Screen time helps a trader build intuition and experience. That voice in your head that knows when to buy or sell without sometimes being able to verbalize why is intuition. But screen time alone is not sufficient. You need the right kind of screen time. Today after the close we held an SMB Tradecast. This is where a trader presents … Read More
Man vs black box – who’s winning?
Mike Bellafiore, author of the “trading classic” One Good Trade, shares his views on black boxes and what you can do to compete in the marketplace and adjust your trading around those programs.
A Note to Traders on the Absence of Liquidity
SMB Traders, The last two trading days have been the worst liquidity I have ever seen. Obviously the huffiness on the desk is high. IMO is should be. I have not been this mad on a desk in three years myself trading this ridiculous market. The market is broken. And some of these moves are absurd. Having said that GMan was still … Read More
The Opportunity for a Prop Trader
@DynamicHedge wrote a must-read piece recently that went viral, “Letters to a Young Trader”, in which along with buckets of awesome advice he also asserted prop trading shops are dying. This is true. But this is not the same as prop trading is dead and/or ALL prop shops are dying. That would not be correct. The author never stated this but … Read More
The Opening Drive Play (UA)
I was watching UA on the open and I wanted to write up this drive because I feel like I’m a bit more comfortable with the slower setups in a trending environment. On the open the timing windows are shorter, the price movements are more whippy, and at the moment it’s generally more difficult for me to control my risk … Read More
Overcoming Your Psychological Issues as a Trader (a Case Study)
Here is a case study on one SMB Trader struggling with his psychology. I’m sure many readers have experienced the same struggles. We end with a plan to solve this psychological issue for this trader. SMB TRADER: I’m really disappointed. This was bad. Probably the most disappointed I have been in myself in a long time. There’s no reason, no excuse, … Read More
Focus on Building Your Trading Position: Embracing Long-Term Strategies (VVUS)
Hey Bella, I was reviewing my trade from VVUS today, and there were two things I forgot to run by you that I was thinking about during the trade. First, I used our discussion on the steepness of moves to help me stay in the trade. I have had problems with past trades where I would get into a position, … Read More
You are losing money by not being big enough (EDU)
Bella, I thought EDU offered some great opportunities to use the tape and levels from yesterday to catch most of the downtrend we saw today. EDU was heavily in play yesterday on SEC investigation news (roughly 20x average daily volume), and today it was even more active (roughly 35x average daily volume). My one concern in this trade is how … Read More