You can't trade if your liquidity is all gone.
That describes the situation of many former traders. They "had" to trade, even when high-confidence trades were no place in sight. For them, trading was about the action, not about coming out ahead over time.
The road to ruin is littered with forced trades. To force trades with a high percentage of your capital is a faster road to ruin. In this case the old cliché is true: "Sometimes defense is the best offense."
That's what top trader Dick Diamond thinks is the wisest approach to trading the market now.
As for "playing defense," the phrase is simply another way of saying "discipline" -- the aim is to be sufficiently liquid when the time comes to play offense. (And that time may come around sooner than many realize.)
Ask yourself this question: "How many traders have I known -- or even heard of -- who have been successful for 20 years?"
Veteran trader Dick Diamond has been a winning trader for 40 years! That's a fact.
So when an individual with a record like that says "gun-slinging" is not the way to go, it's best to listen.
You see, Diamond had to learn the hard way -- but that was four decades ago.
One of his main themes when he teaches is the utmost importance of capital preservation.
And when the time does come to consider a high-confidence opportunity, you'll be ready to employ the trading strategies which Diamond personally uses. During his seminars, he does more than tell students how they work. He SHOWS them.
For example, Diamond believes in placing trades which have at least an 80 percent chance of succeeding. He calls this his 80/20 rule, and uses 4 oscillators to help him identify such trades. You can see exactly how he puts this rule into action. Diamond literally brings a "high-confidence" trade to life: The students in his seminars watch him at the computer screen.
If you were about to go into battle, who would you rather learn from: a classroom-bound academic or General Patton? Am I suggesting Dick Diamond is a five-star general in the trading field? Yes -- he's that good.
And for the very first time in the history of his seminars, he's offering an early, early special for trading students.
Students tell us Diamond's spreadsheet alone is worth the cost of his course.
And a past trading seminar attendee offered this comment: "Yes I recommend this [seminar]. It is comprehensive from background to entry and exit, risk and money management, real-time execution, software, brokers and trading vehicles."
Here's what other attendees have said:
"Dick is the first person I have met that really cares about helping us be successful traders. He even goes as far as to offer us access to him after the course, as his commitment to our success! That is unheard of by others in the industry."
Bruce F.
Kennesaw, Georgia
"After attending Richard Diamond’s course, one thing is clear...his systematic approach, methodology and priceless wisdom will give you the 'edge' for trading in the financial markets. My only regret is that I didn't take his course earlier! Worth every penny - 100 times over!"
Harrison T.
Iceland
And let me share with you a January 7 e-mail that Dick Diamond sent to me:
"If I had 4 days to provide the Dick Diamond of the late 1960s with the proper trading tools, it would precisely mirror the content shared with students at my Market Mentor seminar. In fact, I often contemplate how much more successful my trading could have been with access to a mentor early in my career. Clearly, my students have an opportunity that wasn’t afforded to me.
"My seminar is structured on the sum total of my 45 years in the trading field. We spend time on core disciplines and trading principles. With this as a background we then spend a lot of time on technical analysis. The atmosphere is informal and students have access to me after the seminar is over. The information given is real and actionable. Many of my past students have gone on to successful trading careers of their own. Roberto Hernandez, a successful trader from Mexico City, ably assists me with the teaching."