The Dow soared 217 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 5 to 1 positive. The Fed raised rates another quarter point and now everybody thinks that's it. It is the beginning of the summer rally and end of quarter shenanigans. The summation index will now be pointing upwards and signaling higher prices. Gold was up over 7 dollars and the XAU climbed over 9 points. I missed it. I knew it would happen and I did not take advantage of it. The weeklies were all back in the buy zone and I just sat here. I stopped paying attention and trading because I have a vacation next week. I shut it down and went on stand-by mode when I should have been paying attention. I could have went out an extra month but was too stupid to think of it. I hate missing opportunities. There is no sense in doing all of the work if you're not going to take advantage of what's there. It is frustrating. It happens a few times a year and it does me no good. You have got to take chances in the game. You pick your spots where the odds are in your favor. This, I did not do. So now I can leave for New York and think about what an idiot I am. But I will probably just try and forget about it. Lamenting on it does me no good. It would have been a good trade had I been good enough. But that just wasn't the case. We will see the opposite of todays action at another time later this year when the Fed raises rates and the market tanks. I guess I'll have to wait for that. This is the toughest game in the world...

The Dow was up about 50 points. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was light. Had a good run in the last couple of hours. The overall market was stronger than the Dow. Fed tomorrow and I think we are heading higher regardless of what the Fed says or does. Just my guess on the markets Fed reaction. Gold was down 3 dollars and the XAU was unchanged. Volume nothing much there either as we are really in the summer mode. There will be trades but they won't be as plentiful as in the autumn is my guess. I'm leaving on vacation in less than a week. After the announcement tomorrow, I believe the markets will really slow down. Holiday weekend and such. Mentally I'm in stand-by mode. Physically, I'm exhausted from playing too much golf in the heat yesterday. Awaiting the Fed...

The Dow lost 120 points today on OK volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. Volume picked up a bit to the downside. Don't know what to make of it. Still waiting on the Fed and then a long weekend. Tuesday is a holiday so Monday will be a non-event. Gold was down over 3 bucks and the XAU lost over 3 points. Volume picked up a bit here on the downside also. No trades in sight. Looks like I'll be waiting for the August cycle unless something just stands out over my vacation. But I doubt it. Mentally I'm doing fine, preparing for some time off. Playing golf this afternoon and it is humid so I will be preparing for the east coast conditions. Otherwise, the trend seems to remain down for stocks. Perhaps the Fed can change that on Thursday. Technically, we're not at overbought or oversold extremes. Summation index still pointing down and in negative territory. Time to sit it out for a while, I guess.

The Dow gained 56 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. Seemed like a slow day with a rally near the close. No trades. Gold was unchanged but the XAU gained a point and a half. Volume light there also. Just a summer Monday I guess. Fed announcement on Thursday, so I suppose it's just a waiting game. I be leaving on vacation in a week so I'm really just hanging around. Not doing all the work necessary, just the essentials. Mentally I'm looking forward to a nice break but as I've said before my brain is already in stand-by mode. Not much else to say...

The Dow lost 30 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were about even. Not much to write about that. We were higher earlier in the day. Gold was up a couple bucks and the XAU was up a couple points. I'm hoping I haven't missed the next upmove in gold here. Time will tell. The volume is weak but the sellers seem to have disappeared. The overall stock market acted better than the Dow today. Summation index still pointing down. Fed meeting next week and the market could feed off of that or it could just be a non-event. The weekend is here, summer is here and I'm almost ready to go on vacation. This is a rare time for me. But the break is needed in light of the terrible trades of May and June. Not much else to say. Kind of in standby mode as I've said before. Summertime...

The Dow lost 60 points today. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 negative and the volume was light. Leading indicators were weak. Summation index still pointing down. Gold lost about 5 bucks and the XAU was down a point. Not a lot of volume there. Perhaps the summer doldrums are upon us. Tomorrows volume could tell that story. No trades in the offing and not much else to report here. I am getting very lazy and summer for me has begun. I've already said all that has to be said for now so that's it from here...

The Dow rose 104 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. So maybe a good summer rally will begin. I still don't think the summation index has turned positive but another day like today and it will. It seems to be a lack of sellers lately. Gold was up 8 bucks again and the XAU rose over 5 points. The volume wasn't all that great here but perhaps I need to adjust my volume expectations for gold. Just a thought. We have broken the downtrend line in the XAU. I suppose I could look to get long on a snapback to that line. Gold itself is at $590. I'd like to see it build a base but perhaps it won't. Time will tell. Mentally I'm in standby mode still. Same scenario with a vacation coming up and an extra week on the option cycle. So let the summer begin. I'll try not to take on any trades for now and see what happens. Fed meeting next week and I suppose that will set the tone for the week. Otherwise, I'm just gonna take it easy.

The Dow gained 32 points today on slightly better volume. Advance/declines were negative. The overall markets were weaker. No conviction here. I have no trades. Gold was up around 8 bucks and the XAU rose around 3 points. The volume wasn't that good. I'm looking for lower prices. Not much else to say. Extra week in this option cycle. Mentally I'm in standby mode until after I take this vacation. So really I'm just hanging out. Still watching the markets everyday and doing the work. But there most likely will not be any trades until I return. It will really be a summer of relaxation. And who knows? Perhaps the rest will do me good.

The Dow lost 72 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were about 3 to 1 negative. I would expect the advance/decline line to pick up here a bit. The summation index is pointing down and it can't stay that way forever. I'm not saying it will be a rip-roaring advance but we need to turn things around here. I have no trades in mind as my vacation looms. Gold was down over 9 dollars today and the XAU lost over 3 points. No trades there either as I will let a base develop if it can. I'm in kind of a standby mode with the vacation and all. Mentally I'm keeping an eye on things but there may not be any trades until August and maybe even not then. I need both the overall market and the gold market to stabilize here and set things up for when I get back. However the markets rarely accommodate you. And so it goes.

The Dow was unchanged today. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative and the volume was heavy. The overall market was down. Option expiration. There isn't much news coming out next week. I'd expect it to be slow. Let the summer doldrums begin. The Fed doesn't meet for another 10 days and even that may not move things. Gold was up over $10 today but the XAU fell over a point. Not a lot of correlation here lately. I'll be looking to get long the gold shares here at some point. Mentally I'm looking forward to taking a break. I haven't taken a vacation since 2002. Not to mention my trading has sucked the past 2 months and I need to get away. It's the weekend and it's the beginning of summer. If I'm smart, the trading will take a back seat for a while and I'll regroup. I will try and look out for autumn and plan my strategy for then. Sometimes doing nothing is the right thing.

The Dow was up 198 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 4 to 1 positive. It was the bounce I was waiting for and I did not take advantage of it. The profits would have been huge. But it ends up being just another missed opportunity. Boy how I hate those. It really bothers me, even more so than losing money. The first time the technicals called for it, it didn't happen. Not the second. I lost some money and headed for the sidelines. I was wrong to do so. You gotta believe in yourself. I failed again. Gold was up over $10 at one point today. The XAU ended up over 6 points. I sat on the sidelines. If and when the XAU gets back down to 120, I'm getting some calls even if I'm on vacation. Trading can be very frustrating sometimes. This is one of those times. The rewards are great but I haven't had any in so long that I forgot what that was like. I've got to be more disciplined and motivated. What can I say? I'm going on vacation in a couple of weeks. I really don't need one but it was planned some time ago. I'll refresh and rededicate myself when I return. I'm thinking this will be a slow summer, but who knows? We haven't gotten back to the downtrend line that started in May, even with a 200 point gain today. So it's back to the drawing board and time to relax at the same time. The posts here will probably get shorter for a while.

The Dow finally bounced today, up 110 points. Advance/declines were slightly positive and the volume was good. I really did want to buy some OEX calls today but I didn't. I'm not a believer in this rally. The overall market was much weaker than the Dow. But we are so oversold that another day or two of rally isn't out of the question. Gold was little changed today but the XAU rose over 2 points. I think a base probably needs to be built here before any rally of conseqence. I could be wrong. Mentally I'm out of my element. I'm not at my house and the normal trading enviornment. That is important. You don't realize these things until they actually happen sometimes. Controling your trading enviornment is important. You have to have the proper equipment. You have to be in the right frame of mind. Routine can be very vital to your success as a trader. The work has to be done every day and you have to be consistant. I am taking a break here but the market never stops. Getting back to the markets themselves, I don't think this is the end of the recent worldwide liquidation. Probably just a pause before we begin a long, dull summer. I really don't see anything on the horizon that would get anybody excited about buying stocks. We'll see what happens...

The Dow lost 86 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 negative. The worldwide liquidation continues. When the market is oversold and stays there means trouble. I would like to get some calls but I already tried that and lost. We will bounce hard at some point this week. Perhaps tomorrow on the consumer price data. But it's just a guess. Gold got slammed today, down $44. The XAU lost around 5 points at last juncture. I wanna get some calls here too but go out a month or two. But again, in times like these it's really a crapshoot. I am on the sidelines and guess I'm thankful that I didn't lose more the past couple of months. But don't get me wrong. My trading has flat out sucked and I need to work on it. But I am taking a break here and going on vacation in July. I might possibly have a trade in while I'm gone but probably not. Mentally I'm out of my routine for the rest of the week so I'm taking it easy. Trading is a most difficult game and I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a break every now and then. I'll be looking for that bounce in here soon and try to keep myself from doing something stupid.

