I had an interesting meeting yesterday evening with SMB’s options trainees reviewing yesterday’s meltdown and the affect it had on their options positions. We spent the whole meeting dissecting trades that the options trainees had made during the day. breaking down what went right and wrong with each one and why. It was a great meeting–real traders faced with the … Read More
Free Options Webinar–SMB’s Options Tribe: Today at 5:00 PM–Multiple Monthly Butterfly Strategy
Tuesday August 9, 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
When you deserve to be screamed at as a trader
A partner looks up at his scoreboard, which tracks the performance of traders, and sees one trader particularly in the Red. And it’s getting worse. He clicks on the trader’s ID and sees an open long position 1 point out of the money. The market is broken bad below SPY 125 on the Open. What’s worse is the firm has … Read More
You might not be so good at dodging bullets the second time around
In our options training program, we spend a good deal of time working on high probability iron condor strategies. A high probability iron condor is one of the simplest and most popular options strategies, but it also, in my opinion, is one of the most dangerous. As with most dangerous strategies, it is a deceptively attractive and simple trade. An … Read More
Traders Ask: How Do I Develop Conviction?
I have a question for you: Is conviction something you have to earn?? I know the question is almost rhetorical. But I listen to the older/experienced traders before, during, and after the market on the Virtual Trading Floor and I hear the word conviction getting thrown around a lot. Especially when I’m listening to Marc Sperling. When Sperling is doing his … Read More
When Charts Don’t Tell the Truth – $HUM $AGP
Yesterday HUM was In Play on earnings. It traded lower, much lower – in fact it had about a 7 point down move from the open. A number of traders on the desk did well in HUM, I wasn’t one of them. Looking back at the chart I saw a lot of different trades that could or should have been … Read More
A theory on why you fade when you shouldn’t
I know an excellent trader who underperformed today mainly trading PCS. He faded the weakest stock in the market and now sits frustrated, dejected and angry. Pass him on a desk and you would see his cheeks red and the scowl of a defensive end ready to rip the head off of the opposing QB. I do not mean to … Read More
I had to make an adjustment
All traders deal with frustration. One of my biggest frustrations recently has been my inability to open positions in the pre-market because I am preparing or running the SMB AM meeting. I was watching setup after setup unfold in the pre-market and unable to take advantage. I’m sure more than a few people noticed me grumbling about this on our … Read More