Monday January 26, 2009

As I was re-reading The Amazing Life of Jesse Livermore: World's Greatest Stock Trader, I once again noticed the large gaps of time between some of his best trades: 1906, 1907, 1910, 1915, 1916, 1920. Then page 192 sums it up nicely:

"Livermore always considered TIME as a real essential trading element. He often times would say: 'It's not the thinkin' that makes the money-it's the sitting' and waitin' that makes me the money.'

This has been incorrectly interpreted by many people to mean Livermore would buy a stock and then sit and wait for it to move. This is not so. There were many occasion where Livermore sat and waited in cash, holding little or no stock, until the right situation appeared. It was his ability to sit and wait patiently in cash until the 'perfect situation presented itself to him.' When these conditions came together, when as many of the odds as possible were in his favor, then and only then would he strike."

Be patient, the perfect situation has not presented itself.