If there is nothing to do, then do nothing

The last couple of weeks have been frustrating in that, while I have been able to identify plenty of interesting looking setups, they have either:

• continued to see price consolidate and are yet to trigger; 
• had earnings releases or trading updates; or 
• price has fallen away rendering the set up being no longer of interest. 

This has coincided with an uptick in volatility in the major market averages and a pullback from the recent highs.

This is where some will see following a rules based approach as being too restrictive. If your entry criteria is not being met, then you are being kept out of the market, and it is these types of phases where your patience and discipline in following your rules are tested.

Experienced traders will accept and acknowledge the signs - if nothing is triggering, then what is happening in the markets is not favourable towards their own style of trading. As a consequence, they are content to sit on their hands and wait for the opportunities to present themselves.

Avoid the temptation to want to be doing something in the markets all of the time.

If there is nothing to do, then do nothing.