Bella, A couple quick questions on EDU based on what you were discussing in the meeting after the close: I was watching EDU and felt that the 15.70 level was more important intraday support than 15.50. The push down to 15.50 happened simultaneously with the market exhausting its downtrend before pulling back, and at the time it looked like EDU … Read More
Trading Bigger (GMCR)
GMCR from 7/16 Where to add size on this play? I thought about it all day and discussed it with a number of other traders. One camp was “be big at 19.20, the 2nd time, at 11:20am with an out in the mid 30s”. I can’t totally agree with this. I don’t think you can get that big there, responsibly. … Read More
Should you quit trading?
Hey Mike, How are you? Everything at SMB going well? Life outside of work is good? If you have the time, I could use some advice. I have now been trading about 10 months at (firm deleted) and learning from one of the best traders. For our style of trading, the firm as a whole finds this to be one … Read More
I felt a rip coming
I caught a scalp for the first downmove in DSW. I caught the upmove from above 52.12 to near 53. And I caught the downmove from below 52.50 to 51.65. I looked at my PnL and I was barely positive. How is that possible? I was not trading DSW on the open with size as it was so early and … Read More
One day on the street with a professional trader
In the article Book Takes a Look Inside Professional Day Traders, national columnist Joel Stein is spotted $100,000 to try his hand at professional intraday trading for one day. Matt Nadell, @tradecrushers, a guest blogger at SMBU Blog, in Chicago gives Joel a taste of the nerve-wrecking excitement that trading can offer while teaching him basics along the way. Highlights: … 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?
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 my dad had a stroke it was at first so horrible, but then some good. When we lost a mess of traders … Read More
A sad anecdote of a failed trader
I received this email from a trader this week: Hey Mike, We talked awhile ago, about how your book “One Good Trade” has helped me and my 5 friends on the trading desk at our prop trading firm($$$$ Capital). I have been trading for about 12 months total and about 6 months live. I have found that your website blogs … Read More