One of the most iconic images people have of Wall Street is the scene from the first Wall Street film where Gordon Gecko delivers his infamous monologue that begins like this, “Greed, for the lack of a better word, is good”. Since greed and its first cousin fear still drive markets, it does serve a purpose in terms of creating … Read More
Trading Lesson: Why Short on a Large Gap Down? $RAX
In this video I explain why 37 was a good risk/reward short trade in RAX today. The conversation took place during our AM Meeting in which I prepare our traders and subscribers to trade the Open. Steven Spencer is the co-founder of SMB Capital and SMB University which provides trading education in stocks, and options. He has traded professionally for … Read More
The Case for Wider Option Spreads
When analyzing a vertical based credit spread, including iron condors and butterflies, the first question that usually comes up is where to place the short strike. In a distant second usually comes the question of where to place the long strike, that is how wide the spread will be. This leaves some analysis to be done on using more contracts … Read More
The Importance of a Well-Thought-Out Trade Plan
Have you watched “Star Trek: The Next Generation”? One of my favorite episodes is when the Enterprise gets into a battle with The Borg. The USS Enterprise is getting hammered. Fires are breaking out, sparks are flying everywhere and people are running around screaming. Then there’s the Captain Picard, sitting in the Captains chair, confidently doing the tasks that will … Read More
Enhancing Trader Performance with Brett Steenbarger
*****David Blair, The Crosshairs Trader, is a blogger/trader/educator who does a wonderful job of sharing research on elite performance and how it relates to trading. Below is his latest post for the SMB trading community.***** — Editor’s Note In the past week Brett Steenbarger, well-known trader and psychologist, announced his return to the blogosphere from a multi-year hiatus. For years, Dr. Steenbarger … Read More
Who Has Made The Most Money in 2014
As a partner of a trading desk I get to observe many different trading strategies at work. One of the most interesting aspects of this to me is seeing which traders at any given point in time are pulling money out of the market. Five weeks into 2014 and three separate groups have done extremely well. And they have done … Read More
Trade Review: Using Volume on S&P 500 Scalp
Marc Principato, CMT explains how traders at SMB use our proprietary volume analysis tool to master scalp trades. This example shows an actual trade taken in the S&P futures, but can be applied to forex also. — Marc Principato, CMT Risk Disclaimer *No Relevant Positions
Unveiling the Love Story of Options Trading: Confessions of an Options Geek
We had an ice storm on the East Coast this week that knocked my Internet service off the grid and shut down electricity throughout the area, and so I wandered through the city whose infrastructure had failed me as snow and ice fell around me. From home to office to a soccer-mom-filled Starbucks, I finally made it to my daughter’s … Read More