Is your girlfriend a 6?

A scene in the movie Moneyball in which an old-school baseball scout doubted a prospective players confidence because his girlfriend was a 6! Pretty funny stuff. The thing is lots of traders have a girlfriend or boyfriend that is a 6. So if it’s true that a lack of confidence can be drawn from this conclusion how do you expect to become that profitable trader?  Now I am talking about a would-be trader’s favorite indicator, pattern or anything that signals them to enter a trade, not their girlfriend per say. Once you get that entry signal you need to have the confidence to see that trade play out and to take the size that this confidence demands. So if your are walking around with a 6 by your side how are you going to get to that place you really want to be? Today’s markets are dominated with algorithms that feed on any lack of confidence or fear you may have. I am not saying that all you rely on is any one indicator or pattern blindly, but that you need to be familiar enough with “your girlfriend”  and confident she is not a 6.  How do we get that “girlfriend” that’s a 9 or 10 not a 6? Experience and backtesting is how. Whatever you use you should have intimate knowledge of  its best qualities and worst qualities in different tapes. Once you have this type knowledge then and only then can you assume that your not the guy or gal walking around with a 6. Once you KNOW that you have that 9 or 10 then you can take the real risk that is required to make real money in the markets. So get out and find the tools that you can have confidence in to execute with confidence. In blog posts to follow, I will give a peek  at a girlfriend of mine.