The Dow dropped another 100 points. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 negative and the volume was average for lately. I dumped the OEX calls I bought for around a 50% loss. I just couldn't hold on to them any longer. We are really due for a big bounce. It just isn't happening. We are way oversold. There is something going on in the markets but I sure don't know what it is. The technicals are not working the way they usually do. My trading has been horrible for two months but there is not much I can do about it now. I would like to take a shot with some Gold calls here but I am going to try and stay out. Nothing is working for me. I should feel bad about the OEX loss but I blew that one when I didn't get out on Friday. And still the market should have rallied today and it didn't. Inflation data out the next two days and that will move things for sure. But I really should try and stay out. I'll try my best. Mentally it's tough. You put in the time and the results just aren't there. You can't just give up but you sure feel like it sometimes. It's just one of those things. A bad streak in the year. You gotta move on. I have taken some big losses this year already. My win % is terrible. I can't try and trade my way out of it, that's for sure. I'm going on vacation in July. I might just shut it down until I get back. But something in me wants to keep going. I'm a trader and that's what I do. So onward I will go I suppose. My neck hurts and I haven't been sleeping good. No excuses though. I just haven't been good enough. I was lucky to get out when I did today because I didn't put in the usual stop loss order in the morning. Gold is right at the uptrendline and it could rally from here this week. The technicals say buy but they haven't been working lately. Perhaps I just want to put on another trade before the end of the week. Discipline and self-control are important. Sometimes, they are hard to come by. It's also a question of where exactly do I go from here? Perhaps some time off is really what is needed. I can't go on like this, that's for sure. It's hard to step aside but I think that is what is needed and the markets will always be here when I get back. I might miss a post or two here this week since I won't be home the next couple of days. Another loss booked today and it doesn't feel good. Gotta move on...

The Dow lost 46 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. I still am holding my OEX calls. They are showing a loss. I really should have sold them today but I didn't. And therein lies the problem. I had a chance to get out without a loss and I didn't take it. We are up against a downtrend line and I think we can break through it. But if we don't, I'm dead. So I'm probably dead. No discipline. I really need to get my act together. But it won't happen with this trade. I don't know why I can't do what's necessary when the time comes. It is frustrating. The market tone has changed and I must adjust to it. I know this yet I just can't see to bring myself to do it. That has to change or I might as well forget this. The market came back big yesterday and there was no follow through. That isn't bullish for the market. I needed to get out, that's the bottom line and I didn't do it. I'll suffer for it next week. Gold was down a buck and the XAU was off a point. We are at the trendline that has held for weeks. Next week will be key. I think we will hold but do I want to attempt a trade there? I just don't know. My mind is not where it needs to be. Mentally, I'm feeling down on myself. This isn't a good way to be. The weekend is coming up and I don't need to be feeling low. But what can I do? When you play the game and don't have what it takes, you're a fool. The entry on this trade was shit and it goes on from there. Not much else to say. I shoulda stayed out and I should have got out when I didn't stay out...

This piece of shit site has been down for a couple of days. Yesterday was turnaround Thursday as we were down around 200 points and came back to be up 7. The volume was HUGE. I bought some OEX calls and they are slightly profitable at the moment. Gold got slammed yesterday also, down around $15. The XAU was down 9 points but also came back to be down only 3. Gold itself is at an important point. It is right at an uptrend line of many weeks. It looks like that it might hold here. Perhaps some calls would be in order. I'm not sure. I have to focus on the OEX trade and probably should exit it today due to all the recent volatility. Mentally, I'm tired but need to concentrate on what's going on. The summation index is pointing down again. However a good day today could change that. Trading isn't easy. This is a lesson that must be learned.

The Dow lost 46 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 negative. The S&P 500 wasn't down as much. I would really like to step up and get some calls here but it's tough. The prices are still pretty high. The volatility is confusing. The summation index might be pointing back down today. A lot of crosscurrents. But you've got to step up to the plate and do something sometimes. And tomorrow could be the day for me. Gold was down $14 and the XAU lost 4 points. Volume was good to the downside. We are right at XAU support. I'm going to try and stay away from this for now. Gold is at $625 and I think it can go to $575 before support kicks in. But you never know. Mentally I'm a bit unsure of myself but I think the overall market can rally from here. If it doesn't, it will get ugly fast. I need to get some decent rest and clear my thoughts for the next trade. There is also a chance that I may just do nothing. But I don't want to go that route. I need to check the economic calendar and see what's on tap for the rest of the week. The dollar is firming here also and that won't help gold. I need to get focused and concentrate. Perhaps good things will follow...

The Dow lost 200 points today after the Fed chairmans comments. Volume was average and the advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. Can't say I saw something like that coming and now it looks like lower prices are in the offing. I'd like to get some OEX calls but I'm unsure of myself right now. The volatility has thrown me for a loop. I'll wait for a decent signal and then go from there if it happens. Gold was up 7 bucks today but the XAU lost over 3 points. I had a brief thought of getting some puts this morning but my mind hasn't been focused as it needs to be. Don't know if that would have done anything anyway. The markets are in a state of flux. The movements are pronounced. I need to adjust to that. I think the summer will be slow. The time to make some money is perhaps now. I don't know if I can take advantage of it. Mentally, I'm not where I need to be. The discipline needed is a lot. I haven't had it lately. Things just don't happen to be successful. You've got to make then happen and I haven't been doing that lately. So it will be the sidelines for now. I really haven't got a choice. I don't want to do anything stupid but you never know. We'll see if we can make a comeback tomorrow or if we go to new lows.

The Dow lost 12 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The overall market was higher. The market is going up, plain and simple. Bonds rallied big on weak job numbers. I don't have any OEX trades in sight for now. Gold was up over $5 and the XAU rose almost 2 points. I'd like to get long here but it might be too late. NEM is leading this time. I don't really know what exactly to do here so I'm on the sidelines. Treading lightly. I think if we get a pullback in the market, I'll get some OEX calls but who knows? Right now it doesn't look like a pullback is in the cards. The weekend is here. I'll be taking it easy. Mentally I'm having some trouble coming up with a good trading scenario for June. I just don't see any solid set-ups right now. And I don't want to get into a short term mode. It burned me last month. Perhaps I'm just hesitant from the last few losing trades. Whatever the case, I won't be making any money while I'm in this funk. I need to get it together but it might take a while. Perhaps waiting for my vacation to pass will be the best course of action. We'll see.

The Dow up 92 points on OK volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. We are going up. How far and for how long is the question. I would like to get some OEX calls but they are expensive. There is also a chance that we will go sideways. But the market does what it wants and we could go to new highs too. Employment report tomorrow and todays action tells me we will continue higher regardless of the numbers. We'll see. Gold was down $15 today and the XAU sold off but came back to be down only a point. Interesting. The gold shares again are holding up. I'd like to purchase some calls here too but I'm not sure of the timing. It seems there is still interest in owning the gold shares. Hard to say what will happen there if the dollar rallies. I'm a bit tired today but that's no excuse for indecision. Mentally I don't know why but my mind can't seem to find a good trade at the moment. I might be too late for the OEX calls. Indecision won't be an asset in this game. But there is nothing lost on the sidelines except for opportunities. I am going on vacation in a month so there will be a disruption in my trading. I'll handle it as best I can. Only 2 weeks left for June options. Don't see anything happening yet but ya never know...

This post will have to be quick because the site went down and I have no time. Dow up 74 points on good volume. Advance/declines almost 3 to 1 positive. A turnaround from yesterday. I think we have found a bottom. I don't think we will collapse. I would like to get some calls. I'll look tomorrow as the prices remain high. Gold was down 10 bucks bit the XAU rose over 2 points. That is interesting. It could mean higher gold share prices in the near future. There is more to say but no time to say it. More tomorrow...

The Dow was off 184 points. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 negative. Volume was light. No buyers. We are at an important point, I think. This thing will collapse from here if we don't get some buying soon. The summation index is pointing down again and the zero line is here. This is the moment of truth. I have no positions and don't really have any constructive ideas on the OEX here. I'm on the sidelines. Gold was little changed and the XAU lost 2 points. I'm thinking of getting long here if a good signal develops. Not sure. It could just be a liquidation all the way around. End of the month tomorrow. Not sure what to make of that either. Employment report on Friday. I'm a bit tired today from lack of good sleep. Mentally I'm kind of confused as to what to do here. I suppose I will wait for the indicators to get oversold again and take it from there. I need to go over the blue book tonight and get my head back into the game. I did check all the daily and weekly charts over the weekend and didn't really see any good set-ups. So that is why I'm on the sidelines for now. I guess I'll just stay out for the moment. We'll see what the market has in store tomorrow...

The Dow rose 67 points today. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. Volume was light. We have almost retraced 50% of the decline. We should pullback a bit from here. Will that be a chance to get long? I don't know. I think the decline is over though. Gold was up a couple bucks today. The XAU rose fractionally. No trades there for now but I'm thinking about it again. It is the beginning of a 3 day weekend. I will try and relax. Forget about the markets for a while. There is work to do and I will not put off the essentials. But it's time for a break. It wouldn't hurt, considering how bad my trading has been lately. Not much else to say today. It was a pre-holiday session. And I assume Tuesday will reflect a post-holiday session. Not much else to say...

The post will be a bit early today due to my having to leave for work earlier than usual. We are up 80 points with 15 minutes to go. Volume looks a bit lighter than lately and the advance/declines are 3 to 1 positive. It couldn't stay down forever and I think now we will see higher prices in the future. We reached really oversold levels on some indicators. And the call/put ratio was the lowest I've seen it in years. That said I still think we'll go lower in the September/October timeframe. No trades here for now. Gold was up over $10 today. The XAU is up over 6 points at the moment. The volume isn't what it was. I think a longer base needs to be made here so no trades there for now either. I'll need to check the weekly charts. This too, got oversold but not as much as the Dow. A long weekend lies ahead so I wouldn't expect a lot of action tomorrow. Mentally I'm a bit tired as I did not get a lot of sleep last night. I'm trying to get back into the routine of doing what's necessary to be successful. The work never stops but that's what it takes. You've got to stick with it no matter what. I looking forward to the next trade and will do my best to make it a profitable one. The Dow now up 85 with minutes to go.

