Educational use only. Never intended as advice.

As Dave Landry would say, trade like the Thermos, keep hot things hot and cold things cold.

So, make up some rules, even if they're arbitrary.

1. Don't lose money.
2. Don't buy at the top.
3. Don't chase.
4. Consider who's on the other end of the trade.
5. "Never short a dull market."
6. Don't be in a hurry to 'make money.' You'll probably lose that way.
7. "Enter in mild times, exit in wild times."
8. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." If the market gives you a windfall, you should take it-if you're trading.
9. If breadth is positive, don't be negative.
10. If the market is strongly overbought (by whatever your criteria), statistically it's likely to come back in.
11. Trade because you love it, not for something to do.
12. If you have a strong emotion attached to a trade, it's probably wrong, unless you're fading the emotion.