Hi Mike!

Firstly – a big thanks for all you do to give back to the trading community. Your books, videos, and podcast appearances have been a great inspiration and also awesome learning opportunities. A bit of background, I have been trading full time for the past 3 years, at a prop firm and hedge fund (edited).

In March, this year I switched over to day & swing trading the US markets due to the political & economic circumstances in our country which led to a liquidity dry up in our local market – it became impossible to trade! Myself and my battle buddy went through your DNA program and I your trading tools everyday!

Since the switch I have focused most of my energy on my trading development in a new market and adapting to the different conditions and style of trading. I spent a few months on sim and am now working on building a proper trading record to one day approach SMB, and I would like to know what you look for in a record, and even in a trader? What are the big themes you look for? What are big no-no’s for you? What are things you love to see in a trading record? What do you see in a record that makes you say YES – definitely – and NO – definitely NOT. These are general questions I know, but I would like to understand your specific views on them. I would appreciate your guidance to reinforce that I am on the right track, or make corrections in this early stage.

@MikeBellafiore

We want to see that you are trading with edge.

We want to see that you are trading consistently- as we say a CPT.

We want to see a serious time period for trading success.

We want to see that you fit into our culture.

For an intraday trader, it is optimal if you are winning on more than 60 percent of your trading days.  We love seeing your best days 2xs larger than your medium losing days.  Active trading shows us you can trade in and out and around an idea.  Staying within your guardrails, your intraday max loss, is a must.  The ability to make money in different types of stocks receives notice. This shows us you are trading with edge and consistently well.

As you have taken SMB DNA, your overall work product is important to us.  We will ask to see your PlayBook., as taught in SMB DNA  We will want to see a Book of Charts, with noteworthy trading opportunities marked up on a chart with entries and exits.  We will want to see your trading stats in something like Tradevue, with your trades tagged.  Your daily routine to improve and prepare will be examined.  Do you record your trading screens and watch back the most important moments as a best practice?  All of this shows us that you fit into our culture.

As for No-definitely not?  If you made money in one idea and got lucky comes to mind.  If you are not doing the work to improve daily as a trader, will end in a no.

Our experience is that the best students really stand out.

*no relevant positions