I spent some time yesterday writing how exciting it was to see some traders on the desk add to their game a new trade. Instead of only looking for the quick profit taking a scalp short in a stock gapping higher they looked to capture the larger move to the upside. Here is what I wrote: We urge our desk … Read More
Buy, sell, move on
Below is an argument from a trader on our desk not to hold stocks during this earnings season. The trader suggests to get in and out and not expect much follow through with stocks to the upside. Kind of a frustrating market day because the market is slowly grinding higher throughout the day but individual stocks don’t really make hods. … Read More
Should I bench this trader?
A few weeks ago a developing trader on our desk sent me his trading review for the day. He had traded at least 15 stocks and was negative in nearly all of them. I responded: There is no reason for you to trade more than 8 stocks. Set that as a rule. You have to see the big picture and … Read More
This is a trader’s fault
I received this trading recap from an SMB Trader: I love these types of days where I can keep my tickets really low and keep 95% of what i gross. For some reason when I trade from home, i don’t over trade and am able to keep my tickets really low. maybe because i have other responsibilities when i stay home like … Read More
Five Suggestions for Traders
I was in my office today working on my next book The PlayBook when I got pinged with this from the trading community: Mike, what do you do when you’re a practicing trader, working, saving, and studying to begin trading live, and you feel your motivation begin to peter out. You have this goal but the road there seems like … Read More
The First Lesson of Trading: You Stink
A trader on our desk shared this email sent to him by another trader on our desk. It offers a great lesson to the new and developing trader based on the work of Dr. Steenbarger and a trader’s individual experience. I was reading the first chapter of Enhancing Trader Performance by Dr Steenbarger today and I realized that I was … Read More
Trading Lesson: The Bear Trap–Ouch!
A large part of successful trading is understanding how others are positioned in a stock and using that information to your advantage. One of the most common triggers for opening a short position in day trading is a drop of multi-day support. The idea being that many longs will have stop orders below this level, which will lead to a … Read More
A Quick Lesson in Tape Reading (ESRX)
I was long ESRX. It had gapped up on positive news. The first moves on the tape in the stock were positive. I liked the move above the open high. I liked the way it moved away from prices. I liked that above 56.50 provided a clear entry if it held above. The idea was shared on SMB Real Time: … Read More