How You Can Be Better Tomorrow Than You Are Today I am often asked: What is the most important attribute to become a successful trader. My answer may surprise you. It has nothing to do with “conviction” market predictions. In fact, for those that have read my latest book The PlayBook, I scorch the myth propagated by the Financial Media … Read More
Risk Management of Iron Condors
This week, Seth Freudberg, SMBU’s Director of Options Training, discusses a monthly iron condor trade using $NDX index options. Enjoy the video! Seth Freudberg Director, SMB Options Training Program The SMB Options Training Program is an eight-month program designed for novice and intermediate level options traders who are seeking an intensive training process to learn how to trade options spreads … Read More
How to End Stock Picking Frustration
Even the best traders have their bad days (or weeks or months). Sometimes the frustration can be maddening. It’s not a question of talent – as previous trading success bears this out. It’s just that sometimes, things just stop working and you need some fresh ideas – and when you go to the well, it comes up dry. Successful traders … Read More
How To Be More Consistent in Your Trading
How to Be More Consistent in Your Trading We all have things that we feel quite strongly about, for completely irrational reasons. Me? I can’t stand rollercoasters. While some people get a kick out of the adrenaline rush, I prefer steady and smooth riding. One thing’s for sure—I don’t want the huge swings and volatile ups and downs. With the … Read More
The Angry Trader Guy
On our trading desk there was a sudden bang, cuss word, and then chair slam. The chair slam is when a trader pushes his chair back into its place with intentional over-velocity. I find this is an underused outburst of trading frustration. It’s better than the hand bang as that can lead to a hand break. A new trader had … Read More
Enhancing Trader Performance Even When It Is Out Of Your Control
*****David Blair, The Crosshairs Trader, is a blogger/trader/educator who does a wonderful job of sharing research on elite performance and how it relates to trading. Below is his latest post for the SMB trading community.***** — Editor’s Note How much control do you have over the success of your next trade? Before you answer that question what will you base … Read More
Scalping the “Good Side” of an Iron Condor
In this week’s options lesson, Seth Freudberg goes over the importance of initiating good-to-cancel contingent orders to close credit spreads when trading iron condors. Enjoy the video! Seth Freudberg Director, SMB Options Training Program The SMB Options Training Program is an eight-month program designed for novice and intermediate level options traders who are seeking an intensive training process to learn … Read More
The Distinction between an Idea and a Trade
I was talking with a new trader in my office with our floor manager trying to get him on track. “How do you think you are doing?” I asked. The new trader said, “I think I am doing a better job of sensing what sectors will move next.” So this is good work but not the whole game as many … Read More