So we have all these uber smart guys walking around our desks at SMB. And they are always asking for more. “Bella how about a review of the best set ups of the month?” Steve is doing that as I write. I already have learned these set ups so I get to sit it out. Plus I picked out … Read More
Can You Just Play as a Trader?
If POT breaks 112 then I will get long. If RIMM hits 65 I will start a long term short. If MON gets above 70 then I will get long and try and stay long till 74. If AAPL breaks 205 I will whack the bids and play the downside momentum. All of these are example of excellent trading plans … Read More
Catching the Opening Drive
Trading the open is a high risk/ high reward game. The moves can be bigger and quicker, but if you are on the wrong side, the rip can really hurt. Whereas patience and conviction payoff on longer term trades, aggressiveness and flexibility are the skills that help short term traders capitalize on the volatility right on the open. Yesterday AM, … Read More
What a Strong Stock Looks Like
DE was a strong stock this AM. I blog this point besides DE being at its 52 week high. And save that DE was up over 2 1/2 points. There was a telling movement on the open from 51.50 to 51 which foreshadowed a new intraday high to visit. Let’s discuss. SPY 111.50 is an important intraday level. We … Read More
Ten Interview Tips for Proprietary Trading
Written 11/13/09 It is recruiting season for SMB again. That means some long trips, like the one I am on now, stuck on a train Friday night between Providence and New Haven. I actually got on the early train mistakenly and am in danger of getting booted off the train at New Haven. Seriously, the Amtrak ticket collector (that is … Read More
Buy the Tanking Futures Program
When trading we watch a stock’s corresponding futures or index. For MON the stock I was trading on the Open, SPY is my corresponding index. Generally when SPY trades higher MON should and when SPY trades lower then MON should follow. I say generally and this was not the case at one very important moment today. Again MON was very … Read More
Sharing Information
When we started SMB Capital not even four years ago we set out to do four things: 1) provide the best intraday training on the Street. 2) offer a payout that was fairer than I had received to our traders. 3) create a culture of perpetual learning, where we all learned from each other. 4) share valuable trading information. Many … Read More
HFT and the Effects on the Markets
I am writing an article for SFO magazine on HFT (High Frequency Trading) and its effects on the markets. For me the most glaring change are the plays that no longer work. Specifically paying for a new high in a stock and playing for upside momentum. Too often the result of paying for the new high is a seller sticking … Read More