Last week, Kurt Hanks visited our office. He is the most talented trader I've ever known. In this week's newsletter, I talk about some of the reasons he has been so successful. I hope what I have to say can help you out.

Now, let's get on with the newsletter.

One of the reasons I’m a currency trader is because counter-trend trading can work so well in forex. On the other hand, it seems that now is pretty much the worst time in the world to be a counter-trend trader in the world of equities.

I think we’ll see the U.S. take over the company very soon. Maybe even before you receive this newsletter. Is Citigroup worthless? As a stock, yes. As a company, of course not. There are tons of smart people in those offices and some great assets on the books. But I am not sure it can survive in its current form.

Periods of time like now are financial revolutions, where the economic world is turned on its head and shaken, and then things fall out all over the place. When Standard Oil was split into 34 companies in 1911, and when Long Term Capital Management exploded in 1998, those were similar moments. From the wreckage come some very amazing opportunities to make money. As we come out of the recession, we’re going to start hearing stories of money managers who not only survived, but who thrived in the midst of panic.

And what about oil? We’ll take a look at it again next week. It did break above our trendline that we drew last week, for those of you who are following along on the developing story.

My good friend Kurt Hanks spent last week at my office in West Virginia. He made 661% last year on his original balance in his account. As I mentioned at the start of the letter, he is, without question, the most talented trader I have ever known. Today I want to explain exactly what makes Kurt different than nearly every trader I know.

• Kurt has one trading strategy. It’s all he follows. Kurt first came to my office in January of 2008. I taught him one strategy. He followed that one strategy and nothing else for the entire year. He completely ignored everything else. Was the one system I taught him the only and best trading system on the entire planet? No. But it was good enough. And he put his entire effort into becoming great at that one method.

• Kurt tested the crap out of this one strategy. I have never seen anyone do more testing and experimentation with a trading system. Kurt bought a copy of Forex Tester and then tested tens of thousands of trades. In fact, he first focused exclusively on the GBP/JPY – known to be one of the most volatile financial currency pairs in the wildest market (forex) in the world. He tested at least ten thousand trades on this one pair before he put any real money into the market. With this one pair alone, Kurt triped his account in the first two months of last year.

• Kurt held himself accountable. Every single week, Kurt sent me his account statement. Even more frequently – a few times a week – he sent me his testing and asked me specific questions about what he’d done. I probably receive three or four text messages a week from him, at all times of the day and night, all with questions about money management or perfecting his entry strategy. He believes that he should be held accountable for doing his testing, and then trading responsibly. Because Kurt stays in touch, he is able to get himself out of a mess if something goes wrong.

• Kurt is obsessed with becoming even more successful. Kurt asks me repeatedly: what do you think I can do to get better? While he visited my office, we had long talks about his recent testing, we tested together, we debated the pros and cons of changing his method, and more. When I arrived at the office each morning, Kurt was already there, testing and thinking, ready with questions. When I left each evening, he was still there, not even close to finishing. He is dedicated. He is passionate. This is what he has chosen to be great at.

What makes this story all the more amazing to me is that Kurt still has a regular job. He works two days a week as a pharmacist, in order to bring in more income and keep health benefits. Last year he faced terrible personal and family challenges. He lost all of his trading capital five times last year. And he still came out with a 661% return on his original deposit of about $20,000. When he was successful, he took money out of his account. When he lost his money, he started another small account and built it up. At one point he lost tens of thousands of dollars – then re-deposited a few thousand dollars – and made it all back.

Kurt was able to succeed where others fail for the very simple reasons listed above plus:.

He works harder than nearly every trader I have ever known.

A side note: I’ll hopefully provide regular updates on how Kurt (and other successful traders I know) are doing in the newsletter, as often as I can. Kurt is joining me in London for a seminar if you’d like to meet him.

I think the USD/CAD is getting near to a major breakout, maybe it's big breakout for the year. Below you'll find the daily chart. If the pair can get above the green resistance level, then I think it can make it all the way to 1.3200 to start, and then as high as 1.4000.

On the other hand, a break lower, below the red trendline, would bring us down to the lows from November of last year -- in the 1.1500 area. And maybe lower than that.

I'll be (surprise!) traveling this week to Los Angeles and Orange County, California. If you're in the area, let me know.

Last of all, there are a couple of spots available for the UK seminar here. The Orange County seminar sold out (and beyond) in a couple of days, and if you're coming, I promise it will be the liveliest and most vibrant group of traders you've ever met.

Most of all, no matter where you are in the world ...

Happy Trading!