The Dow was up 24 points today on light volume again. Advance/declines were positive. I still think this market wants to work higher. But that is not the story today. I took my lumps in gold today, closing out all my positions with major losses. At least 50% on each trade. Gold was up over $3 today and the XAU, NEM and ABX rallied early. As the day went on however the rally stalled. It wasn't a convincing move in my opinion and I noticed the volume was low. I hung on as long as I could but when things started to fade in the final hour I decided to just get out. The dollar was weak again and if that can't get a good rally going, nothing will. With only a week left I could not hold these any longer. Now next week could be great for gold but maybe not and I had already lost too much as it was. This trade along with the early GE blowout this year have really did me in. It seems whenever I take a larger than normal position it always backfires on me. Make a note of that. GE was up a little today and that was a trade that would have worked. I still might look at gold for October but am uncertain at this point. I'll check things over the weekend and take it from there I suppose. Losses are inevitable in the game however I must learn to limit them if I am ever going to make this work on a consistent basis. Am I getting closer to the mission? I sure hope so. But trades like these are steps backwards. Patience is something I just have got to get a hold of. Discipline is another.