Start trading throw those excuses out the window

People make all kinds of excuses as to why they cannot get involved in investing or trading the financial markets. In this article, some of the most prominent are debunked.

"I don’t have time"

Despite being one of the most frequently heard, this is probably the most pathetic excuse for not trading there is. Why? Because the availability of technology and information in the modern day means that we can operate in literally any time frame we want. Many people, when they hear “trading”, think it means sitting in front of the computer all day. While that certainly is one form of trading, most of us do not have the schedule to allow us to dedicate hours each day to monitoring the markets. The good news is that we don’t have to in order to trade effectively.

I will use myself as an example. My college coaching position has me frequently in the gym, in meetings, and on the road. What’s more, I run a club program and a couple of businesses on the side. In 2004, even though there were long periods when I did not trade at all, and I probably only put on a dozen total positions all year, I was still able to make 200%+ in the stock market. If I can trade given my schedule, and have performance like that, anyone can.

"I don’t have the money"

In the past, this was a pretty viable excuse for not trading. These days, though, one can trade with relatively little money. Transaction costs have dropped dramatically over the last decade and there are more trading options than ever before. There is one particular trading platform which allows an individual to put on trades of at little as $1 in value, and they have no minimum account size requirement.

Is it better to have more money? Absolutely. The more capital you have at your disposal, the better are your available options and the more actual money you can make in raw dollar terms.

Having more money is not always a good thing, though. For the inexperienced trader, it is better to have only a little money at risk. Why? It is the same as anything else. Just like anyone new to a skill make mistakes as they are learning, so do new traders. And just as a coach would not willingly throw a new player in to a championship game against experienced opponents, neither should those new to the markets to take on large trades and put significant portions of their assets at risk. It’s common sense. Better to make the inevitable mistakes when there is relatively little at risk.

"It’s too risky"

Trading is only as risky as you make it. If you take risky trades, then trading is risky. If you don’t, then it isn’t. There will always be the risk of losing money on a trade. That is completely unavoidable. But that could be said about all of life.

Driving is one of the most risky things in the modern world, but we still do it. We reduce the risk by obeying traffic rules, planning our route, wearing seatbelts, paying attention, and all that. Does that completely eliminate the risk that of ending up in an accident? No, it doesn’t. Nor does it necessarily keep us out of traffic jams or from getting lost. We understand the risks, though, and weigh them against our need to get places in a timely fashion.

Trading is the same. We do it because it helps get us where we want to go, in this case financially. There are going to be hiccups along the way, but if we are focused and conscientious, we can minimize the risks, and potentially the damage an unfortunately turn inflicts, and remain on course.

"It’s too complicated"

Technology and competition have combined to make trading so much easier than it has ever been before. All it takes is a couple of clicks and you can execute a trade, check your positions, get news, and anything else you need to do. The fact that you are reading this article says you have all the basic skills necessary to trade or invest.

Can trading be complex? Sure it can. There are those in the markets who use complicated software, mathematical algorithms, even artificial intelligence. None of that is necessary, though. Some of the best traders use little more than price quotes or a simple bar chart. How intricate you get is strictly a matter of personal preference, not necessity.

Is there a learning curve? You bet. Trading is like anything else. There are things you need to know. The good thing, though, is that there are loads of resources out there to help you learn.

Live poker how to win tournament games

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Now, if you are interested in being the best player, getting really good money and knowing some tricks and advices of what to do in a live tournament games, here is the best place to learn them.

1) Try not to get drunk
Some of the people that are playing, and that have few rounds to play in the tournament don't count the drinks they have during their games and at the very end of the day they don't have power to continue till the last game, which is a pity to loose such a big opportunity, so, don't drink a lot and be prepare for the last round, also come up with all your senses in order. If you drink, do it measurable and just to loose the nerves before the games but also have some other drinks like soda, water, coffee and others to hydrate your self.

