{"id":33719,"date":"2013-11-09T10:05:51","date_gmt":"2013-11-09T15:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?p=33719"},"modified":"2023-04-27T06:47:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T10:47:12","slug":"10-steps-ahead-of-the-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market","title":{"rendered":"10 Steps Ahead of the Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi Mike,<\/p>\n

How’s it going? Hope your family and trading have been well.<\/p>\n

I am improving as a trader. These days I am net positive month on month. However, I’m still not elevating my performance to the level I want it to be. It’s frustrating because I know I’m capable of so much more.<\/p>\n

I want to get my brain to run this routine over and over repeatably in milliseconds every time I spot a trade. That way I can avoid and filter away trading positions that don’t make sense (and realize only later when I get stopped out). Do you think it makes sense?<\/p>\n

Hope to catch you soon in New York\/Singapore!<\/p>\n

And here are my 10 steps:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

When you spot a potential trade, ask yourself: What attracts you about this trade? There must be a logical RR scenario that gets you excited about this trade. Do not trade because you “love this contract”!<\/p>\n

You should now switch into the risk managing mode and think about…<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Price Target (relative long-term chart) that attracts me to the trade (in terms of ticks). Always use a larger timeframe chart to find profit target. This will be your “ideal” scenario (although we all know there is no such thing as ideal in trading).<\/li>\n
  2. Step one (above) can be done if you had planned ahead in identifying key inflection points on both short and long-term charts.<\/li>\n
  3. Given the ideal scenario, get a sense of what type of trade this is. Is this trade a Trade2hold (in which you probably have to be hold the trades for days\/weeks), Short Term Position Trade (STP), Purely Technical Setups, Reversal (catch top\/bottom, with which you also probably have to hold for a substantial period of time given the risk you took initially to \u2018catch\u2019 the top\/bottom, scalp trade, etc.<\/li>\n
  4. The types of trade will allow you to appropriately come up with a trading strategy that suit your risk appetite.<\/li>\n
  5. Is there any way to participate in this trade with a stop loss that is within my risk limits (limit is decided by the type of trade and the RRR of the trade; e.g. trading a reversal trade that has a RRR of 1:7 is justified even if it might requires a wider stop than a short term trend trade for example). There is no “one size fits all” risk limits and rules, but a higher RRR would give enough reasons to be more aggressive.<\/li>\n
  6. Have a stop that would allow you to know when you are wrong and deviates from your scenario you had planned earlier in your rational state. Having such stops will prevent you from not taking losses and preventing you from habits of averaging losers.<\/li>\n
  7. If this price point becomes difficult to ascertain, then you may still trade it if you scale in and pyramid your size gradually into your desired size with a risk limit that suits your risk appetite. This “testing and scaling” way of trading the market will allow you to still participate in runaway markets without compromising your pre-defined risk limit.<\/li>\n
  8. Only when the above have been thought out and plan, can you be allow to place an order.<\/li>\n
  9. At this point, be patient and stick to the plan as close as possible.<\/li>\n
  10. Once you are in the money, decide at which level will you move stop to break even and which level you have<\/em> to take at least x amount of ticks. Never let a big winning trade reverse to become a scratch or worse, A LOSING TRADE. This will allow you to always maintain a winner’s mentality and the mental capital needed for the grueling session ahead.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    @mikebellafiore<\/strong><\/p>\n

    This is excellent work from you. Let me offer some helpful links below for you to consider and then ask the trading community from @stocktwits and @smbcapital to give their feedback.<\/p>\n

    Here is a past blog post that may help you with point 10 and taking risk off as you approach your target<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Here is a Webinar to review to help you determine your Reasons2Sell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Remember to always be willing to adapt as a trader<\/a>. So this 10 step checklist should undergo regular maintenance.<\/p>\n

    To the trading community, what are your thoughts on this 10 step process?<\/p>\n

    \n

    Related blog posts:
    \n     Two Lessons From an Improving Trader<\/a>
    \n    What is the Best Preparation to Be a Trader?<\/a><\/p>\n

