As I write I am debating whether to trade RIMM or GS. GS is in play because of the news that the bailout may not happen. RIMM reported last night and showed unusual weakness. SMB traded RIMM in afterhours yesterday and chopped it up. So I have a feel for what to look for this AM from RIMM. But we … Read More
Be in the Stock When It’s Moving
As we have mentioned previously in my blog some have emailed me with concerns that program trading will rule trading soon. The market will never displace the disciplined independent trader. What is certain is that programs mandate that you adjust your trading and more selectively choose your entry points. Let’s take a look at ELN from yesterday to illustrate this … Read More
A Trade You Must Be In
On our desk there are trades that you must be in. There are setups that if offered by the market you must exploit. You should have a list of the trades that you must be in. And if this trade results in a loss you are not annoyed. In fact you are grateful for the opportunity. There are trades where … Read More
A Great Day for Two New Traders
Yesterday was a great day for our prop trading desk. My partner and our head trader killed it. One of our new traders who was a former Olympic trial swimmer put up a huge day. And on and on and on. But I want to highlight two of our new traders because we can all learn from them. For those … Read More
The Right Stocks
A trader is only as good as the stocks that they are trading. Recently, a bunch of guys on our desk have made money trading CHK and HK. They were making nice chops every day. Sometimes its hard to let go of stock that you have been consistently making money in. But it is essential for this job to recognize … Read More
Take Advantage of this Opportunity
Our new traders love to hear “back in the day” stories. You know the late 90’s when day traders were making 6 figures a month. What was the most you ever made in one day is a frequent question. And I tell our prop traders the story about when the Fed cut rates surprisingly intraday by 50 basis points. Now … Read More
Are You Making Money?
We teach our day trading desk, SMB Capital, in New York City to check to see which stocks they are making money in. I supposed a new prop trader reading this might say, “How could I not know that? Or that seems like a complete waste of time.” You would be surprised. The human mind is a funny thing. It does not … Read More
Go Home Flat
We teach our day traders at SMB Capital to flatten out before the Close. We do so because they are learning how to trade and are not ready to take positions for extended periods of time. At the start of your career you should learn how to trade. Not load up on a position and hope for the best. Well … Read More