Be Careful When Your Routine Changes

sspencerGeneral Comments, Steven Spencer (Steve's) Blogs, Trader Development, Trading Psychology1 Comment

I have a fairly set schedule each trading day.  But on Thursday morning  my routine changes as I have a pre-work obligation that changes my schedule.  I generally arrive at the office one hour later than usual and do not run the AM Meeting.  This change in routine has had some fairly negative consequences on my trading PnL.  90% of … Read More

Be Like Mike !

sspencerSteven Spencer (Steve's) Blogs, Trader DevelopmentLeave a Comment

For those of you who are avid fans of the NBA you have probably heard the stories of how Michael Jordan use to practice as a member of the Bulls.  He was totally cutthroat.  It was not uncommon for fisticuffs to breakout between him and some of the bigger players on the second unit during scrimmages.  He hated to lose … Read More

Sleep as it Relates to Effective Trading

sspencerGeneral Comments3 Comments

Sleep is one of the great scientific mysteries. Although scientists understand that humans require sleep on a regular basis they do not fully comprehend why this is the case. Most adults require 7-8 hours of sleep each night in order to have optimal cognitive functioning the following day. Just as important as the “how much” is the “when” with respect … Read More

A Turning Point?

sspencerSteven Spencer (Steve's) BlogsLeave a Comment

There is no doubt with earnings season over there will be very little in the way of news flow for the bulls to hang their hats on for quite some time. With seemingly negative news out of Europe every day and instability in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula there are opportunities for sellers to hammer the market on … Read More

Patterns Collide!

sspencerSteven Spencer (Steve's) Blogs13 Comments

We have been seeing two distinct patterns in the market recently. 1) On gap down opens we are rallying to positive territory. 2) When there is selling in the final hour the market is closing at its low. Today we were fortunate enough to get both the rally to positive AND the end of the day tankage in the market. … Read More

Intraday Reversals Indicate What?

sspencerGeneral Comments11 Comments

In the final 3.5 hours of trading Friday we touched 109 three times on the SPY and 110.30 twice. Generally, this type of up down action does not instill much confidence in market participants, and many believe it is a sign of lower prices to come. I’m not in that camp. Someone definitely was dumping a couple of billion dollars … Read More