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Cutting losses short and letting profits run. A hackneyed cliche, to be sure. But, like many cliches, it is nonetheless valid and, as with many trading truisms, is more easily said than done.

When self-worth equals net worth, there is never enough. At the same time, one's "modest" goals may be another's gluttony, and vice-versa. Hence, specifying a number that defines a "good" trader strikes me as a somewhat meaningless exercise.

Gentlemen, Just a note on the value of diversification from my humble perspective. I agree that it is certainly ideal to diversify one's risks across a large number of positions. However, though I know Maverick was not suggesting otherwise, it should be said that one must be careful not to...

Wouldn't annualized return on capital be a more relevant metric given the wide disparity in people's trading capital?

Charting, Very impressive results. And your SOHU short from yesterday is fast turning out to be another winner. Thanks for sharing. Regards, HD

While it's not here yet, the new Gold ETF is about to be launched. It is expected to have good liquidity and traded options. In the meantime, in addition to what's been mentioned, NEM is a reasonably good proxy.

Maverick, I agree with you 100%. At least I think I do. Hmmmm.

It's not the strategy but how you trade it that counts.

Chris, While I may risk incuring Maverick's wrath, I happen to agree with a lot of what you just said, or at least as it relates to a point I've made before, but which, I fear, continues to get short shrift. That is the importance of trading a strategy that is consistent with one's...

Blue, I agree with you about big pharma being cheap (at least with respect to PFE, which I bought around $30). But not all of biotech is overvalued. Specifically, I can't recall a time when AMGN's traded at such a discount to the group on a PEG basis (it's nearly an even 1 now). They also throw...

Yeah, that's the one I'll go with too. A ratio'd diagonalized iron condor. What do we get if we win?

Yeah, try the bizarro QQQs. Good luck.

Save your money, spend a few bucks on the leading treatises in the field, develop your own strategies and come up with your own trades. This applies to newsletters in general and Bernie's in particular. Good luck.

Thanks Charting. The Dec 25 puts look very interesting. HD

I believe there are programs that will detect and remove spyware. Does anyone know of any particularly good ones? Also, is ZoneAlarm Pro generally sufficient to prevent new attacks? You guys have made me paranoid!

Steve, You're one cynical guy. Myself, I don't ascribe to the conspiracy theory of trading seemingly espoused by you and certain others on the Board. Rather, I believe that, with the right plan consistent with one's personality, the right mix of dicipline and flexibility, and sufficient...

GA, Yeah, it was the nontransparancy of pricing info that held me back from taking the leap into futures options when I first looked into it a couple years back. But that's good to know. I may now revisit it, particularly with the pending introduction of the intriguing new VIX futures and...

GA, While I've never traded futures options either, you forgot to mention another attractive aspect of them -- SPAN margin. On the other hand, I've heard liquidity is spotty. Was that your experience? HD

Mav, Great explanation of volatility in the real world. I too view implied volatility through the prism of market direction. Indeed, that is among the main reasons why I personally don't like long straddles, despite their being the "textbook" play in a "low vol" market. The dynamics you point...

Mav, Thanks a lot for the very cogent advice. I actually couldn't agree with you more. Indeed, I've been working on developing an overall trading strategy that hedges a core gamma/vega negative position that I've been trading for a while (iron condors on the XEO) with offsetting vega/gamma...