My KISS job description of day trading: “Figure out what they are buying or selling and then find an entry”. I come to the screen everyday with that thought firmly implanted and visualized. Find something they are buying and get long; find something being sold and get short.. simple. I mean even Forrest Gump could understand that. I don’t allow … Read More
If you love the level you have to reshort
Before the open we identified 55.80 as an important level in RIMM. I will let you decide how important this level was to you. But I will make an important trading point. If you love a level then you have to be willing to trade off of this level a few times. RIMM is an excellent example from today. Many … Read More
Traders Ask: When Do We Switch From Momentum to a Position Trade?
Bella, I have attached a couple plays from this week. I don’t have the the tape for them but I explain it with the arrows. I also had a quick question. Today i my worst day trading NYX. There was so much volume done in a tight range that I expected an explosive move up once the stock showed its … Read More
Find the Least Competitive Stocks (Part II)
“Least Competitive?” At first blush it sounds almost like admitting defeat. Come on, I’m a trader. In order to make it in this profession and derive a good living I have to be able to bang with the big boys right? Let me give you one of the analogies that I use when mentoring that may coax you to think in … Read More
Loss Aversion and Irrational Focus
A passage from The Economist that may help our trading- The referee’s an anchor: A new book looks at the behavioral economics of sport “Loss aversion”, the tendency for people to care more about avoiding a loss than about making a similar-sized gain, is rife even among the greatest champions. Evidence from a huge database of near-identical putts shows that, along with … Read More
Knowing when a stock should move can be more important than picking its direction
Most traders make a whole lot about picking the direction of a stock. A very important skill talked little about is knowing when a stock should move. After you see something of the Tape you know the stock is now likely to move. We saw that a few times in PCX. Sometimes this skill is more important than actually picking … Read More
Traders Ask: How Do You Detect Overconfidence?
Hi guys After a rotten 12 months I’ve had a cracker of a month not just with the recent bull run but with the preceding drop also. This has occurred after stepping back, refining a trading entry methodology based around volume (exit and money management are already in place) and focusing on this play. Obviously I’m proud of myself, but pride … Read More
The Shake, GMan, the Newbs and ETP
50.50 was the important technical level we were hawking in ETP. Stock In Play. We have our level. ETP opens below, does tons of volume just below the level, and then holds above 50.50. Long right? Easy right? Well if only trading were that easy. Yes we want to be long. But can we stay in the long while responsibly controlling … Read More