When Dick Diamond's account was down by 70 percent, it would have been easy for him to simply quit trading.

 

Yet he chose to make a comeback -- and he succeeded.

 

Diamond traded on the floor of the Amex between 1960 and 1965. And he started trading his personal account in 1965.

 

He could do no wrong -- or so Diamond believed, as he rode the wave from 1965 through 1968. He had positive returns in all four of those years. Alas, he fell into a trap that is too common among traders: he believed his personal investing "genius" was behind his profits. The more basic truth was that he simply remained on one side of a favorably trending market.

 

But as 1969 unfolded, the trend was no longer his friend. That's the year he lost 70 percent.

 

How did Dick Diamond recover?

 

He established trading principles and vowed to stick by them. As Diamond applied them, he did indeed make a comeback -- which has lasted until this very day.

 

He has not had a losing year since the 70 percent loss. He even says a losing month is unacceptable.

 

What are Diamond's trading principles? The list is long, though I can mention six:

 

Trade only a small percentage of your overall capital at any one time (once you get over your "core position" you'll get emotional and bad things will happen).

 

Be open to change. A good trader lets market conditions dictate short-term feelings. Market conditions can change many times during an active day.

 

Never get aggressive after short-term success or failure in your trading life (And don't dwell on the past, good or bad. Focus on the NOW).

 

Intraday trading winners come into a trade for a quick profit and if it does not work out, they sell. Losers hold on to Hope. Diamond says this is a dirty word for traders. If you find yourself wishing or hoping -- get out!

 

Don't buy because prices seem too low, or sell because prices seem too high. A trader should have the ability to buy higher than he bought on the last completed trade even though only a short period of time has lapsed. Conversely, a trader should be able to short at a lower level than the last completed short trade.

 

Don't fault yourself for a losing trade -- you'll be right 70-80% of the time if you are trading properly. However, you must fault yourself if you break the trading rules.

 

Dick Diamond's Market Mentor Trading Course includes many other trading insights which helped him succeed. His next course is March 20-23, 2011 in Vero Beach, Florida.

 

For a very limited time, we're offering the course with an Early, Early Bird discount. This means you save $500!

 

You can learn to trade the hard way (like Diamond did) or you can greatly benefit from his 45 years of experience. He holds nothing back in his seminars, revealing every morsel of relevant trading knowledge.