A strong market can make bad decisions look smart. The danger is learning the wrong lesson from a trade that happened to work.

A huge volume spike can look like institutional conviction. Sometimes it’s nothing more than noise. Here’s what to look for next.

Chop makes you overmanage good trades.

One big green day can fool you. The stronger reversals usually start leaving several clues at once.

A strategy can be perfectly good and still be a lousy fit for the market in front of you. The edge comes from knowing when to switch gears.

Patience keeps you out of bad trades. But if you stop paying attention completely, the clean setup can show up before you’re ready.

A rough market can make you question good trades. The bigger danger is what frustration makes you do next.

Mixed signals are one thing. The real danger starts when uncertainty turns into a need to trade – especially after watching a move happen without you.

Sometimes the best evidence of discipline is what never made it into your account at all.

A weak market can make strong setups easier to dismiss. The better question is whether the stock itself is still giving you a reason to act.

A clean breakout can do more than open the door to upside. It can also make one of the hardest trading decisions much easier.