Why did I make this trade ($MGM)?

BellaGeneral Comments

I made a trade in MGM today, and instantly self-talked: “Uhm, why I am in this trade?” It was not a trade that I trade well. It is not a trade that fits my personality. It is not a trade that extenuates my strengths. Why? Why? Why? We make progress as traders when we stop making trades that do not … Read More

A trick to trade bigger

BellaGeneral Comments

“If you can’t sling around 80k shares than why bother?”- Trader Anonymous On the desk this past week one Senior Trader hit 80k shares for a scalp and a few junior guys giggled at seeing a trader take such size. It was a scalp. And it was a scalp in a stock under $2. So let’s put the size in … Read More

Trading lesson learned from a large loss

BellaGeneral Comments

I am proud of a trader on our desk. He got stopped out in FNSR.  In a trade that he should not have made.  The trade is too fast for him. (Learn more about trading edge in this video.) He violated his stop loss. He got caught like a deer in headlights as the trade went against him. That is … Read More

It’s never just patience

BellaGeneral Comments

Often I hear traders decry their lack of patience.  If they were only more patient, they would win. From my seat, there is more to add to these thoughts of trading frustration. You might hear commonly on a trading desk, “I JUST need to wait for my levels.”  Again the idea is if trader just waits for his levels he … Read More

The first test for a new trader

BellaGeneral Comments

You get hired for June on a trading desk. You take The Foundation, a 6 week course.  You learn everything you didn’t learn in school, the internet, blogs, cable TV (just kidding), your uncle, and/or trading gurus about the markets necessary to place professional trades. Then it’s on to Trader Development where for the next 6 months you experiment with … Read More

Boring old habits

BellaGeneral Comments

Ray Allen, former NBA basketball great and UConn alumn, penned a letter to his younger self with the advice: stick to your boring old habits.  He wrote movingly: You’ll win a championship in Boston. You’ll win another in Miami. The personalities on those two teams will be different, but both teams will have the same thing in common: habits. Boring … Read More