Game theory
Most people are playing the wrong game.
If you want to get rich, there are only 3 games that actually matter.
Everything else is a distraction
Your job is not to predict every market reaction and every tick. Your job is to follow your trade plan; which obviously requires having one to begin with. This simple plan is what you rely on, calmly and rationally, when the unexpected happens, e.g. gap down on news.
If in swings, have you been taking partials into strength and raising stops? If that's your simple plan, then your raised stops will take you out on meaningful pullbacks having booked gains on partials.
If in position trades, even simpler; you hold above the key SMA you're riding, only stopping out on a meaningful close below that SMA. Follow the plan.
Logical, simple. Plans are there for a reason. No guessing, fear, or prediction required. The market will decide.
Interviewer - "What would be your biggest single lesson in 2005?"
Dan Zanger - "Not to be in the market all the time. Trade far less than I currently do, far less. I really have found that the market may have 2 big moves during the year and they may last 6-8-10-12 weeks. Other than that they just exhaust themselves after that. The rest of the time the market is just consolidating those gains. The big lesson for me this year has been to just trade less, trade fewer stocks. My goal is to own 4 stocks that are "power house" stocks when the market bottoms out. Then the market will take off and run for maybe 10-12-13-14 weeks, whatever it does, and then after that just trade out and go to golf. Go swimming, go to cash, enjoy your time and wait for everything to set up and do it all over again.โ