The Dow was up 19 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were negative. The market is trying to find a bottom here I think. Don't know if it will be successful. The volume lately has been huge. Summation index is still pointing down. It has to turn around soon because we are headed towards the zero line. When the market goes through the zero line it collapses. Let's hope that doesn't happen. Gold got slaughtered today. Down around $35. The dollar was higher. The XAU was off over 5 points. Not bad considering. The volume in the ABX calls was very high. I don't know why but time will tell. I have no ideas what to do there at the moment. I'm on the sidelines in the OEX too. That's what happens when you start making mistakes and losing money. You might just miss out on other opportunities because your confidence is shot. That's where I'm at right now. So mentally, I'm a bit skittish. There is no rush to make more mistakes. That, is not a confident outlook. I'm feeling fine, got enough sleep and all. But I need to get back on track mentally and I don't know how long that will take. I'm going on vacation in July and it is only May. A long weekend coming up so we'll see what the 2 days before that brings...

The Dow lost about 27 points today. It was a turnaround as we were up 75 at one point. Advance/declines were negative again and the volume was good again. The market just can't seem to hold on to anything. The summation index is still pointing down and the trend will follow that. Oversold and staying there and that is never good for the market. Gold was up around $8 today and the XAU rose over 2 points. That index was much higher also and sold off too. There is something going on here but I don't know exactly what. Puts seem to be the way to go at the moment. The tone of the market has changed. I will need to keep this in mind. It is starting to remind me of the year 2000 in the markets. People still believed the trend would be up but it just kept dropping and did so for years. I don't think that's the case here but time will tell. Mentally I'm feeling OK. I have no trades on the horizon and may just stay out in lieu of the recent severe losses. We'll see. I need to get back to reading the blue book and doing what is necessary for success. Discipline is paramount. Tomorrow could get interesting...

The Dow lost 18 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The market is extremely oversold and is staying there. I don't know what exactly to make of it. I have not trades in the works and after the recent miscues, I might just be out until after my vacation in July. I know that is a long time but things just haven't been working out for me lately. Perhaps it's time for a break. I've sustained some heavy losing trades so far this year. It's true that I've had some good winners. But the losses have been hard to bear. I need a better management discipline and I know what to do, it's just a matter of doing it. Gold was unchanged at the end of the day but sold off hard early. The XAU was down around a couple points. Commodities have been dropping lately. The metals had gotten out of control. There will be a time to play gold again but I think it needs a rest or to build a base before I'll be interested again. Mentally I feel fine considering. Not much else to report today. I'm really just trying to relax and see what transpires here. I should be able to do that.

The Dow was up 15 points on very heavy expiration volume. Advance/declines were positive. I got killed with the calls I bought. I sold them exactly at the wrong time and lost over 80%. If I would have held on to them longer during the day I could have perhaps made 30% to 40%. But I would have had to get out quick. It's hard to believe that there was no good bounce today as I had expected. But the market will do what it does. The market is always right. I guess I should have listened to the summation index. There is nobody to blame but myself. I am having my worst month ever perhaps. The last 3 trades have been losers and 2 of them were substantial. I will have to scale back. I need to rebuild my confidence. This is a good time to re-examine just what the hell I'm doing. The short term timeframe trades just don't work out for me. I need to stop doing them. I also need to step back and check out my risk parameters because I have had some big losers. Getting back to the market, it is very oversold. I am getting buy signals short and longer term. However the lack of positive movement when there should be has me worried also. The tone has changed. I'll need to be on the sidelines. Gold was down over $25 today and the XAU has broken long term support. Getting short the gold issues was the play for May and I blew it. I had a chance there and didn't take it. It's frustrating. Sometimes things just don't work out for whatever reason. This is one of those times. I'm going to have to go over everything and sort things out if I'm going to turn this around. I'm vacationing in July and perhaps there will be no trades until after I get back. Mentally I'm feeling the pain of not performing up to expectations. It isn't easy. There are lessons to be learned that should be a part of the plan already. My trading leaves much to be desired. Hopefully some good will come out of this and I can go on to better things. But right now it feels like shit...

The Dow lost another 77 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. I bought some more OEX calls at the close. What can I say? I'm a believer in this trade. There is only a day left though and I'm beginning to understand that these short term things maybe just aren't my style. I still think this thing needs to bounce tomorrow. I paid a bit much for these calls and we dumped at the end so they are already under water. It may have been an extremely stupid thing to do. Tomorrow will tell. The time factor is all important and I should sell these things early if I have half a brain. But perhaps this is one of the rare times where the market just keeps going down and remains oversold. That is a possibility but usually it's very remote. Plus it's options expiration so we'll just have to wait and see. I think it will work but I should have waited for the price that I had put in. After all if it doesn't get filled, there's always another trade. Gold was down $8 today and the XAU lost a couple of points. We are just about at a very important uptrend line in gold on a weekly basis. I don't think it will hold and that could be the end of this fantastic run in gold for a while. We'll have to wait and see what happens. Mentally I'm a little tired from not enough sleep this week. I'm ready for whatever happens tomorrow but even if this trade works, I'm going to have to reassess my trading timeframes and discover what works best for me. I don't think it's these short term deals. Anyway the post tomorrow should be interesting. I'd really be surprised if the market doesn't go up but it could and not enough for me to make any $. Tough game...

The Dow got clobbered today and so did I. Down 214 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative. I did put in an order for OEX calls and eventually it got filled. But I'm afraid I was a day early and lost about 45% on that trade. I still think that a good sized up day will happen in the next couple of days unless this thing just absolutely collapses. So I will probably try again tomorrow. I was lucky to get out when I did today as I waited for some type of rally which occurred in the last hour or I would have lost a lot more. Still you can't be happy with a loss but I'm kinda glad I took it, got that trade out of the way and will go from here. 2 days left in the option cycle and the thought did cross my mind that perhaps this timeframe is too short for my ideal trading style. We'll see. The XAU was down 5 points as that market is done for now. I think gold was down also but I was focused on the stock market and did not pay close attention to the metal itself. Where do we go from here. I'll look for some follow-thru to the downside tomorrow morning and perhaps take another position on the long side. I'll have to look for a target to enter. At this point I'm not sure but I am sure that an up day is immanent. With 2 days to go if I can time it correctly, the profits will be worth it. If not it will be another loss. Mentally I'm not feeling so bad considering I had a losing trade today. I am satisfied that I got out because as soon as I saw it was filled I knew that I had to get out. That is the time consideration effect when it is so close to expiration. I did not get enough sleep and won't again tomorrow but I feel an opportunity is at hand and I'd like to make some money off of it. Trading isn't easy. I will think things over tonight and develop a gameplan for tomorrow and Friday. We'll see...

The Dow was down 8 points on light volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. I was having quote problems again today. Did not put in any orders. I feel we will have a good upside day at some point this week. However we need some weakness in order for me to try and play it. The inflation number today did not do much for movement in the market. We'll see what happens tomorrow. If we get some weakness then I might get some calls. If not, I'll have to stay on the sidelines. The XAU was off a point and a half as gold actually rose over 8 bucks. I'm going to have to let things sort themselves out over there in gold. I think we've seen the top for a while but I will want to play that commodity again at some point. I didn't get much sleep last night but I'm not feeling too bad. Mentally I'm OK for now. I'll have to do some reading and more work tonight. I am going to try and not force the issue here. If a viable play comes up in the next 3 days, I'll do it. Otherwise I will have to wait for the June cycle. Sometimes you have to remain patient and it isn't easy to do. But there is no reason to take on a lot of risk here. The play will be to the upside via OEX calls if the opportunity presents itself. Not much more than that. Perhaps if we go up first, I'll short the last day this week. But I really would like to see the weakness first and then get the calls.

The Dow bounced back 47 points today. Volume was decent but the advance/declines were negative. I had an order in for some OEX calls but it didn't get filled. Just missed. Not sure what to do now as the market has already started back up. We are still oversold though and the bounce could last. I'd actually still like to get some calls if we drop tomorrow. But I think I missed it. We'll see. If we continue higher early in the week, I'll look for maybe an end of the week short. The trend is down. The McClellan oscillator is in a spot to bounce though so we will probably work higher here. Who knows? Gold got clobbered today and was down $30 at one point. The XAU was off over 10 points at on juncture also. So I missed that one too. It happens. Should have been bolder there but what can ya do? My trading ideas have been right on as of late but the timing is off. I'll continue to work on it. Mentally, I'm keeping my focus and trying not to get so down on myself. I'm continuing to do the work that's necessary and the good trades will come if I do that. There isn't much more I can do. I got a good nights sleep last night and I almost hit this OEX trade. Maybe tomorrow. No other ideas for right now. I'll probably have to pass on gold here for a while until the indicators get back to normal and that could take a couple of months. Inflation reports the next couple of days and maybe I can trade off of them. Hard to say...

