Buy low, sell high. Short high, cover low. Traders are like surfers, trying to catch good waves, only their beach is rocky, not sandy. Professionals wait for opportunities but amateurs jump in, driven by emotions - they keep buying strength and selling weakness, bleeding their equity into the markets. Buy low, sell high sounds like a simple rule, but greed and fear can override the best intentions.
A professional waits for familiar patterns to emerge from the market. He may notice a new trend with rising momentum, indicating higher price ahead. Or he may detect the feebleness of momentum during a rally, indicating weakness. Once he recognizes a pattern, he puts on a trade. He has a clear notion of how he will get in, where he will take profits, and where he will accept loss if the market turns against him. Futures option trading
