4 New Insights From "The Greatest Trader You've Never Heard Of"

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4 New Insights From "The Greatest Trader You've Never Heard Of"
Enjoy this excerpt from Peter Brandt's latest update on intraday volatility for his Traders Boot Camp students

By Vadim Pokhlebkin
Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 ET

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I've always admired people with nothing to prove. You know, someone so confident that they don't need any flash?

That's the first thing I noticed about Peter Brandt when I met him back in December at his "Trading for a Living" Boot Camp. For a man of a small statue, and one who nearly got killed in a terrible accident 18 years ago, Peter has the quiet confidence of an ex-Marine. If you met him on an elevator, you would never tell that he is "the greatest trader you've never heard of."

(That's not an exaggeration. Anyone can have a lucky streak in the markets. Peter's track record is not a streak. That's why at his Boot Camp, I took 6 pages of notes. I plan to soon post them as a series of articles here on elliottwave.com, so do check back.)

At least once a week, Peter sends his Traders Boot Camp students an update -- new market opportunities he's found, or thoughts on "the business of trading for a living." Today, Peter sent us another interesting email with 7 bullet points. Here's an excerpt with the 4 most crucial ones:

I have been increasingly emphasizing for the past two years the importance -- in fact, the imperative -- of closing price pattern completion. In the age of HFT representing as much as 70% of trading volume, algorithms designed to cascade stop orders and computerized exchanges that disclosure the order stack, increased trading noise means that chart boundaries are routinely violated on an intraday basis.

I would like to offer my solution to the dilemma. Keep in mind that these tactical changes have been very advantageous during the past couple of years -- there is no guarantee that market behavior in the future will not require additional modification.

These are hard-and-fast trading rules for me at the present time. As you read through these...consider taking ownership of these rules in a form that fits your trading style, signaling, time framing and risk-management protocol.

1. Totally ignore overnight markets with the exception of limit orders. Only trade markets during their traditional day time hours.

2. Do not use intraday stops for entering an order. Make the market prove itself on the close.

3. Once a market proves itself, a position can be taken on the close itself, or quickly in the overnight market using a limit order.

4. When trading a smaller pattern (less than 10 weeks in duration), take quick profits and walk away. Do not be tempted to re-enter the same market. The play is over.

I have enclosed a couple of examples of recent patterns in which my entry was postponed until the markets proved themselves with closing price verification.

Platinum:

Unleaded Gasoline:

Hope this discussion helps you think through the frustrations and economic losses that can come from intraday volatility.

Peter's new "Trading for a Living" Boot Camp is set for June 14-16 in Colorado Springs, CO. As one of Peter's students, I highly recommend that you make every effort to attend.

Want More Trading Tips from "the Greatest Trader You've Never Heard of"?

Then watch Peter Brandt's free 35-minute webinar, "7 Practical Ways to Boost Your Productivity as a Trader." You'll learn about the 4 differences that separate professional traders from novices, plus 3 key concepts of risk management.

Existing EWI subscribers and Club EWI Members, log in to watch Peter's webinar here >>

Need a free Club EWI password? Take 30 seconds to sign up now -- and watch Peter's 35-minute webinar >>

Tags: futures trading, market myths, online trading, technical analysis, trade targets, Traders, trading lessons

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