What to look at when the market keeps going up?

[TraderC]

This is one of my issues as a trader. What do you look for when a market goes up as it has recently without much of a pullback?

In these situations, I generally look for a breakout play, but I don't really have a solid way to manage risk otherwise. Any ideas?

[optionpundit]

It may sound simple and naive, but "Don't speculate" seems to be the mantra. Even if you want to play direction, play with spread as you are exposed to only a limited loss. At the same time, for instance, choice of spread also matters. Verticals are great tool to use.