    You can be better tomorrow than you are today!<\/p>\n

    Mike Bellafiore<\/p>\n

    One Good Trade<\/em><\/a>
    \n    The PlayBook<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    No relevant positions
    \n    \"tradingworkshop\"<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hi Mike, How’s it going? Hope your family and trading have been well. I am improving as a trader. These days I am net positive month on month. However, I’m still not elevating my performance to the level I want it to be. It’s frustrating because I know I’m capable of so much more. I want to get my brain … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2444,2449,2448,2451,1718,653,2445,1989,1888,207],"class_list":["post-33719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-comments-2","tag-daytrading","tag-how-to-be-a-day-trader","tag-prop-trade","tag-stock-market-course","tag-the-playbook","tag-trader-training","tag-trading-careers","tag-trading-course","tag-trading-school","tag-trading-stocks","no-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\n10 Steps Ahead of the Market | SMB Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Steps Ahead of the Market | SMB Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hi Mike, How’s it going? Hope your family and trading have been well. I am improving as a trader. These days I am net positive month on month. However, I’m still not elevating my performance to the level I want it to be. It’s frustrating because I know I’m capable of so much more. I want to get my brain ... Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SMB Training Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-09T15:05:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-27T10:47:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bella\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@smbcapital\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@smbcapital\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bella\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bella\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161\"},\"headline\":\"10 Steps Ahead of the Market\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-09T15:05:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-27T10:47:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market\"},\"wordCount\":757,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png\",\"keywords\":[\"daytrading\",\"how to be a day trader\",\"prop trade\",\"stock market course\",\"the playbook\",\"trader training\",\"trading careers\",\"trading course\",\"trading school\",\"trading stocks\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General Comments\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market\",\"name\":\"10 Steps Ahead of the Market | SMB Training\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-09T15:05:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-27T10:47:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"10 Steps Ahead of the Market\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SMB Training Blog\",\"description\":\"Lessons from the trading desk\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SMB Training\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Logo-e1658419502954.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Logo-e1658419502954.png\",\"width\":230,\"height\":81,\"caption\":\"SMB Training\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/smbcapital\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/smbcapital\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161\",\"name\":\"Bella\",\"description\":\"Mike Bellafiore is a co-founder of SMB Capital, a day trading firm which takes great pride in its exceptional training program. SMB Capital is an equity prop trading desk that trades on 5th Avenue in New York City. Mr. Bellafiore is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law. He has traded professionally for more than a decade.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/bellas-blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/author\/bella\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 Steps Ahead of the Market | SMB Training","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"10 Steps Ahead of the Market | SMB Training","og_description":"Hi Mike, How’s it going? Hope your family and trading have been well. I am improving as a trader. These days I am net positive month on month. However, I’m still not elevating my performance to the level I want it to be. It’s frustrating because I know I’m capable of so much more. I want to get my brain ... Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market","og_site_name":"SMB Training Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/","article_published_time":"2013-11-09T15:05:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-27T10:47:12+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Bella","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@smbcapital","twitter_site":"@smbcapital","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bella","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market"},"author":{"name":"Bella","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161"},"headline":"10 Steps Ahead of the Market","datePublished":"2013-11-09T15:05:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-27T10:47:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market"},"wordCount":757,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png","keywords":["daytrading","how to be a day trader","prop trade","stock market course","the playbook","trader training","trading careers","trading course","trading school","trading stocks"],"articleSection":["General Comments"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market","name":"10 Steps Ahead of the Market | SMB Training","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png","datePublished":"2013-11-09T15:05:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-27T10:47:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com\/follow_me-c.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/10-steps-ahead-of-the-market#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10 Steps Ahead of the Market"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/","name":"SMB Training Blog","description":"Lessons from the trading desk","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"SMB Training","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Logo-e1658419502954.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Logo-e1658419502954.png","width":230,"height":81,"caption":"SMB Training"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/","https:\/\/x.com\/smbcapital","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/smbcapital"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161","name":"Bella","description":"Mike Bellafiore is a co-founder of SMB Capital, a day trading firm which takes great pride in its exceptional training program. SMB Capital is an equity prop trading desk that trades on 5th Avenue in New York City. Mr. Bellafiore is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law. He has traded professionally for more than a decade.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/bellas-blog"],"url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/author\/bella"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33719"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54601,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33719\/revisions\/54601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}