But Vervoort’s system—a combination of a slow stochastic oscillator, a 10-period RSI, and a proprietary “end-of-trend” signal—flashed .

Martin almost laughed. He’d read Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets . He knew what a head-and-shoulders pattern looked like. But knowing and doing were different planets.

Martin smiled. “Vervoort says: ‘Profits are not captured by courage. They are captured by a system that removes courage from the equation.’”

Martin covered his short for a .

He placed a conditional order: short SPY at $478, stop at $484, target $462.

“A Belgian systems guy,” his friend said. “No hot tips. Just math and patience.”

He had stopped trying to predict the market.

He had learned, at last, to trap it.