Dow down another 120 points. Volume heavy and the advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. I hate missing moves. Lost opportunities kill me more than losing money. I don't know why. It was there and I just wasn't paying attention enough. My mind had been in a funk and I don't know why. It pains me. Tough game. Gold was down $10 today and the XAU was off over 6 points. I think this is the top there for a while. The technicals say yes but the volume has not confirmed this. I might try and go out to the June options here. Not sure. Maybe should just stay away from gold for a bit. We'll see. My next move will probably be to catch the bounce from the oversold condition that we are now in. I'm looking to buy some OEX calls on Monday and dump them on an upmove on Tuesday with the producer price index. There is an uptrend line that should be hit on Monday and that is where I might take a stand. Could be dangerous or it could be just the right move. Hard to say when we drop like we have here. Mentally I'm frustrated and pissed off about missing the move. Can't dwell on that though or I'll miss the next one. Hard to do. You really have to stay focused at all costs and that is a lot for anybody. But if you want to be a pro you need to act like a pro. There are no excuses...

The Dow finally got going someplace today and was down 141 points. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 negative and the volume was heavy. I didn't purchase any OEX puts so I have missed it for now. We should get a sell signal on the summation index today and I will try and get short on any snapback. Gold was up over $10 today but the XAU was down over 2 and a half points. This could be the point that I have been waiting for. Or not. ABX had a one day reversal and the put volume expanded a lot. I will maybe look to buy some puts there. NEM was not down as much and I think this could be the turn. And when this thing falls it will be a stampede. I will probably try it. You've got to take some risks in the game or you won't get anywhere. Whatever I decide, it won't involve a lot of money since I'm not totally sold on anything here, technically. Mentally I'm a little down for not getting some puts yesterday as I suppose I just wasn't paying enough attention. We have some inflation numbers next week and if we drift into those, I will get short before the CPI. That was one of the ideas lately. We'll see. I did not sleep well last night but that has nothing to do with missing opportunities. It's a very difficult game to play. You always have to pay attention and keep at it. I try. But sometimes it's just not good enough. Gotta keep going though, there is still time to make some money on this option cycle...

The Dow rose another 55 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. I'd like to get some OEX puts here. Short term we are overbought. I will check the McClellan oscillator tonight. If it gives a sell signal, I'll buy some puts tomorrow. We'll see what happens and as always, I could change my mind. Gold was up $20 today and hit $700. So much for getting short there. The XAU was up 7 points. I really need to stay away from this market for now. That would be the wise thing to do. Until another buy signal appears or it returns to the uptrend line. It is parabolic and out of control. The normal technical indicators won't work in a market like this. I'll have to focus on the stock indices for now. Actually I'm not so sure of myself at the moment. It would probably be best to just step aside here and go to the sidelines for a while. But there also is a window of opportunity until the expiration next Friday. So the battle is within myself as always. Mentally I'm indecisive and that will kill you in this game. I need to get back on track and stay disciplined. I slept good last night and am well rested. I need to continue the readings and get caught up. The Fed is tomorrow and we'll see what that does to the markets...

The Dow ended higher by 6 points on light volume. Advance/declines were about even. I'm looking for a trade here but can't find one just yet. Fed announcement on Wednesday. Can't see much happening before that. Gold was down about $5 and the XAU was off around a point and a half. I'd still like to short this or some gold shares but the volume is still to the plus side. Probably best to step aside here but the RSI signal is a sell. Hard to buck the trend and I just got killed trying to. So I'm kind of in an indecisive mood here and that isn't good for profits. I really don't know what I'm going to do here but I don't want to do anything stupid. There will be money to be made here though, that is for sure. But my focus isn't completely there, the way it should and needs to be. I don't know why. Maybe it's still a hangover from the last big loss. maybe the markets just don't have anything for me here. Whatever it is, I need to get going with some idea for the next 2 weeks that will be profitable. I can't force the issue but I will need to pay attention. Mentally I'm not all there and that can be hazardous to your trading. I'm a bit tired from not enough good sleep. Perhaps that will change tonight. I'll have to look at the charts and see what I can find. Like I said before, would love to short gold here again but am hesitant. Hopefully things will get clear in my mind and I can go forward. Until then I will try and not sabatoge myself and my trading. A dauntless task...

The Dow rose 138 points on light volume today. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The market keeps chugging higher. I don't know what to say. There is a lot of money around that needs to find a home I suppose. I certainly can't explain it. My gameplan now is to look to get short ahead of the CPI, which doesn't come out for over a week. Gold was up over $680 today. Parabolic and I should not have gotten in front of it. In a bull market you either get long or stay out. Even though the NEM puts would have worked, it still wasn't the proper trading tactics. I sold the ABX puts for an 85% loss. Ouch! Of course I should have had a stoploss order in at 50%. But I'm an idiot. It wasn't as big as the last ABX debacle but it was big none the less. I'm putting it behind me though and looking for the next trade. You've got to stay positive and move on. There is always another trade. I'm not going to whine about it, it was a mistake and I've got to move on. I will. In retrospect, it was all wrong and it cost me. This game isn't for the meek and it isn't for the stupid either. But when you do dumb things it costs you. I was lucky to get out without a total loss. And so it goes. I need to check the charts and look for something over the weekend. Two weeks until expiration and there will be some good trades in there if I can find them. FED meeting on Tuesday and that could be the next market mover. Gotta wait for a signal though. Either that or wait for the CPI. That's the plan for now. Could change over the weekend...

A quick post because I'm running late. The Dow was up 38 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. Gold was up $8. The XAU was up around 4 points. ABX had great earnings and was up over $2. My ABX puts got killed. Could be a total loss. NEM didn't move and in retrospect I should have gotten them instead. Then, it would have worked. Gold is parabolic. I should have just stayed out. I am a fool for trying what I did. I do think a huge downdraft will come. Timing it is another question. Do not try to short things in a raging bull market. At least learn that lesson. No more time today, more tomorrow...

The Dow lost 16 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. More of the same. There hasn't been a trend here for quite some time. The only thing that has been constant is the rally during expiration week. Gold was up again about $5. The XAU fell a couple points. Usually that means weakness for gold going forward but in this market anything goes. ABX was only down a few cents and the options haven't really moved. Of course if I would have gotten the NEM puts, I'd be making some money. This has happened before and it pains me. But what can you do. The earnings for ABX have come out and they sound pretty good. The volume was heavy today so maybe it will be a sell the news event. The price of gold is probably a more important factor. As I look at the earnings they look to perhaps be a bit light as I saw reports for 32 cents a share and they are actually 29 cents a share. ABX is up a nickel in the aftermarket. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Mentally I'm feeling OK, got enough sleep last night. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow near the close so the post could be late or not at all. I'm trying to get caught up on my reading but made little progress last night. I'll try to get some in tonight. I've got to stay focused here. Employment report on Friday. No OEX trades just yet. Summation index moving sideways as is the market. That's it for today...

The Dow rose 73 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. I'm thinking it is beginning of the month money flows. No trades here for now. Employment report on Friday. Gold was up over $5 and the XAU rose a point and a half. ABX was up about a quarter on good volume. You just can't keep this sector down as we sold off hard early and came all the way back. I'm afraid that these puts I own just won't work out. Earnings for ABX tomorrow after the bell. The options are showing a slight loss right now. No promises about what's about to happen here. Probably should have just stayed on the sidelines but who knows? Oil up again as money keeps flowing into hard assets. Guess there's no stopping it. Mentally I'm tired and did not sleep well last night. I will get back to my readings today and should be caught up by the end of the week if all goes well. Trading isn't easy as recent events have proven that fact once again...

The post will be quick today due to an appointment. The Dow is about 25 points with 5 minutes to go. There were some bearish comments from the Fed in the last hour which has caused this minor decline. Gold was up another $5 today and the XAU is up about a point. I had an overnight order for ABX puts which got filled around 8am. Not sure about this one as the earnings will be out after the bell on Wednesday and it is holding up much better than the rest of the gold complex. NEM is down for example. We will have to wait and see what happens. There is always a danger when you get short in a rip-roaring bull market like this in gold but there is risk in every trade. More tomorrow...

The Dow lost 15 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. Microsoft was down big, over 3 points or it would have been an up day. I'm going to wait to see what happens in the beginning of next week and then look to get some OEX puts. We'll see. Gold soared today up around $17. There seems to be no stopping this market. The XAU gained 6 points. I really want to buy some puts on the gold shares but it is a runaway market. I think I'll do it next week though. Sometimes you've got to take a chance. There is risk in any trade. There was more rumblings about Iran today so gold rose. We are overbought and have been for quite a while. However money seems to come in on any pullback. The volume wasn't great today and if we get some more rise early next week on light volume I'm getting some puts. At least that's the plan for now. ABX announces earnings after the bell on Wednesday and that may be the one that I try. I'll have to check the charts over the weekend. Mentally I'm doing OK. Didn't get a good nights sleep but it was enough to get through the trading day. I'm almost caught up on my reading and could be by tonight. I'm going to try and not do something stupid here just for the sake of trading. Perhaps I can find a decent trade over the weekend. I will try and get some rest also. That's it for today...

The Dow was up 28 points today. Advance/declines were about even and the volume was heavy. We were up higher and also were down a bit early. Could be a change in the works or just end of month volume. Bernanke spoke today and the markets liked it again. China raised its rates which was a mild surprise. Not sure what to make of it all but I don't expect any big moves up or down just yet. Gold was off $5 and the XAU got pounded, losing over 5 points. My order for puts was not filled and it looks like that I could have missed this downmove in the XAU. We'll see. Might get some rise in gold shares with the beginning of the month money flows so I'll hope for that. Then again, we might not. I'm not going to lament this too much but I think the time is now for a pullback in gold. The overall trend remains up so I will keep that in mind as I look to the future. Not much else to write about today. Mentally I'm doing fine, waiting for the next trade. Perhaps I should already be in it. I don't like to buy the options the first week after expiration but sometimes you just have to go with what you feel. The technicals also supported getting short the gold shares. I have been focusing on gold a lot lately but that's where the money has been. I'm still always watching the OEX and perhaps will have another trade there soon.

