Good evening Bella! I wanted to fire off a quick email to you, and if you had time to respond or post it, I would greatly appreciate it. I just need some input from someone who has observed intraday traders for years to gauge where I’m at. I started prop trading last August, so it’s been nine months. Before that I … Read More
How Do I Trade the Breakout Trade Better?
Below is an email exchange between me and an SMB Reader, who is a pretty good trader. We discuss how to improve his Breakout Trade attack. This blog post ends with related past posts. SMB Reader Mike, The Thursday after you visited the big CT hedge fund you very briefly mentioned, “They play all breakouts the same way, paying up over … Read More
The Technology Edge of Proprietary Trader, Steve Austin
CNNMoney came to visit us this week to do a spot on our desk’s NEW technology edge. I am the guy showing off the balding back of my head. You may have read recently about our JV with KTG in Midtown NYC of late that breeds this new technology edge. I wanted to explain in more detail the importance of … Read More
The Hustling Trader
The NBA playoffs are here and listening to elite coaches coach can help us as traders. The best coaches gloss over who led the team in scoring (P&L?) and stress “hustle plays”. These hustle plays can make the difference between a win or a loss at this highest level of competition. That got me to thinking about our game. What … Read More
$FB – Gap and Go Trade
Here is an example of a pro trader breaking down a Gap and Go Trade in $FB the day of earnings. Mike Bellafiore The PlayBook One Good Trade no relevant positions
Starting a Prop Desk
Hi Mike, I have a couple of questions that I would like to ask you. First, what is the success rate of new traders once they go through the SMB program? And second, in your opinion what would be the ideal number to start a trading floor with? I realize you might refer to how much capital is available but … Read More
Understanding Market Structure
Hi Mike, 1. Trade only the MOST in play stocks in the beginning as they have the best chance to move regardless of market action. 2. Wait for the market to break previous day’s range or some similar range from previous couple days trading. 3. Establish the the market itself is in play. Is there significant economic news, political unrest, … Read More
And The Answer is… Trade Less
I have a question, but here is the background. I have a VERY small trading account as a trader for a Prop firm. It is an account with $16,000 in buying power and a 40-share max with a $25 loss limit (I’m in my firm’s 18 month trading program and started with a $2,000 account and account grows as your … Read More