2) Is it important where I sit?
Yes it is, in a tournament try not to sit next to the dealer, take a place in where you will feel that you are in front of the dealer to have the feeling that he is giving you a game. Also in a place where you will feel comfortable with your self and you will have a perspective of the other players.

3) Make your self comfortable while playing
Don't show the other players with your position what you cards are telling you. Make sure to seat back and relax, don't adopt positions that will make you move too much or feel uncomfortable during the time of the game. Some players in the tournaments show their game with the position they adopt while playing either putting the elbows on the table or resting in the bumper.

4) Do the most important thing in the brake.
Don't get distracted from what you really need to do in the brake. Take your time to go to the bathroom and rest, sometimes the discussions about the previous game or lines for getting drinks will waste your time for what is really important.

5) Also your words and mimic are important during the game.
When ever you are playing don't show your cards to the other player in the way you talk or look, is important that they will have other impression, for example in your hand Is good you can try on making faces or saying words that show that your hand is not good, then people will think you have a bad game and you will surprise them at the end. This doesn't work all the time so try to find different ways to hide your game. Also you can read the other player's movements and words to see either they are lying or telling the truth in the hand.

Conclusion:
Ok, right now you are equipped with the best advices from the experienced card players at Live Tournament Games, then just bring all your energies and talent to the tournaments. If you are looking for fun and you don't have friends around to play with, remember that there is always a way to play by your self, you will be always welcome at online casinos so go there is you like to gain some practice for your gaming skills.

Insight into trading - what percentage of your trades are winners

An Inquiry into Trading Systems, Money Management and the Human Psyche

At a recent seminar, I got involved in an interesting discussion with other attendees centered on trading success. More specifically, the percentage of successful trades and the percent of accuracy you should realistically expect from trading.

For whatever reason, our minds tend to focus on accuracy as the primary way of evaluating a speculative endeavor. True to form, accuracy - our mental magnet of making money - has very little to do with finding success.

Reality - No Great Expectations

By and large, the record of the past teaches us that on balance, the investment newsletter writers (commodity, stock or mutual funds) don't do such a hot job. As a result, taking a quick peak at the advisors' percentage of accuracy in picking winning trades should prove to be at the very least - interesting.

In looking into this I primarily focused on: Of the small percentage of winning services, what was the accuracy percentage of these most profitable advisory services?

I arbitrarily selected the March 1993, January 1996, March 1997, May 1998 and June 1999. What follows are the figures for the most profitable advisors / service for that month and their percent of accuracy of all trades for the prior 12 months.

Mar 1993 Commodity Timing . . . $60,939 . . . 51%

Jan 1996 Moore Research . . . . $84,643 . . . 52%

Mar 1997 Turtle Talk. . . . . . $79,244 . . . 42%

May 1998 Commodity Timing . . . $90,430 . . . 47%

Jun 1999 Moore Research . . . . $102,605. . . 54%

A key point to remember is that these results are the "best of the best" for the above time periods. On average these services were right 49.2% of the time - our first indication that accuracy percentage doesn't necessarily have much to do with making money.

Consistent Winners

During the selected timeframe there were four advisors / services that substantially outperformed the others. In other words - they made money. Before we look at their figures, let me point out that none of the top four performers base their approach on the "magical and mystical" stuff like Gann, Elliot, Astrology and the like. In fact, advisor letters touting those methods have the worst performance. The winning letters are, by and large, trend followers to one degree or another.

With that in mind, here are the ones that I feel had the best performance. The market letters that had the most consistent and profitable performance and their percentage of winning trades. The dollar figures represent the money they made from their recommendations for the prior 12 months from each of the reporting dates listed above.

Top 4 Newsletters . . . . . . . . 5 Year Total Profits . . . % of Winners

Commodity Research Bureau . . . . . $158,840 . . . . . . . . 48%

Commodity Timing. . . . . . . . . . $224,239 . . . . . . . . 47%

Commodity Trend Service . . . . . . $214,858 . . . . . . . . 32%

Moore Research. . . . . . . . . . . $242,253 . . . . . . . . 51%

Clearly, the winners are not particularly accurate - just very profitable!

