Ever notice how many trading articles out there include useless lists of tips that will supposedly make you a better trader?  The TuffTrader is looking for valuable information & insights, but ends up wasting time wading thru Bird Poop like this.

Two  minutes of Google searching and a little copying & pasting, allowed me to find a couple of examples to show you what I mean.  These were just the first two I happened to come across.  The following are real articles from the Internet, from which I just copied out the tips lists and deleted the rest of the text for clarity.

The first is article is called "5 Ways To Improve Your Investing Skills"
1. Do Your Research
2. Evaluate Your Financial Goals
3. Don’t Be Hasty
4. Weight your risks
5. Continue Investing

The second article is called "Tips for Winning at Day Trading"  (from Businessweek, believe it or not)
1. Have a system and stick to it like Crazy Glue   [OK,  this one tip I would admit has true merit]
2. Cut your losses
3.The only thing you have to fear is fear itself
4. Don't get greedy
5. Worry about what you can control. Ignore what you can't
6. The market is always right.
7. A little bit of technical analysis never hurts.
8. Don't try to catch a falling safe
9. Buy low, sell high 
10 - 14.  Blah, Blah, Blah, more of the same not even worth my effort to copy & past

Ok, so why are all these tips a useless waste of time?  Here's the TuffTrade Tip List for Spotting Useless Tip Lists:
1. You've heard them all before a million times
2. They are so general as to be impossible to apply
3. The are so obvious that if you don't already know them you have no business trading anyway
4. They are not Falsifiable

That said, here's the TuffTrade Cynical Tip List, guaranteed to be Original, contain no Bird Poop and not be a useless waste of time:
1.  If someone tells you to buy this or that stock because it just can't lose, punch him in the nose, then run like hell
2.  Instead of listening to paid stock analysts, you are better off getting advice from cab drivers.
3.  The more time you spend listening to the financial news, the worse your trading results will be
4.  Every trader should read the book "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds".  Even though it was written in 1852, it's better than whatever the flavor of the month trading book happens to be.
5.  If you can think of another way to earn a living aside from trading, do it. 
6.  You can learn a lot about the markets by watching a herd of  Wildebeest.  Think crowd behavior.  As a trader, don't be a Wilderbeest.
7. Spend a minimum of 1000 hours learning about the markets before you even consider putting any real money at risk
8.  Many of the celebrity traders made the huge money they did  thru illegal means.  Think Michael Milkin, Ivan Boesky & Bernard Madoff .  Since you probably don't intent to break the law, you are at a distinct disadvantage