It can be a rough and cruel world out there in the markets. The competition is high, people are cutthroat, and the markets are never easy. Sometimes it can feel like a feral jungle, with danger lurking everywhere. You want to give yourself every edge and extra chances to succeed, but what really makes the difference? Simple: A mentor. In … Read More
Tricky Dicky
It was a very quiet morning in the world of “In Play” stocks. The only two tickers showing signs of life in the pre-market were DKS and GNW. After reporting earnings DKS lowered guidance which was causing a large gap to a major support area around 46.50. We were prepared for a bounce from this level given the strong underlying … Read More
How and Where to Get Bigger ($DKS)
Below is a Trade Management slide from a PlayBook trade of an SMB Trader. As I discuss in The PlayBook, our traders archive a favorite setup from the trading session for their trading PlayBook. Looking at the trader’s markup below, we should review an opportunity to get bigger in this position. Shorting below an Opening Range of a Stock In … Read More
When Should I Sell?
Hi Bella, I just have to start off as I always do and thank you and SMB for providing excellent trading education and training. Alright now to my question(s). When trading the open, when do you decide that you should hold a core position especially since there isn’t trend in the first 30 mins of the day? Do you decide … Read More
Are You Still Focusing on Longer Term Intraday Trades?
Hi Bella, I just finished reading your book One Good Trade and I wanted to thank you for writing it. I am trying to learn the craft of trading, and I found it to be entertaining and educational. Toward the end of the book you mention how in 2009 and 2010 you started moving toward longer term intraday positions and even … Read More
The Intraday Swing Entry
In October 2009 I began talking to our desk about “Intraday Swing Trading”. This discussion was preceded by about six months of mounting frustration from a large group of traders. Our desk at the time consisted largely of traders we trained in 2007-2008 a time of extreme volatility in the market that favored a very aggressive style of momentum trading. … Read More
One Good Pitch: Learning from Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera’s career path can teach us about our trading. I remember when Mo was not Mo, the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball, and with One Good Pitch: the cutter. If you are not as good of a trader as your ambition Mo’s journey could inspire you. My dad and I were sitting behind home plate, right … Read More
It Was Fun While It Lasted
Two weeks ago while on vacation I wrote this market-related post, wondering if the most recent down move would lead to a higher level of market volatility or simply retrace and be back to business as usual. Well, it appears that we have our answer as it is back to the #NewNormal. In the past four trading days the SPY … Read More