The Dow was up 71 points today. Advance/declines were slightly positive and the volume was pretty good. I still think it's a sideways affair here for a while. No OEX trades yet. Gold was up another $7 today and the XAU rose 2 1/2 points. I think we are due for a pause here as the volume was weak today. I placed a GTC order for some ABX puts. We'll see if it gets filled. Not all that sure that it's the right thing to do but it might work. We're overbought and have been for some time now. We could stay overbought so there isn't a lot of money in this trade. We also have plenty of time for the May option cycle. I'm not in a hurry to get this filled and it is priced accordingly. I'm trying to not make a trade just for the sake of having something. This trade is based on the volume pattern and the overbought nature of things at the moment. Who knows? I might cancel it tomorrow. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep as good as I could. I'm doing the reading that I need to get caught up on and I'm paying attention in case something changes here. Big Ben of the Fed speaks tomorrow and we'll see how that moves the markets. Otherwise it's just more of the same as I search for the next opportunity...

The Dow lost 53 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. The summation index is pointing down again. I still think we will get more drift than anything else right now. But you never know. Gold was up over $10 today but the XAU rose only a point. This portends lower prices to come. I might want to short the XAU here soon. We'll see. I haven't been doing the work as diligently as I should be right here. Too many outside things going on that need to be curtailed. I'm also tired from walking and playing golf yesterday. I didn't sleep well either. I need to get back on track and will attempt to do so starting today. The readings must be done and the charts must be checked. I'm mentally out of it at this point. The markets will not wait for me. They will do what they want. Which helps make this the toughest game in the world I think. You've got to pay attention all of the time. There are no shortcuts. You either put forth the effort and do the work or you perish. It's totally up to you. You're either up to the challenge or not. Why do you think so many can't do it? Because it's easy? Once you know what is required for success, you either keep up or you are just fooling yourself. And that gets expensive. So just do the work, give it your best shot or find another way to spend your time.

The blog will be early today because I'm playing golf. The Dow can't get moving today and is down around 6 points at the moment. Volume is nothing special. Advance/declines are decidedly negative. I would like to get short but the options are expensive and we have been moving sideways for weeks. Gold lost $12 today but the XAU is only down a point and a half. Trying to stay away from here for now. Same problem with overpriced options this soon into the expiration. I would expect the XAU to drop a lot more with that move in gold but it isn't happening. Usually it means higher prices in the near term. We'll see. Otherwise nothing to report. Mentally I'm doing OK. I need to keep at it. Discipline is necessary. So I'm keeping an eye on things and we'll just have to see how it all pans out. No trades really on the horizon but that could change. I'd like to wait a week but who knows? Dow looking at unchanged now and it is run in place type of day...

The Dow rose 4 points on option expiration Friday. Volume was average and the advance/declines were slightly positive. We moved around during the day but ended up basically unchanged. Gold bounced back over 12 bucks and the XAU was up 5 points. NEM gained back 2 points. The volume was good. Of course who could tell we would bounce back like that? The NEM calls ended up higher than where I sold them yesterday. But that trade is over and where we go from here is what matters now. I'm not exactly sure what to do right now so I'll probably be on the sidelines for a bit. I'll check the charts over the weekend and take it from there. I'll probably at least let a week go by. We'll see. Mentally I'm a bit tired as I haven't been getting the proper rest that I need. I have been getting caught up on my reading and that's a good thing. There is still more work to be done. It was quite an option cycle in April. Big gains and my biggest loss in some time. I need to get better. My focus has been pretty good of late. But in this game you've got to be good and you've got to be fast. Improvement is needed on my part. I'll continue to push on because really, that's all I can do. Hopefully things will get better. The work never stops and the markets wait for no one...

The Dow was up 64 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were negative though. Most of the gain was due to GM having good earnings. I don't see any big moves up from here. I think the expiration is keeping us up at this point. I expect weakness early next week. The story was gold. It got killed, down over $12. The first decline of significance in quite a while. It disappoints me that it just couldn't hold up for one more day. NEM came out with great earnings just as I had thought. But the weakness in gold was extreme and everything gapped down big. You can have everything go as you think and still get killed in this game. Volatility works both ways. I suppose yesterday would have been the time to sell and I might have if I wasn't waiting for the earnings. And it could have been a great trade if not for the pounding in gold on the same day. I dumped the calls early, when I realized that the market was not going to come back or even attempt to rally. My hesitation cost me some money, for sure. I should have just got out immediately but sometimes it's hard to tell. Or maybe I just got greedy but I'm not so sure about that. It wasn't completely clear to see what would happen. You really just never know. You can't predict a gap down like that. It's a tricky market in gold for sure. The highs and lows sometimes are pretty volatile. But you put forth your best effort and do what you can. I guess I was lucky to get out when I did. I'm not happy with the results and I should have done better. You really have to have your act together to play this game. The NEM calls showed a profit of over 400% but it should have been a hell of a lot more than that. NEM ended the day down 3 bucks. All the gold shares plummeted. The XAU lost nearly 10 points. Unheard of but it has happened before. I now need to regroup. The April option cycle has been brutal. I have nothing on the horizon and will have to wait for gold to settle down. My next thought is to get short the OEX for sometime in May. We'll see...

The Dow rose 10 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. No big follow through but at least it didn't fall. The inflation data was bearish but the market kind of shrugged it off. We are overbought here though. Gold rose over $10 and the XAU was up 5 points. This thing is out of control. NEM was up about a buck and a half. We were down on the XAU at one point and I almost sold the calls. But I did say I would wait until the earnings and that is tomorrow. But perhaps I just should have dumped them after they rallied. Either way this trade should make some money and if the earnings are good, a lot of money. I also remembered when I sold the ABX calls right before they turned around. Patience is needed in the game sometimes. The trouble here is that there are only 2 days left on the NEM options. So really, how patient can you be? It also looks like it is selling off in the aftermarket but tomorrow will be the key. Way overbought here also and I'm out tomorrow no matter what. I don't know what lessons are to be learned here but something will happen one way or the other. I'm probably going to stay away from gold on the long side after the expiration but the trend is definitely up and the money is flowing that way. I'll need to either short it or search for other opportunities. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. We still have tomorrow to deal with. Mentally I'm doing fine for now. Getting enough sleep and doing the reading that is necessary and catching up on things that need to be done. It takes time but the time must be put in to be successful. There are no short cuts.

Did I say something about buying calls yesterday? I was too busy watching NEM and have missed a good trade in the OEX. Hindsight is easy, isn't it? The Dow rose 195 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. OEX calls that I was looking at quadrupled. I didn't have the necessary focus to make that happen. I really needed to pay more attention. It is something that needs to be worked on. You just have to be on the ball and do the work necessary if you want to be successful in this business. There are no shortcuts. That's why it is so tough. And that's why hardly anybody can do it. You just gotta do the work, day in and day out. You've got to be on top of things. Any other type of effort just won't cut it in the long run. Most people are lazy and that is why most people fail. Gold was up just a touch today. The XAU rose 3 points. NEM was up around 80 cents and fell off from its highs. The calls I own are profitable. We are not completely overbought yet. I do expect weakness tomorrow ahead of the earnings. It will all depend on Thursday morning for this trade unless something drastic happens tomorrow. The other metal companies have announced great earnings and have risen on the announcement. That is what I am counting on for NEM. It doesn't mean that it will happen. But I'm trying to play the percentages for this earnings cycle. If we were completely overbought I would bail out early. But we're not so there is a chance this could be a great trade. Getting back to the overall market, I should have been paying attention. I'm not going to beat myself up over this forever but the fact remains I missed out. Risk is part of the game and I should have taken one there. I need to be able to handle more than one thing at a time. The focus needs to return. We'll see if we get any follow through tomorrow and we will wait for the NEM earnings on Thursday.

The Dow lost 63 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. We are oversold. The McClellan oscillator is giving a signal for a big move within the next 2 days. I think it will be to the upside. Do I have the guts to play it? I don't know. Probably should have bought some calls today. Inflation data on Wednesday could be the key. Or perhaps not. Gold soared $18 today. The XAU was up over 6 points. Oil closed above $70. NEM was up around 3 points. The calls I own are in the black. Now what to do? Earnings are coming out on Thursday. But I already have a nice profit. The earnings should be good though. But there aren't any guarantees. Gold is way overbought here also and out of whack with reality I think. It has a lot to do with the rhetoric from Iran lately. But this could turn out to be a great trade if it all falls into place on Thursday. If not, it could blow up in my face. It is never easy. I would really like to get some ABX calls here too because the volume is confirming the move higher. But perhaps I'll have to wait for some type of pullback at this point. Back to the OEX. Maybe I can get some calls tomorrow and dump them before the end of the week. It's risky but what isn't in this game? I'll have to check the charts. My attention must go to the NEM trade also. I'll need to check what the inflation number expectations are. Mentally I'm doing good, getting plenty of rest and I just returned from a beautiful hike. I need to focus my energy on what is going on here for the next few days and then relax when all is said and done. I think there are some great opportunities here, right in front of me. Whether or not I can take advantage of them will be the key.

A day off today. Gold did trade in the world today and was up a couple bucks. I can get caught up today on the reading I need to do perhaps. Or maybe just take it easy. Not much else to say. Just need to prepare for options expiration next week. That and the NEM trade needs to be taken care of. Just random thoughts today.