Now the question begs - What allows them to make money with what would appear on the surface as mediocre accuracy? The answer lies in one of the oldest adages on the street… let your profits run and cut your losses short. In terms of math, this simply means that their average profit per trade is substantially greater than their average loss.

The message should be clear and is one based on how real people did in real time and in real world trading - accuracy really doesn't matter all that much. On a side note, the next time someone tells you that all newsletters are a bunch of hot air you may want to show them the figures above.

Of course, the counterpart is that you must not take quick little profits. To succeed in this business you've got to hold on for large winning trades because as you can see by these real world examples - accuracy doesn't make you money.

This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

The dot com era is back

In a recent article titled "Internet use threatens to overtake TV in Canada" it discusses the threat of online marketing to traditional media sources in Canada. This isn't a a threat anymore in the US. It is a fact.

An article written by Thomas Mucha from Business 2.0 says:

People are spending more time online than watching TV, which gives marketers a better chance to reach consumers in a place where they are just one click away from making a purchase. "More than 75 percent of companies using the Internet to advertise report confidence in their return on investment," writes the study's lead author, Jupiter Research senior analyst Gary Stein. This confidence, Stein argues, will sustain spending momentum across all the key online ad areas: paid search, display ads, classified ads, and rich media.

Interesting to note that two studies are similar. Although The Ipsos Reid study of Canada claims radio is losing more interest than TV in Canada, it may soon lose to the Internet as well.

Mr. Mucha claims 40 percent of total spending by 2010 will be paid advertisements on Google, Yahoo and MSN to an estimate of $19 billion per year. Not much wonder why the search engines are trying to dominate each other and the marketplace. The one that becomes the most popular will also make the most money.

What will become of the little guy? Will it put an end to buying keywords for ad placement on search engines? Will the small business owner get shoved out of the picture? Maybe not altogether... but let's face it. If GM decides they want to use the keywords you are using, can you afford to compete? The search engines will be laughing "all the way to the bank" and the cost per clicks will just keeping going up... (he-he) similar to the price of gasoline at the pumps these days.

Even though the cost of clicks may get pricey, the major search engines will always have to index relevant websites and include these results and return them on any keyword search. Professional sites (versus linkfarm, affiliate, spam sites) will always be in favour, and the sooner business can get their company sites built, if they haven't already; the better. Google seems to be the top search engine right now, and new sites often get sandboxed. If they hold on to their dominant position, new websites want to make sure this doesn't happen to them.

I've always felt that there was something Google was doing that gave some sites more relevance than others in its index, but wasn't sure how it was applied. At the Search Engine Strategies conference last week in San Jose, California, Rand Fishkin learned that Google places some new Web sites, "regardless of their merit, or lack thereof, in a sort of probationary category" for six months to a year to "allow time to determine how users react to a new site, who links to it, etc."

On a final piece of advice he suggests:

"Several people have also predicted that Yahoo! or MSN may take up similar techniques to help stop spam. This phenomenon could seriously undermine new SEO/Ms and new campaigns, but it is a possibility. My recommendation is not to discount this possibility and launch projects or at least holding sites and their promotional efforts ASAP. The web environment right now is still relatively friendly to new sites, but will certainly become more competitive and unforgiving with time, no matter what search engine filters exist."

Although it is starting to sound a little like the "Dot Com era is back" it will be a little different this time around. In 2000 when it went bust, it is partly because the percentage of consumers purchasing online didn't justify the amount of spending. There was a lack of confidence. It is different now. Jupiter's study shows that "73 percent of Americans who use the Internet have made a purchase online and four out of five of these potential shoppers have responded to an online ad."

How to keep food fresh naturally

How many times have we brought food and then forgotten about it only to remember it because it begins to stink? Against this, you cannot do anything, but you can ensure that your food lasts longer and keeps fresh.

How?

