It was good to get back to work today. Glad to put the low volume holiday trading in the rear view mirror. And looking to see how we start the year. Today was the first day of our January class. Nine talented, eager, new trainees. I saw two working way too hard today as Steve and I left. Steve and … Read More
Picking Your Tier Size, Part I
Happy new year to you all! I have spent some of the last few days off thinking about my trading and things I need to improve this year. While watching my archive of tapes in the days that I struggle I have found some inconsistency with my tier size. I have seen this problem in a couple of our guys … Read More
Trading Goals for 09
Happy New Year! At this time of the year many traders are drafting their goals for the new year. This is a good exercise. I believe in work. I believe that progress takes time. But all progress must start with a thoughtful, and ambitious plan. I have seen mediocre traders become great. I have seen poor traders become excellent. I … Read More
That’s NOT a Short!
Yesterday one of our most improved traders was trading GS. Great stock to be in. Great job of being in when many were taking off. This talented young trader, let’s call him MROD, developed a detailed trading plan for GS. MROD saw that 80 was resistance on the longer term chart in GS, remembered that the last time it … Read More
ROH Bounce
ROH tanked on the Open yesterday. Fading it on the long side was like trying to catch a falling knife. And many of you have heard the Street expression “don’t catch a falling knife.” These tank jobs in ROH happen everyday. As we discussed during our SMB AM Meeting, it is a mistake for a new trader to try and … Read More
Holiday Trading
I did it again. I do not know what is wrong with me. I definitely have a problem. I had about 15 cookies last nite. Delicious! I just can’t stop. If I eat one then I will eat 15. I went to three XMAS parties this week. That was one too many. I did not trade very much last week. … Read More
Learning from “Outliers”
One of the great lessons of trading is how little you know. You must constantly learn. I have to admit I didn’t quite understand what a credit swap was till recently. I was in an interview with a very bright young woman who explained to me what she did as a credit derivatives trader. I didn’t get the whole thing … Read More
Why Trade Stocks in Play?
SMB Capital trades Stocks in Play. Our traders are taught how to find such stocks. And during our SMB AM Meeting we review the best Stocks in Play for a particular trading day. Over the past few years I’ve had quite a few conversations with interviewees, including “experienced traders”, about this core trading philosophy. Some don’t seem to grasp the … Read More