A peak into our trading desk in NYC…

There are three guys I really like on our desk that have a chance.

They work.

They care.

One has surpassed the monthly PnL number that signifies a real chance to make it by 4x.  Another was first in his class to hit that number (can’t share number….compliance).  The last has hit that number 2xs in one day.  So these guys have ability.

But……they all struggle with trading on tilt.  A bad day can become worse.

So our Floor Manager and I met with all three in our conference room today.

“Does anyone in this room not believe they suffer from trading on tilt?” I asked.

No answer.

“Do you all know what it feels like when you are trading on tilt?” I asked next.

They all did.

We laid out their rule.

This idea came to me reading The Power of Habit and an anecdote about how Starbucks trained an employee to deal with hostile customers.  The employee was stellar save a moment when he got flummoxed by an irrational walk-in.  Let’s just say that the employee responded badly.  Starbucks concluded this occurred because the employee was not properly trained and thus taught him how to handle such a situation.  That is what I am attempting to do with this rule.

The rule:

If you feel on tilt, set your stops and go for a ten minute walk.

If you struggle trading on tilt consider this rule for your trading.  I hope that helps.

“You can be better tomorrow than you are today!”

Mike Bellafiore is the Co-Founder of SMB Capital and SMBU, which provides trading education in stocks, options, forex and futures. Bella is the author of One Good Trade and The PlayBook.

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