stem Cell companies out there They were Geron and Advanced Cell Technology(ACT). Geron has been out there for 12 years with no approved products. ACT had a fortune in patents and patent applications but no money to exploit their potential. ACT was trading for pennies a share. Read More

As we look to possible scenarios for the grains in 2010, in addition to the usual hope for a drought, we have at least four other factors which could produce much higher prices in the grain complex. The first item to consider is crop production in South America. We have the potential for weather issues along with the omni-present factor of political unrest between farmers and government entities. Read More

Although December's heavy sell off in the Gold (and Silver) market confirmed a significant set of monthly and weekly cycle highs, highs that may take this metal some time to meet/exceed, there now appears to be plenty of credible technical evidence to suggest that Gold may be ready to mount a minor rebound rally back up toward the $1,125 to $1,135 price zone. There are a couple of key market analysis tools that we can rely on to see if we can both confirm and then capitalize on a possible swing back up to a major Fibonacci resistance zone. Let's take a closer look right now.

On December 22, March Gold made a major cycle low on its 78-minute chart at $1,075.20 (See point 'A' on the chart. Yes, '78' is close to a significant Fibonacci ratio) and then began to slowly reverse higher. The spread between the 50- and 200-period exponential moving averages (EMA's) was near an extreme at the time of the dead low but have begun to progressively narrow since then. Along with the narrowing spread (which typically indicates a period of price consolidation), March Gold also managed to make a higher swing low (point 'B' on the chart) on December 30, 2009.  This higher swing low also permitted the plotting of a major uptrend line (gold dashed line), one that will be a wonderful trend-determining assist for both intraday and daily-based swing traders in the days and weeks to come.

Higher Lows
Once the first higher low was made (which was also a cycle low) at point 'B,' prices accelerated higher, bouncing back lower after colliding with the 200-period EMA (pink rectangle) before forming yet another higher swing low. Not surprisingly, this fresh 78-minute swing low has allowed us to plot a slightly more aggressive uptrend line (blue dashed line), which, if it should hold, is a prime clue that Gold intends to meet and then likely exceed the 200-day EMA (currently near $1,106) on a close. As most technicians know, a close above the 200-period EMA is a bullish development, and one that a zillion traders and money managers use to determine the long-term trend for a given time frame. Additionally, if the 50-period EMA (red line) crosses above the 200-period EMA (blue line) a second bullish confirmation occurs, one known as a 'Golden Cross.' Traders frequently wait for a pullback toward the 50-period EMA after such a crossover to initiate new long positions. Read More