The Dow was up 7 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. It was a lackluster day as expected. So far all we've gotten is a weak bounce. Probably more downside to follow. I had thought about getting some GE calls since the chart was looking promising. The earnings came out today and the stock sold off. Didn't I say something about not getting any more GE options this year? I think I did and I need to remember that. Gold was off over a buck and the XAU rose a half. NEM was down a few cents. The calls I own are slightly in the red. Earnings for this one are a week from tomorrow, when the options expire. I'm thinking I might just bail out before them if I can show a profit. Or it might be too late to do anything by then anyway. I guess we'll have to see what gold does over the weekend. I'll need to check the charts and be ready for Monday. But it is a long weekend and I'll want to just take it easy for a while. Mentally I guess a little break would be OK. I didn't sleep all that well last night so I'm glad today was mellow. However I really need to do some more work to seek some other opportunities. The stock market itself has been moving sideways and it's hard to make money in that kind of environment. I also have some cash sitting in another account that needs to be put to work. So there are things to do and take care of over the weekend. But I will try and get some rest and take my mind off this crazy game...

The Dow was up 40 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. It looks like we are marking time until the long weekend begins at the close tomorrow. I wouldn't expect much to go on tomorrow. Next week will be the key. Summation index is still pointing down so that's the trend for now. We could move sideways perhaps. Gold was up a buck and a half. The XAU rose over 3 points. NEM was back up, over a dollar. The options I bought yesterday are back at breakeven. But that doesn't mean much except that I can maybe not lose any money here. The volume wasn't all that strong and gold itself is about where it can go for now at around $600. I should have gotten the calls cheaper. Looking back isn't really going to help I guess, so I'll manage the trade from here. Mentally I feel pretty good since I got lots of sleep last night. I suppose I'll have to wait for the NEM earnings unless something dramatic happens before then. I expect tomorrow to be a non-event all the way around. I'm behind in my readings and need to get back up to speed there. That's it for today...

The Dow lost 51 points on average volume. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 negative. We are about shot term oversold here. I am not going to try and trade the bounce. I have already made a dumb trade today. I bought some NEM calls today. They are already getting clobbered. Gold was down a couple bucks but the XAU was down over 3 points. I got the calls before NEM went into a freefall. I might just have to dump them tomorrow and take the loss before it gets out of hand. You have to be smart in the game. You have to be patient in the game. The charts were not at all in the right mode for me to do this but I thought the uptrend would continue here. There is still over a week to go but I will have to see something constructive in the next 2 days before the long weekend. The earnings on this one do come out the day before expiration and an upside surprise could save this if we are close enough to the strike price by then. But todays action didn't look good and I am probably a fool for trying to do this. The timing doesn't seem to be right. Mentally I'm tired and did not get a full nights sleep. I need some rest. This is a short week and NEM needs to get back to $52.50 by the close on Thursday for this to have a chance. It's a buck away. You can never be too sure about anything here and you've always got to be on yours toes against yourself. There was no good reason to try this trade but I had it in my mind and I did it anyway. I'm lucky to be where I'm at as it is so far this year because the trading has been terrible. Horrible. Just not any good. This trade is another prime example...

The Dow gained 21 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. Not a real positive day. The summation index has turned down and that means selling. We are almost oversold and will be in a day or 2. There isn't any compelling reason to try and do anything here. I'll wait for a decent signal. But the trend, for now, is down. Gold was up 9 dollars today. However the XAU was down half a point. Interesting. It usually means gold is about to have some weakness but who knows? I'd still like to try some calls again before the expiration. But if we can't get any buying with a 9 dollar move, then what? NEM is about at its uptrend line but the other issues have already broken through to the downside. This is a tough call. Short week this week too with a holiday on Friday. I was expecting to just have the XAU hang around this week with some downside to set up a possible rally again next week. But it's just a guess. I'll check things this evening and go from there. Mentally I'm still getting over the cold I had last week and am taking it easy today. I am behind on some of my reading and probably should catch up on it today. I'm ready for the next trade, I guess but physically I'm still a little drained. There is no room for the weak in this game and I am keeping that in mind. It has already been a miracle comeback again this year, with all the lousy trading that I've done. I'd like to get it together and be a little more consistent with the successes. Wishful thinking at this point...

The Dow lost 96 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were over 4 to 1 negative. There just weren't too many buyers. We were also up against the top of the channel in the S&P 500. No trades here for now. Gold was down 6 bucks and the XAU lost over 3 points. I would like to buy back some calls here at some point. There are 2 weeks left for this option cycle. It won't be easy. I might even just pass on it but probably not. I will check the charts over the weekend. I think we will get one more move up before the options expire. I'm still not feeling 100% but I do feel better than earlier in the week. I do need to rest. Therefore, another short post today.

The Dow was down 23 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. Employment report tomorrow. Gold touched $600 dollars today. It has been quite a rise. This is about as far as it goes I think, short term. I sold my ABX calls. I think that it could go a bit higher in the next 2 weeks but the signal to sell, for me anyway, was today. I did what I could. The profit was over 300%. But as I said before this trade should have been a lot better. I needed more patience. I was too early. And then sold half of it at a big loss. I hope I learn something from all this. I should by now. I later sold the NEM calls. I am hoping to buy them back cheaper in a couple of days. The profit there was a little over 80%. Perhaps this wasn't the thing to do. But now it's done. I will go from here. It is a frustrating game and a very tough business. That is reality. I am still feeling ill and will have to end this post...

The Dow was up 35 points on decent volume. Advance/declines were positive. Employment report is out on Friday. We are up against resistance. We'll see what happens. Gold was up a couple bucks. The XAU rose almost 3 points. ABX and NEM were both up nicely although off of their highs. It is almost time to dump the ABX calls and it could be as soon as tomorrow if I get a signal. We are just about there. They are showing the profit that I always thought they would. Now we could always sell-off tomorrow. There are no guarantees in the business. NEM isn't acting as I would like but there are over 2 weeks to go there too. I need to check the charts there but it is not as overbought as ABX. Gold hasn't hit 600 yet either. I am still feeling ill and will end this post now. I am getting better but not fully recovered as yet...

The Dow gained 59 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. Doesn't look like there are any sellers here but that could change. Gold was down a couple bucks but the XAU rose a point. I'd expect sideways action in the XAU this week and then hopefully an upmove next week. That is the scenario I'm looking for. ABX an NEM were both up a bit. ABX sold off from its highs. I look for that to consolidate here. I'll be looking to get out next week or when gold crosses $600. NEM creates more problems and I probably should not have done that trade. It could work out but in retrospect I should have just held on to ABX. I'm feeling horrible, I'm still sick and have no desire or strength to write any more today...

The Dow gained 35 points on good volume. However the market was up well over 100 at one point. And advance/declines were negative today. It bodes for down to sideways action at best. It wasn't any better in the gold market. The XAU was up over 4 points and closed barely up a point. This, while gold itself rose 8 dollars. There was a downgrade on NEM today and it sank. My options are in the red. I just never seem to get it right. It pisses me off. Still a little less than 3 weeks to go but I'm not happy. ABX was up a bit and I might at least be able to make some money there. But my trading is slipshod and I am not feeling well. I have the flu or something with a sore throat and I'm feeling weak. Therefore this post will end now. I can't think straight at the moment. It doesn't happen often that your physical condition will dictate things but this is one of those rare times...

The Dow lost 41 points to end the month today. Volume was average and the advance/declines were slightly positive. We have been moving sideways for a while now. I don't foresee any big moves anytime soon but what do I know? Not much. Gold was down around 4 bucks today and the XAU lost a point and a half. I bought some NEM calls on the pullback. I'm believing that the gold breakout was for real and I expect gold to go over $600 before the options expire in 3 weeks. I could be wrong, as I was earlier in the week when I sold the ABX calls at a substantial loss. I did say that I needed to take a break but I now feel the opportunity is now. Sometimes you have to be flexible. I could be entirely wrong on this trade and will sustain heavy losses. I also could be right in my assessment of what is going on. Trading is not an exact science. I believe in what I'm doing and we'll have to wait it out and see what happens. Mentally I need to get some rest over the weekend. This has been a tough week. But I am trying to stay focused and do what needs to be done. I am taking a risk here and I will do my best to make it work out the right way. The markets will do what they do. I think I'm doing the right thing here. Time will tell. I'll check the charts over the weekend and start all over again on Monday.

The Dow lost 65 points today on expanding volume. Advance/declines were negative but not by much. End of the quarter tomorrow. Might see some swings. I think the market wants to go higher here though. I don't see any big decline at the moment. That could change, as always. Gold continued to rise and it broke out to new highs on expanding volume. It was up over $9. ABX was up over 80 cents and the volume was good there as well. We are overbought and up against some channels. I'm going to buy some more calls on a pullback or sideways action. I regret selling earlier this week but you've got to make adjustments and my original prognosis earlier seems to be proving correct. Of course it could all blow up in my face again too. I'll wait, hopefully, for gold to come back to $575 and get long there. I think we are going over $600 before these options expire. The ABX calls I still have a slightly in the black. I might switch to NEM or perhaps some XAU calls for the next trade. We'll see. I do have some targets in mind. And again, I also have to keep in mind that I could be wrong and that this won't work. But the volume has come in and there is a breakout. More tomorrow...

