There are an adventurous few who plow headlong into trading with the style and grace of a Brahma bull. These are the brave few who neglect to take the time to develop a trading methodology and personal self-discipline to trade effectively. The end result is almost always the same; complete and utter failure. Of course, this group of people seem to trumpet the pitfalls and difficulties of trading to anyone who’ll listen.

I hear stories like this, and similar stories, on a consistent basis. People tell me they knew “so and so” who tried to trade and lost a fortune. It seems everyone knows someone who has lost a considerable amount of money trading in the futures market. Unfortunately, there is a never ending supply of those adventurous few who plow headlong into trading with the style and grace of a Brahma bull. So the story perpetuates itself over and over.

I’d like to take a moment with these frightened souls and explain to them that there is a controlled and methodical technique for profiting in the futures market. You don’t need to charge into the markets like a mad bull.

But for many, the damage has been done and rumor can be much more powerful than fact. The average American is, by nature, averse to excessive risk. Most individuals work hard for their money and don’t care to fritter it away carelessly. As futures traders, and educators of futures traders, this is the problem we face.

Of course, there are risks associated with trading e mini futures contracts, and deliberate money management techniques must be implemented along with very exacting trading technique in order to be successful. In short, it takes discipline and experience to be a successful futures trader. But it can be done.

There are a large number of successful traders in the United States, but they seem to be a quiet bunch and go about their business without fanfare or accolades. These folks are interested in making a great living and, by and large, do so without braggadocio or drawing excessive attention to themselves. Needless to say, there are a few braggarts out there. I always seem to meet them at cocktail parties and endure hours of explanation on their trading technique and the millions they have made in the market. I seem to attract them. I don’t know why, but cats seem to feel the same way about me. I prefer the cats.

The point of this article is to emphasize that well controlled trading is possible and profitable. Individuals who equip themselves with the proper knowledge, training, and mentoring stand a good chance of success. They just don’t know it because they’ve listened to the crowd of mad bulls who charge into the market. I wish it weren’t so, because trading can be such an enjoyable profession and creates a wonderful sense of self satisfaction. I feel that we, as trading educators, have failed to get the word out on responsible and profitable trading. For this reason, trading is perceived as a risky and foolish endeavor; better suited for mad bulls.

My goal is to responsibly educate the public, whether they trade not, that rational individuals make a living trading in the futures market. Whether people choose to trade not is up to them. But I would like for the public to have a more rational view of the trading profession. We are not the greedy Wall Street types, nor are we excessive risk takers. We are a group of people who have learned to control risk and embrace it to our advantage. In short, we need to dispel the notion that futures traders are mad bulls.

- About the Author: I am a long time retail and institutional trader who now only trades part time, usually in the morning. I enjoy writing informational articles about my style of trading so others may benefit. Would it be convenient to recieve valuable trading tips every night in your email? You can sign up for our free video series by Clicking here These videos contain advanced trading strategies and will enhance your trading knowledge immeasurably. Best of all, they are free! So get your free videos and start trading like the pros. Article Source

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S&P 500 Pivots

Another positive day for the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and the Dow as they all traded into positive terrority on the day after of the FOMC announcement. Currently all the major indexes are broke through their natural resistance levels: Dow 11,000. Nasdaq 2500, and S&P 500 1200.

After strong economic earnings and jobless claims falling to 448,000 pushed the indexes higher. The S&P 500 Index is still below Wednesday’s previous high of 1211. Breaking this level would represent a significant upward dash to the 52 week high of 1220.

Friday is the last day in April so expect some end of the month activity with various economic numbers expect. GDP numbers will give us the momentum of the market going into the first quarter of 2010. The market is mostly likely to be weak after the April 15th tax deadline. Since the S&P 500 is back below the natural support level of 1200 – the daily chart may indicate the beginnings of a trend change as we reach the ‘Sell in May’ prophecy. However the daily trend remains quite strong.

The market volatility index fell to 18.44 after nearing the 200 moving average on the daily chart. It reached the 52 week low of 15.23.

Summary of Pivot Levels:

1220: 52 Week High

1211: Wednesday’s Previous High

1203: Friday’s Primary Pivot Level

1200: Natural Support

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- About the Author: Shamim Ziyaaudhin is one of the editors of TraderMongers.com a one stop trading news feed source for worldwide traders and investors. Their philosophy is to establish the standard for providing market news feed that is comprehensive, accurate, and concise. Providing technical and fundamental trading setups, economic numbers, and calendar events throughout the trading day. Shamim has a Masters in Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and holds a degree in Psychology from Rutgers University. Click here to subscribe to Tradermongers E- News Article Source