Today in our SMB Real-Time I chatted that I liked the EBAY setup. It had formed an intraday bull flag. I started asking traders around me if they were in it, which is my way of hinting perhaps they should be. A few were. I asked a few of the guys how big they were. This is my way of … Read More
The Entitled Trader
Peter Shankman, founder of HARO, wrote an interesting post today on the poison of entitlement. There is nothing worse than entitlement. It reeks of caustic, old-way-of-doing-things attitude. It screams “Don’t you know who I am?” And nothing, absolutely nothing, can ruin your chances faster, both in life or in business. This is a great lesson for us as traders. You … Read More
Are You a Pro or Piker?
There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny. I spent most of Easter immensely enjoying The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. For traders there is a wonderful section from which we can learn that defines the difference between being a professional and an amateur. We might say at … Read More
What is Your Mission Statement?
I had the privilege to visit a prestigious US hedge fund this week. I just cannot shake this one image. We, 4 of us from SMB, arrive from NYC in Greenwich in my family SUV. You pass the private airport so close to Westchester and Southern, CT . The four of us joke about the SMB private jet, that can take you … Read More
Is There Power in Negative Thinking?
Is it productive to think negatively as a trader? Bobby Knight, National Collegiate Hall of Fame coach, thinks so. Coach Bobby Knight says that when he first started coaching one of the worst things he would hear was “It will be O.K.” Not only that, Knight says, as he did in a recent New York Times interview, that “the worst … Read More
What do you do when your strategies stop working?
Hello Mike, I have an interesting question for you. Its about the life cycle of a trade set up. I’ve realized that like businesses trading setups are also cyclical. There will be periods where the set up produces an edge, and there will be periods when the set up is not producing an edge. Does this mean the setup no longer … Read More
How happy should you be?
Should we seek to be happy all-the-time as a trader? No, says the research. Eric Barker, at his Barking Up the Wrong Tree blog, asks a question: “Should we try to be happy all the time?” It’s a good question and he answers it with one word: no. Now, he isn’t knocking happiness. He’s only pointing that context matters and … Read More
NFLX Buyers Running the Show
In yesterday’s AM Meeting we talked about NFLX. It appeared to be getting ready for an explosive move. The narrowing of its trading range as well as several tests of both the top and bottom of the range set it up for a large move when it finally broke. I laid out the bear case on a break through 180/179 … Read More