Have you watched “Star Trek: The Next Generation”? One of my favorite episodes is when the Enterprise gets into a battle with The Borg. The USS Enterprise is getting hammered. Fires are breaking out, sparks are flying everywhere and people are running around screaming. Then there’s the Captain Picard, sitting in the Captains chair, confidently doing the tasks that will … Read More
Risk Tolerance VS Risk Capacity
To be successful at trading, long term, it’s extremely important that our risk tolerance is in line with our risk capacity. Risk “tolerance” has to do with the amount of draw down we can withstand prior to the loss psychologically effecting our trading. Risk “capacity” has to do with the amount of draw down we can withstand prior to the … Read More
Trading with Fear and Anxiety
It’s important to understand the difference between fear and anxiety when we’re trading. Legitimate fear is our friend. Legitimate fear serves a warning to tell us something’s wrong. It’s the signal to be alert , to review our positions and plans. If we find something wrong, we can fix it. If not we let go of it and move on. … Read More
This Week’s Top Posts
A busy week in the market with our first legit pull back since early October. All of the below posts deal with process, which is the only path to longevity for most successful traders. Also, check out the short video Bella created offering a sneak peak at the SMB mentoring program entitled “The DNA of Successful Trading”. Six Reasons Traders … Read More
Enhancing Trader Performance: Deliberate Trading
*****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 The principles espoused in the concept known as deliberate practice can greatly benefit the trader who wants to take his or her … Read More
Solving the #1 Trading Frustration (Video On Demand)
In our most recent webinar Steve Spencer, co-founder of SMB, shared some solutions for the #1 Trading Frustration: Adapting to changing market conditions. In this jam-packed, illuminating session we covered: 1) The #1 Big Picture setup for 2013 and whether to make that trade in 2014 2) The most recent change in US equities markets and the setups to trade … Read More
Six Reasons Traders Fail That Most Traders Don’t Think About
1. Lack of direction. Traders often fail to establish clear goals and create plans to achieve those goals. When traders fail to develop complete business and trading plans before entering the market they are setting themselves up for failure. 2. Impatience. This occurs when traders try to accomplish too much too soon, or expect to get results far faster than is truly possible. … Read More
From Here You Can Become a Really Good Trader
During our recent webinar Solving Your Top Five Trading Frustrations I was asked: What should a new trader expect from their P&L? The video below is instructive in answering this question. It was shared by an SMBU Trading Community member. A Chinese bamboo tree takes five years to start growing—and then in five weeks it can grow 90 feet high. This … Read More