I tweeted the following this afternoon: there is “easy money” and “hard money” in trading. your longevity is determined by which one you choose to pursue…$$ I had quite a few responses. Some traders pointed out trading is not easy. And of course I agree with this. Trading successfully requires thousands of hours of practice and skill development. But once … Read More
Is bad really bad? (Part II)
Yesterday I wrote Is bad ready bad? Today we follow up on this idea by looking at the work of legendary traders/investors. Over the past few years I have noticed some good coming out of what I first thought was all bad. When I lost my mom there was at first only loss, but then I recognized some good. When … Read More
SMB Fundamental #1: Proper Preparation
Last month I wrote a post about SMB Fundamental #7–Reviewing Your Important Trades. Today I would like to discuss #1–Proper Preparation. All trading success begins with proper preparation and that is why it is #1 on our list of trading principles that must be followed for each trade. Part of my morning pre-market preparation is to review the price action … Read More
Traders Ask: How ’bout that cover? (ANR)
Hi Mike, you have been very generous to answer a couple of my questions in the past, I am hoping you can offer some insight on what I find is a common trading dilemma. I traded the following setup this morning. I went short ANR at 19.95 at 9:47. Briefly my idea was: 1. ANR has been in play the last … Read More
Don’t let C-B trades cloud your judgments in A trades (PCX)
This is a guest post from one of our traders, SW, about his trading day from Tuesday: A senior trader CB came to me after the close in regards of my recent performance. I expressed my frustration and disgust in missing an “A trade”. At SMB, we are taught to grade our trading setups A, B, and C, for purposes … Read More
Reviewing the SMB Archives
In August and early September, the market seemed to rotate around two distinct type of trading days: 1. The momentum panic day, driven by major news, with lots of volume in the SPY 2. An uptrending grind or ‘melt-up’, characterized by a wide ranges, low volume and steep pullbacks that would shake a lot of traders out but seldom break … Read More
What I learned from my summer internship at SMB
A guest post from one of our summer interns, Chan, practicing his trading skills on the demo while back in school. I interned at SMB this summer and left with a lot of information and skills. I was taught a lot of things, I learned how to read the tape, the psychology of trading, how to control my emotions while … 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