A trader on the desk wrote this in his daily review: Took the train home with (redacted, Senior Trader at firm) today, we had a really good chat. Seeing how far he has come and how he views trades. Does Not trade price action so much. He focuses more on his overall idea and trades it loosely. Shorting rallies covering … Read More
How to improve your discipline as a trader
A new trader wrote this to me: Noob (trader here). Two months in with maybe a total of 3 days where I consistently followed my rules. Down about 2k thus far. I am questioning my ability to do this. Mainly because of my lack of discipline in following my rules. There is the old parable about the frog that asks … Read More
When you are trading well…..try this
During a daily review one of the firm’s top traders observed this about this trading: I am feeling confident about my trades, seeing the markets well, and want to leverage this period here to trade aggressively as long as I am staying in sync. Dr. Steenbarger has taught us traders to study, study, study the trading periods when you are … Read More
What are you going to do about it?
Last night a trader sent me a review from a very poor trading day. He wrote: Little mad at myself for not taking 2 of my best setups in UVE below 18 and HCI at 32. Had the alerts go off but didn’t take the trade, and those trades played out to perfection. It definitely got under my skin most … Read More
An anecdote from a developing trader on the prop desk- sizing
One of our developing traders is consistently profitable. Undeniably, he trades with edge. This is a great position to be in. But for some traders it is not sufficient. They are making money, but they are not making enough. And when you are sitting next to and behind 7-figure traders it is not enough. So this trader sought to trade … Read More
What is working for YOU
When I receive emails from new and developing traders they often dwell on what is not working with their trading. They recite with precision exactly what they are doing poorly and with thoughtful reasons for this. Inevitably, they ask for help with these issues. My first response generally is to ask them what they do well. And we then build … Read More
When you are trading too big
When are you trading too big? Recently, while heading outside for a trading break, a developing trader stopped me near the elevator. He gave me a progress report on a new strategy that he was running. I love it. It is unique. He has backtested the strategy and it has edge. No one else on the desk is trading it. … Read More
Snapchat- When to add size
Traders often want to trade bigger. Today SNAP offered an example to me of when and how. I was short Shapchat ($SNAP) intraday and scrolling through the SNAP positions of our other traders on the desk. I felt like I was not big enough in my short. I started to think where I could add to my winning position. First, … Read More