Yes another — the fourth — pullback for S&P and Dow futures trades since November. Do they happen often? Nothing worthwhile necessarily does. Prioritizing risk over reward is the main reason. Patience to control risk doesn’t come easy but the setups are plain as day. Let’s take a look.

As much as it’s talked about, “buying the dip” is a non-consensus trader. Think about today’s “dip” in the S&P and Dow. The dip never comes with good news… yet it’s a better risk/reward than buying at new highs in a trend! Gold is confirming that “buy the dip” is valid and in this video I explain why and where.

The signs from a strong Yen to trading below the HPMR resistance and the VWAPs were there… know the signs, get your directional focus, and days like today are a gift.

Moving targets. We want to be disciplined and process driven so contraction and expansion in volatility is something I account for using Hourly Price Movement Ranges or Volatility Analysis. It’s a unique approach I created using data that allows for a trader to understand historical volatility hour by hour or day by day. In today’s daytrades, these levels played a key role for profit taking.

It’s important to take the valid trades as they come and not pick and choose. If a trade is affordable from the entry level, take it, manage it, and let the market do its thing. For example today, three daytrades triggered, two hit target 1 and one hit the stop loss. Trying to avoid the loss is futile.