Part of my job as a partner at SMB is keeping an eye on what other traders on our desk are trading. I have a third monitor that is used primarily for this purpose. I find it kind of amusing when a new trader asks for a third monitor. Why would they need a third monitor? So they can spend … Read More
Planting Seeds
One of our traders had a great trading day. He finished negative. The market was up 500 points as the Obama administration unveiled its plan to remove toxic assets from the books of the nation’s banks. BTW we now have traded up 1300 points since the day I left for vacation. This trader did not make many trades … Read More
The Daily Trading Coach- A Must Read
“The Daily Trading Coach- 101 Lessons for Becoming Your Own Trading Psychologist“, written by Dr. Steenbarger is now being shipped by Amazon. We have our orders in at SMB. I cannot wait for my copy to arrive. A few months ago I received an email from Dr. Steenbarger asking me if I would like to participate in his next … Read More
A Traders’ Market
We spend a lot of time on our prop desk focusing on skill development. Trading intraday requires a certain set of skills that take some time to acquire. If you are given good training and work very hard you will develop a set of skills in 6 to 12 months that will allow you to make money in all market … Read More
Getting Back In
Today a new trader asked me a question about getting back in. This new trader got long MS in front of a support level identified by Steve during our AM Meeting. The support level didn’t hold, this new trader exited, and then MS spiked. Sound familiar? Anyway, I was pulled aside to offer some suggestions how to get back into … Read More
Dipping My Toes Back Into the Water
Last week I was in St. Martin working on my tan. I definitely have the best tan on the desk and by far. Of course the week I am away the market rebounds 1000 points. It was like they knew I was taking a vacation. So today was my first day back and I treaded lightly. So I missed all … Read More
Note of Caution On Trading Systems
On my way to San Diego I began reading The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I am still working on the book but I wanted to share some thoughts that can relate to trading. The author discusses how it is in our nature to use past instances that corroborate a hypothesis and use that as evidence to prove … Read More
Thanks Newbie
SMB’s newest trainees have now been trading “live” for four weeks. Before going live they went through an intensive five week program to establish the building blocks for a successful trading career. During the first five weeks of their training they sit near each other on the trading floor. This helps to build a sense of team and encourages them … Read More