There are many things you can do, such as regularly clean your refrigerator and regularly check the food in there and also that you keep in the cupboards or anywhere else. But its not just about checking them. This cannot prevent anything. All you will be doing is throwing away food items before they stink up the entire kitchen. So, what can you do to keep the food fresh?

Practical List of Tips for Ensuring Food is Cleaner and Fresher:

1) Spread some cloves on and around the marble surface of your kitchen, and also spread some cloves under the sink.

Why?

The Cloves keeps ants away.

2) Place some bay leaves inside your bags of dough, rice and the rest of the packs that insects prefer.

Why?

Bay leaves keep insects and other such lice away from food products. By placing bay leaves inside the packets, we ensure that insects do not reside there. But please remember to change the bay leaves once every three months.

3) Place half a potato in the refrigerator.

Why?

If there is any kind of bad smell from food or cooked items, the half potato will absorb it. To make sure that this works, remember to exchange the potato every three days.

4) Store eggs with the pointed side down.

Why?

Storing eggs with the pointed side down keeps them fresh for a longer period.

5) Place a few cubes of sugar in the jar where you store American cheese.

Why?

When you place two or three cubes of sugar with the American cheese in an air tight jar, the sugar absorbs the moisture and prevents the cheese from getting bad.

6) Do not store tomatoes and cucumbers in the same draw.

Why?

Tomatoes give out gases that cause cucumbers to rot faster so make sure that you keep these two apart.

7) Do not store apples along with the rest of the fruits and vegetables.

Why?

Apples give out certain gases that cause fruits and vegetables to rot.

8) Place slices of apples or raw potatoes in the bread compartment or jar.

Why?

By adding a few slices of raw potatoes or apples with the bread, you ensure that the bread remains fresh for longer than usual.

9) Store radish in a vessel along with some water.

Why?

You should store radish in a vessel along with water because water will keep the radish fresh and crisp for a long time. For the same reason, if the radishes have shriveled, place them in a jar of cold water. Water will restore the radish to its previous splendor.

Conclusion:

Here, I have presented only a few of the more practical actions you should follow to ensure that the food you and your family consume remains fresh and tasty.

First time buyers beware

Although it’s a big undertaking, buying your own home is one of the wisest moves you can make. Rather than pouring money away on rent, you will effectively be investing in your property with every mortgage payment.

You will also become a ‘homeowner’, which should please your bank manager no end. You may find offers of loans and credit suddenly become a lot more frequent, and when you’ve just moved into a new home it can seem tempting to borrow money to kit the place out. But be careful! Most repossessions happen in the first year of the mortgage, when people find they have overstretched their finances and can’t meet the repayments. These are a few factors you’ll need to consider before you move:

Fees and Stamp Duty

You’ll find there are quite a few extra costs involved here – solicitors fees for conveyancing are normally a percentage of the cost of your mortgage, plus there are other charges involved. Check with your solicitor what his or her bill will be. Stamp duty is a tax that applies on property that costs over Ј100,000. If you’ve used a mortgage advisor, there will be another fee to pay, probably of a few hundred pounds.

Surveys

These can prove costly – each survey will set you back around Ј150 to Ј200 pounds. Sometimes the surveyor will ask for a report from a specialist – for example, a timber professional – that could cost the same again. If there are problems with the property that need to be remedied, you may find a portion of your mortgage withheld until the work is carried out. This is called a retention, and means you’ll have to find the extra cash yourself.

Moving Costs

You could move your entire household in the back of your car, but it’s not the ideal option! Hiring a van or removal men can be quite expensive – but it might make moving less stressful.

Insurance

Remember you will need to pay buildings insurance as a condition of your mortgage. You may also choose to take out payment protection in case there’s a sudden change in your circumstances. This means your payments will be covered for a set period of time, to give you a chance to get back on your feet.

Furniture and Renovations

While not necessarily essential, re-furnishing your new home should be enjoyable! Make sure, however, that you are not overstretching your budget.