The Dow bounced back and was up over 60 points today. Volume looks like it was a bit better than yesterday and the advance/declines were about 3 to 1 positive. Perhaps the decline yesterday was a one day wonder. Time will tell. The end of the month is upon us and maybe that is bringing in more money. Gold actually came back and was up over 2 bucks today. The XAU rose over 4 points. And I'm kicking myself for selling the calls yesterday. But not too hard because you just never know. But ABX was up over 60 cents today. Now perhaps this trade would have worked like I originally thought but what can you do? I'm still holding the cheaper purchases but I sure would like to have them all now. But I'm not going to lament over what has happened, I've got to just keep moving on. I already have big losses for the year so I'm going to try and do the rest of this trade correctly. Todays gold action was on lighter volume but perhaps all the sellers are gone for now. The action was very positive. We'll see how the week closes out there. Still 3 weeks to go after this one and I should have taken that into consideration yesterday. But I was early there and put too much money in it. Mistake compounded by mistake. Trading isn't easy. Mentally I'm trying to stay steady amidst the ups and downs lately. This is a crazy game. I've got to get my act together fast. I will try and get back to the things that are necessary for success tonight. The work never stops. Back to gold itself, we are up to the resistance at $575. A break through there will be interesting but it hasn't happened yet.

The Dow lost 95 points today after the Fed raised interest rates again. Volume was light to average and advance/declines were negative. The Fed statement was hawkish and that led to the decline. It was the biggest loss in a while if my memory is correct. Gold sold off after the Fed move and that killed the rally that had been going on for about a week. I sold half of my ABX position at a substantial loss, about 75%. I don't think that ABX will be coming back after todays action and I probably just should have dumped it all. But hope is always a bad thing sometimes and that is all that is left in this trade. I've seen some strange things happen in the market but I don't anticipate anything saving the rest of this. I put too much money in this trade and that is why the loss is so great. That was a mistake and the discipline that was missing killed me. It is not a lesson that really needs to be learned at this juncture of my career but I got greedy and paid for it. There is nothing I can do but go on, perhaps with a little better perspective. Greed kills. It doesn't matter how many times that a set-up works, there is always the chance that it won't work when your money is on the line. My 1st quarter results are disastrous. Last year I was able to come back and have a good year after starting off just as poorly but to pull that off again is really asking a lot. I'll have to go slow and cautious from here. I still have half the ABX trade to get rid of. More losses most likely. Mentally I'm doing as good as can be expected with heavy losses weighing on my mind. I'm also tired from not sleeping well from all the drama in my life outside of trading. I need to get the focus back. I need to get the discipline. I need to go back to what works and forget all the rest of the bullshit. The work needs to be done and I have to stay with what I know is viable. This is a big hole to climb out of and I did not want to start the year off this way. But it is what it is and I will have to regroup and go from here. It's a tough game but I will do my best to get back on track and do the right thing...

The post is a bit early today due to the fact that I'm getting my car worked on. The Dow is up 15 points with just a few minutes to go. Advance/declines are positive. Seems like the market is waiting for the Fed on Tuesday. Gold soared $10 today. The XAU is up over 3 points but the volume isn't all that great. Most of the action is in AU, which has some type of buyout in play. ABX is up around 40 cents but it isn't helping the options much. I would have expected a better move in the gold shares given the action in gold. Perhaps the luster is off the trading in gold. The weekly charts do look promising though but we will have to see legitimate upside action next week. I don't know if that will happen. I think that perhaps the sideways scenario will play out. We'll see. Mentally I really think I need to get out of this trade and take a few steps back. I feel fine but my confidence isn't where it needs to be. I need to go back to the basics and not dwell on what looks to be a substantial loss. The markets are closing and the Dow looks to be up about 7 points. Volume looks like it picked up a bit from yesterday. That's it for today. I'm playing golf again on Monday so the next post could be Tuesday.

The Dow lost 47 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were about even. It seems like the market wants to go higher. Gold was down a bit but the XAU rose 2 points. That could bode well for the gold market. However ABX did not participate and was down a dime. And there lies the problem. Once again the gold market is moving to the upside but the particular stock that I'm in isn't moving. It's happened before and it is very frustrating. But it brings out an important point. You gotta stick with the indexes to guard against this very thing happening. I learned this a long time ago. There is less of a chance for manipulation. I can't explain why ABX isn't moving along with everything else. I am going to have one of my biggest losses with this trade. I don't think it will be moving back to the upside strongly. I think at this point it will linger in a sideways motion. There is nothing left to do but take the loss. There are 4 weeks left but I don't think that will help. The fundamentals are not in it's favor now. I blew it. I don't know if I can recover for the rest of the year. It will be hard for me to go on. Mentally, I'm spent. There is way too much going on outside of the markets in my life to be able to cope with it all right now. This is the time to step back from trading but unfortunately I'm in up to my neck. I've got to go back to square one. I need to learn from this debacle and do the right thing from here on out. It isn't going to be easy. So I'll just have to takwe it from here and see where it takes me. There are no excuses. I screwed it up...

Up about 82 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. Gotta make this quick because I'm running a bit late. Gold was down over 2 bucks but the XAU didn't move much. ABX continued to slide and it looks bleak for the options. At this point it will be my biggest loss ever unless it starts to turn around. I really broke one of the cardinal rules and put way too much money in this trade. The set-up had worked the previous times but it doesn't appear to be good this time. It's like I said before, it's my own fault. Discipline must be adhered to and I didn't do it. Mentally I'm shot now. There is no excuse for making dumb mistakes. I don't even know if I can recover from this one. This is not the way to run the business. The focus isn't there. The confidence is gone. And it's not even the end of the 1st quarter. I'll somehow have to try and regroup but I think some time away would serve me well at this point. More tomorrow...

The Dow lost 39 points today on what looks like light volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. We were higher early in the day and then just fell off. Not trades in the making for now. There is an extra week on the options for this cycle so they are all pretty overpriced. Gold was down over $3 today and the XAU lost 2 and a half points. My ABX calls are getting killed and there may not be any hope for this trade either. I did say I would give it a couple weeks, so we'll see what happens. But right now it looks bleak. Perhaps my thinking was wrong as that is what it looks like at this point. I suppose we could form a bottom here and rally, time will tell. But it really doesn't look too good at the moment. I took yesterday off from the blog as I went hiking. Mentally I'm doing OK, with the exception of this poor trade. But I've seen some strange things happen with the gold market and so I haven't given up hope on this just yet. I'll know more by the end of the week. It won't take a miracle but it will take some sustained upside action. Or maybe it just dies. I am still way overleveraged in this trade and that is my own fault. No getting around that. So sometimes you just get what you deserve. Otherwise there is really nothing else to say...

The Dow rose 26 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. It wasn't a volatile sessions, even with the option expiration. We are overbought and I wouldn't be surprised if Monday was a down day. Gold was little changed and the XAU didn't go anywhere either. ABX was up about 50 cents at one point and my options were in the black. But it sold off at the close and was basically unchanged. I didn't like the action. It doesn't bode well for early next week. Perhaps I should just get out of this trade and maybe today was my chance. But I will give it the 2 weeks that I said I would. Obviously my timing wasn't that good at the entry. This whole thing could blow up on me if we don't see some movement to the upside next week. It isn't the best of trades at the moment. You somehow have to keep going in this game. It is frustrating at times and this is one of those times. Mentally I'm doing what it takes as far as keeping up with my readings of the blue book and various magazines looking for insight. I am learning what I can but it is a mental game at this point, internally. I'm doing what I can. I will be taking off early on Monday to take a hike. I'm hoping it will clear my head out and then I'll be ready to continue the game. I'll check the charts over the weekend but I already think that they won't be bullish. I'm going to try and relax but we'll have to see what happens...

The Dow was up 43 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. We are overbought and I wouldn't be surprised by a pullback. Expiration tomorrow and anything can happen. I have no trades on the horizon. There is an extra week in the options cycle for next month so the premiums will be inflated. Gold didn't do much today and the XAU was down a point. ABX did not move much, it was down a nickel. The options are showing a small loss. We have moved to overbought there as well and I suppose the most I can hope for is sideways action. I'm really hopeful that I bail out of that trade in a couple weeks because I am overleveraged there and that is a mistake. However, I was a believer in the trade at the outset and I still think it could prove to be a winner. Mentally I'm doing fine, plenty of sleep. I am simply concentrating on the ABX trade and that is where the focus will be. Next week will be pivotal because I can't afford to have a big drop in the shares. It looks OK on a weekly basis and the extra week could actually help me there. That's it for today.

The Dow was up 58 points on better volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. The Transports hit a new high. We have broken out of the S&P trading range to the upside. All systems point higher I guess but we will have to wait and see just how far this goes. Could be an options expiration event. Could be for real. Gold was higher early but backed off and was only up around a buck. The XAU rose about 2 and a half points though. Unfortunately ABX did not go along for the ride. It was only up a few cents. The options are now almost breakeven. I'm giving it until the end of the month and maybe not even that long. I don't know what to expect but I was pretty positive when the trade began. Getting back to the overall market, we are overbought and on a trin basis also. You can't argue with price action though and we have moved higher. We'll see what happens. Mentally I am doing better. Got plenty of sleep last night. I really need this ABX trade to be done right. It's up to me. The trading so far this year has been terrible. I have the parameters for this trade and it will be up to me to keep them. I've got to remember not to get greedy. I'm hoping this trade will launch me into a series of decent actions and not into a year of abysmal abyss. Time will tell...

The Dow gained 75 points on light volume. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 positive. My puts got stopped out for a 50% loss. There wasn't a lot of money in this trade but it was a loss none the less. I gave it a shot and failed as has been the case for most of this year. I don't believe this rally, the volume just isn't there. Could be an expiration thing. Whatever the case, it's another bad trade. Gold was up another $5 today and the XAU gained over 2 points. Unfortunately ABX didn't rise with it. It is showing a small loss and more and more I'm thinking about just getting out and taking a break. But I did say I would give it until the end of next week. Nothing seems to be working of late. It really is time to scale back. Mentally I'm just not there as I have found out some bad news concerning my family. I would like to just close out the ABX trade but the show must go on. I'm also tired as I haven't been able to sleep good lately. So this really isn't the optimum time for me to be taking on risk and trying to play the game. The focus will be lacking due to outside influences. Knowing this and recognizing this is important. There isn't anything I can do about it for now. Having an overleveraged position at this time doesn't help things. But I will persevere because it's really all I can do...

