1) Don't trade when the 4sma, 8sma and 20sma are really narrow. Wait for it to break out first.
2) Don't trade when the market is slow (like right now). You can trade at other times, but just make sure there are decent volatility / momentum.
3) Don't trade 30 minutes before or after news. If there's BIG news coming, it might not be good to trade for hours before because the market just stalls and goes nowhere (same problem as #2). This is because it's waiting for the news announcement. In this case, don't trade until after the news. Watch for News that is - High and Medium Profile.
4) Don't trade if you're up against a barrier. This includes the daily R1 R2 R3, daily S1 S2 S3, daily pivot, and weekly pivot. It's also good to look at the 15min 4sma, 8sma and 20sma to see if you're close to them as well. I also recommend treating the "00's" (239.00, 238.00, etc.) as barriers. I call them psychological barriers, and it's really just common sense. Just think about when you have a $100 bill. You're less likely to spend it. Once you finally decide to break the $100 bill, you'll usually spend your smaller bills much more quickly. This is just human nature, and well, the market is driven by human beings.
Instead of just thinking of the barriers as times not to trade, use them to your advantage. Wait for either a break through of the barrier or bounce off it. If it does this, you should still wait for the moving averages and your other indicators to give you a signal.
