After the close we discussed some plays from Stocks In Play yesterday. When we look at a stock we search for patterns. Patterns that repeat. Patterns that make sense to us. Patterns that we can work at to master. So for these three stocks we are making risk/reward trades with the patterns we see. We have a full playbook of … Read More
Reversal Rehearsal
I have noticed recently a lot of money being made on the desk via reversal patterns. A reversal pattern is when a stock that has trended in one direction stops trending and then begins a new trend in the opposite direction. Reversal patterns can be much easier to trade than the initial trend as they usually unfold over a longer … Read More
The myth of the pain threshold
An SMB Trader during his daily review wrote: Today was definitely a day to really pick your spots for initiating trades. I think for the most part I selected the right stocks today but just had trouble managing some of the trades namely in FB and FAST. Something I thought about today after getting stopped out of a FB short … Read More
Is bad really bad? (Part II)
Yesterday I wrote Is bad ready bad? Today we follow up on this idea by looking at the work of legendary traders/investors. Over the past few years I have noticed some good coming out of what I first thought was all bad. When I lost my mom there was at first only loss, but then I recognized some good. When … Read More
When The Price Action Changes–Facebook
Facebook had been an great swing short since Tuesday morning when it made a new post IPO low. It continued to make lower highs and lower lows. The definition of a “downtrend”. You were hard pressed to spot two consecutive green bars on the 15 minute chart and the few times that did occur there was very little volume and … Read More
Facebook Friday And Rocket Science
Despite the fact that the fast majority of those hired by hedge funds and banks these days are literally rocket scientists (PHD’s in Physics, AstroPhysics, Mathematics etc.) trading is NOT rocket science. Of course being good at math and being able to write algorithms doesn’t prevent someone from successful market speculation it just isn’t a prerequisite. On Friday I outlined … Read More
When do I move on from a stock?
It’s time to move on, time to get going What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing But under my feet, baby, grass is growing It’s time to move on, it’s time to get going Tom Petty Bella, Yesterday I got absolutely chopped up in JPM. I could not believe how much I lost in such a short amount … Read More
Learning Some More–Day 2 SXCI
I spent some time yesterday writing how exciting it was to see some traders on the desk add to their game a new trade. Instead of only looking for the quick profit taking a scalp short in a stock gapping higher they looked to capture the larger move to the upside. Here is what I wrote: We urge our desk … Read More