The Dow was basically unchanged today, down 32 cents. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was light. I took a small position in OEX puts today. The stop-loss order has already been placed. My thinking is that there was no follow through to the 100 point rally of Friday and the volume has been light. No volume equals no interest. Another more important factor is that the summation index is still pointing down. There is not a lot of risk in this trade but there is not a lot of upside either unless we really get a breakdown. I don't see that happening but who knows? The technicals are mixed here but I'm taking a shot. Gold was up over $5 today but the XAU barely got higher by a point. ABX was up fractionally. I am still giving this until the end of next week so I'm looking to get out but not yet. This trade is now showing a small loss and I am way overleveraged here and it's my own fault. I still believe in it though so I am staying in for now. Not much else on the radar screen. Inflation data on Thursday. I'm not looking for much but you never know. Retail sales tomorrow. Mentally I'm dragging a bit from a poor nights sleep but hope to make up for that tonight. My mind is focused and my trading tactics this time are at least bearable. Whatever the outcome at least some things were done properly...

The Dow rose 104 points today on what looks like light volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. I am thinking of getting some puts on Monday. But I don't know for sure. Will check things over the weekend. I lost money on the XAU trade today. Gold opened up down over $10. I bailed out for a substantial loss. It didn't make sense at the time to hold on any longer. The loss was around 75%. Since the ABX calls have 6 weeks to go, I held on to them as opposed to taking a huge hit there as well. Gold came back to be down about $5 on the day. However the XAU came all the way back to be up over 2 points. The options I sold for a big loss made it back to breakeven. What can you do? Nothing, it's over and done with. Should I have held on? In retrospect, of course I should have. But you can never predict what's going to happen. I did what I thought was best at the time. I was wrong. The ABX calls came back a bit but nothing great and I'm still losing money there and I own way too many of them. I took more of a chance there and will hold them for a while at this point. I need to see a good week for gold next week to feel positive about this trade. I'm still thinking that it was the right thing to do but I really have too much money in that trade. The markets are tough. Mentally I'm going to try and make some money next week. I think that I have a viable play on the OEX puts if the timing is right. It probably won't be a lot of money and it shouldn't be with so little time left. I'm a bit tired from getting up early today. I'm a bit frustrated with the lousy XAU trade but it isn't as bad as I thought and I'm trying not to beat myself up over it. I will perhaps take a break after next week to clear my head out. But this weekend I will be working hard to figure out the next move. Sometimes you've just got to keep on going because really, it's all you can do...

The Dow lost 33 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. I did not take any OEX positions. Gold was up over $2 but the XAU lost over 2 points. My XAU calls were higher in the morning but closed lower and are now in the red. We are at around 125 and need a close tomorrow at 128 or better. Needless to say, I should have just gotten out in the morning. This trade is looking terrible. I need to exit tomorrow. That is probably the most prudent thing to do. What wasn't prudent was buying some more ABX calls for April. I have put way too much money into this trade. ABX was down over 80 cents today and I don't know what to say. We are way oversold here. Every time it has gotten this blown out it has rebounded. There are 6 weeks to go in these options. I just don't know about this time though because it looks like gold is really breaking down. And if the XAU doesn't show some life tomorrow, I could be a fool. I am breaking one of the key trading rules here by taking on too much risk. The trade is too big. I am taking a chance because I believe that this will work and sometimes you gotta break the rules to get good returns. Employment report tomorrow. Should be a market mover but it hasn't been lately. Mentally I was at the dentist today and that threw things off for a while. I need to get back to the blue book and get my act together. I know it seems like I say this all the time but if things are going to change for the better, discipline must be adhered to. Bottom line is that the trading must improve and I'm the only one who can do that.

The Dow was up 25 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. We were down over 60 points and bounced. That's all I think this is for now. It is a somewhat confusing market here because we have collapsed on the summation index and McClellan oscillator but prices have held up pretty good. I don't know what to make of it. Perhaps will buy puts tomorrow if we get to the downtrend line. Gold got killed today, down over $12. My overnight orders got filled right away in the morning. I'm nervous but that is nothing new. The XAU ended down about 3 points and ABX was off around 50 cents. Amazingly the options are about where I bought them. The XAU has to close the week at 128 or above for that trade to work. It's at 126 and change. I really need to get out of that as soon as possible because there is a chance that the uptrendline will be broken. We'll know more in the next couple of days. I also might dump the ABX calls if they get profitable because I think we will move sideways and I can get them cheaper within the next couple of weeks. But it is just a guess. We do need to hold the line here and only time will tell on that. But this is the area to take a chance so we will see what happens. Mentally I'm a bit tired but it's manageable. Thinking that I have to check the charts thoroughly tonight. The time is now...

The Dow gained 22 points today on somewhat light volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative though. Yesterday we were down around 60 points on good volume. I missed posting due to playing a round of golf. The summation index has rolled over and is pointing down. However we are shot term oversold and a bounce is due. Also the McClellan oscillator will be very negative after today, probably below -150. So I would expect a bounce but I think the trend is down and might get some puts on a bounce. We'll see. Gold lost around $5 today and the XAU dropped below 130. I had some orders for calls in but they were not filled. This is the area where I expect support to come in. The weekly trendline is here. But there is always a chance the line could be broken. Gold itself doesn't look all that good on the charts. I have some open orders in for the XAU and for ABX. The XAU is just a short term play for March, with ABX going out to April. I was confident about this trade before so I'm going to chance it. But I know full well that this could be the end of the run in gold also. I'm playing that it isn't just yet. ABX looks like the better trade, chartwise. I might try some OEX calls tomorrow also if the opportunity presents itself, although I feel the puts might make more sense after a bounce. But it's hard to tell what might happen and the market will always do what it must to frustrate the most. This is an interesting time in the markets and I sincerely hope that I'm up for the challenge...

The Dow lost about 4 points on lighter than lately volume. Advance/declines were negative. It wasn't a very good close. We were up over 70 points at on point. The volume was light and the advance/declines were weak. We also were at the recent highs. I should have had the guts to buy some OEX puts but I didn't. The signal just isn't there clearly. But after todays action, I don't think it needs to be clear. I think puts are the way to go here. I will check things out over the weekend. The McClellan oscillator will be key I think. The only problem is that we could just sit in a sideways pattern and that won't be easy to deal with. It's never easy. Gold was down a couple bucks and so was the XAU. I'm trying to be patient there and I will be, hopefully. It looks like we are trying to build a base here and that is my belief. I would like to make a strong play here because I think it has the potential to be a great trade if I can pull it off. But I don't want it to take up all my time because there will be opportunities elsewhere as well. But it is the main one I'm looking at, since the OEX is proving difficult at this time. Perhaps Monday will provide an opportunity to get short but it won't be as good as it was today I'm afraid. Mentally I can't beat myself up over missing out on a potentially good trade because you just have to keep moving on. I am trying to focus and do the things necessary for success. It should be automatic at this point but my mind has many other things on it right now. I need to take this weekend to get it together and come back with a definite gameplan on Monday. This is the most interesting and most difficult game in the world. I need to be up for the challenge...

The Dow lost 28 points today on pretty good volume. Advance/declines were negative. It seems the volume has picked up a bit on the downside lately. We have really gone nowhere for a couple weeks and it is very frustrating. The sideways action is not making for any big moves or profits one way or the other. I am leaning towards the downside but have no clear signal. It's getting harder for me to sit it out but I must for now if I can. Gold was up $4 and the XAU rallied over 3 1/2 points. Last night I noticed that ABX was right at the weekly trendline. This is the same line that I am waiting the XAU to hit. I thought about getting some calls but I was too late. ABX had a very nice move and the volume increased. Perhaps the XAU isn't going to go all the way back to the uptrend line. I am going to wait though because I have missed this move and we might come back down again to thwart whoever got calls today. I would like to go out to April on those options. The volume was there though, so I can be positive about getting the calls for gold. Getting back to the overall market, I'm just going to have to wait for something decent to appear as far as a signal goes. Perhaps they will take one last stab at the upside and then that could be it. Just a guess. Mentally I'm doing OK I guess. Sleeping enough, getting to bed on time. I would like to do something in here somewhere but I must guard against trading just to trade. Looking back on last year I made most of my money trading gold. Perhaps I can repeat that again...

The Dow rose 60 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. And so it goes. My intuition tells me that this is the snapback to the uptrend line that was broken. But most of the technical indicators are not supporting this theory. I hope that I have the brains to just stay out here but I don't know. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I should just be patient and wait for a good signal. Gold was up a couple bucks and the XAU rose 2 points. This has the potential to be a good trade when it happens and if it happens. But I need to wait for it and I will. Getting back to the overall market, I have seen that the beginning of March has been negative for the last couple of years. We are in that timeframe right now. Employment report is out on Friday. Could be a market mover but lately it hasn't. Perhaps that will change this week. But this is a guess as are most things when it comes to the economic releases. Mentally I did not get a lot of sleep last night but I'm feeling fine. I am fighting myself here to not get jumpy and trade just because I haven't in a while. It is a hard thing to do. Also I feel as if the market will roll over here but I could be wrong. The same type of action occurred at the end of last month and then the market moved higher. There is a lot of money floating around and it needs a place to go. Tough game and I don't like fighting myself. I also need a good trade to get my confidence back. Perhaps the sidelines are best for now...