Not to pop everyone's bubble, but I don't believe phantomofthepits is "the" Phantom of the Pits any more than my local shopping mall Santa Claus is "the" Santa Claus.
Trading should be easy, at least on paper. You have basic rules, such as buying a breakout and adding as the position progresses.
So what gives?
The subtleties, my friends.
Can you sell your long position, when not stopped out in the conventional manner and not in profit either?
Can you run your profits and suddenly liquidate when price is still going strong if you get a volume indication of the future?
Easy is difficult.
Phantom, Rump, Db, Donna, Redneck...
You're all sitting in a dark room with lava lamps while you write this, aren't you?
I'm beginning to realize futures traders and stock traders are completely different breeds.
In the voice of Jerry Seinfeld "Not that there's anything wrong with that!"
I suppose they are. Stock traders are in the dark for 17.5hrs a day. Futures traders have light 24/5. That's why I switched to futures.
And it's a hell of a lot less work.