TODAY IS “BERT’ DAY

Today is the anniversary, of the death, of my mentor Bert.

[“A moment of silence as we trade a 100 lot of January lumber futures in his honor.”]

                            Odds Are You Got Schooled By Bert

I was a clueless skull full of mush, peddling AT&T stock to widows, from my perch inside the branch office of a giant Midwestern brokerage house. We were all suit drones, selling whatever the house wanted to push that particular day.

While we all wore 3 piece suits to work, one guy over in the corner came to work [whenever he wanted] in jeans and polo shirt, and told the branch manager what he was going to do that day. “Whoaaaaa I thought”.

A few weeks later I introduced myself to him and asked if there was some day we could grab coffee or lunch. “Sure kid, I’ll let ya know, OK?” I left it at that.

About 2 months later, he yells out my name across the broker bullpen, and says “..come on over here!” A Star Trek transporter beam couldn’t have gotten me there any faster.

We ate lunch on a day when we got our bi-weekly paychecks. He looks at me from across the table and says, seeing the envelope sticking out of my suit pocket, “How much you takin’ home today?” He looks at my check, showing no emotion.

Then I see his. [Note: This is 1977 we are talking about]

My brain freezes because I can’t compute numbers like this.

“Pay to the Order of … $70,000.01”

This is my response to Bert: “Seriously, who do I kill? We aren’t leaving here until you tell me how to do this!!”

Bert was the consummate professional commodity trader. Every day, he slung multiple 100 lots of lumber and pork bellies from his desk for his managed accounts. He schooled more locals on the floor than an English teacher at the high school.

When I would screw up an order or interpret a chart wrong, and go complaining to Bert, he would sternly look at me and say something along the lines of: “OK, you got 2 options; cry about it and whine or learn something from it and then don’t repeat it. What’s it gonna be?”

I want the world to know what a great man you were and the understanding, kindness, and generosity you showed me when I was an idiot. My life is infinitely richer because of you. I will always be eternally grateful to you for the guidance and advice you unselfishly gave me. I hope, in my life, I can be 10% the man you were.

                       In A World Full Of Kittens There Was Bert

 I miss you, my old friend, and I pray someday we have a chance to meet again and talk trading. May God bless you.

Today’s Action & Wrap Up

                      HMMMMMM !! Cod liver Oil For Everybody

If you were trading today, without some kind of a trading plan, it was like getting cod liver oil from Grandma. “Boy that tastes good!”

Did I mention yesterday the algorithm says be short?

               Fade The Vegas BFSG Algorithm & This Will Happen

For you bottom-pickers out there [and you know who you are], when are you gonna learn it isn’t a good idea to fade the algorithm?

If you started your trading day very early, you had a sell signal around 2:00 AM [Chicago time] and should be short from about 1763. If like me, you were sleeping for a few more hours, then we got the next sell signal at 5:40 AM [Chicago time] at 1757.

Later, we got a confirmation bottom at 1745. I discuss this confirmation bottom in the Vegas BFSG Algorithm manual. Net gain on the day of $ 12 / oz.

Ka-Ching.

The fact that gold has moved markedly lower since means nothing; an opportunity cost. Learn it, love it, then live it.

Today at 11:35 AM [Chicago time], XAUUSD hit a low of 1710.40 bid. The Vegas BFSG Algorithm predictive exhaustion low, if it was to happen, was 1710.508 !!

If for some reason you had stayed short, you would have been able to cover at the low of the day.

No need for “skeptic cat”. Download the algorithm at the link and see for yourself.

Have a nice day everyone.

 -vegas

P.S. You are always in my thoughts and prayers Bert. Always.