We had a Spencer Special again today using the Radar (these happen a lot). As we have said in the past, at 10:30am we look for stocks that are trending. We use the Radar to scan for In Play stocks that are consolidating near important levels. This allows for proper risk management (stops that make sense). Today we noticed $BEN … Read More
Free Options Webinar: SMB’s Options Tribe: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 5pm EDT: Butterflies and Long Stock Positions
Tuesday September 27, 2011 at 5:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time SMB’s Options Tribe is an online community of options traders dedicated to sharing successful options trading ideas with all of our members worldwide. Each week the community will meet online for the primary purpose of watching live presentations made by outstanding veteran options traders and experts in the world of … 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
The Pre-market Tell
I am really starting to sound a lot like Bella these days. When he lectures our trainees he tends to repeat himself over and over and over again. My style tends to be more like “this is the concept–good luck” (maybe not that bad:) I didn’t fill out a lot of “blue books” in college and law school. I like … Read More
Opportunity, Opportunity, Opportunity
As a day trader this is what you live and train for…opportunity! Be alert, be keen, and be prepared to exploit the opportunities. Today’s action provided trades and set-ups galore to set your sights on and use your arsenal. You had “In Play” stocks like ANR and HPQ offering both tape reading and level trades. There were relative strength plays … Read More
Bears Don’t Exist, Think Like a Bull
This is a guest post from Fred Barnes aka @DCDaytrader: I recently had a conversation with a few somewhat novice traders. For us traders who don’t have the 2007-2008 market experience on our resumes, we’re looking at the recent market activity in awe. Watching the quote screen (of the $ES_F) in August (2011) required the skills of a speed reader. … Read More
Leveraging the talent of your trading community
I have a confession. I hate being the face of SMB. It is not in my DNA. If we were playing pickup basketball I would be the point guard and not the scorer. You may have noticed when SMB goes on CNBC I stay at the office. I pray to the trading gods everyday for Steve to become increasingly noticed, … Read More
Sizing and Entries in This Volatile Market
Surviving as a professional day trader means adapting to the ever changing conditions you’re presented with. In this volatile market how you size your positions at entry is so important. If you think you can still set stops tight like you did when the VXX was in the teens you will miss a lot of nice moves because you got … Read More