{"id":43712,"date":"2016-05-30T15:59:52","date_gmt":"2016-05-30T19:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/?p=43712"},"modified":"2021-05-06T16:29:17","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T20:29:17","slug":"must-i-time-my-trades-properly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly","title":{"rendered":"Must I time my trades properly?"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p>Mike,<\/p>\n<p>I just joined SMBU and I&#8217;m half-way though all the lectures and I like it a lot.<\/p>\n<p>Bluntly, \u00a0I&#8217;m a piker. \u00a0I&#8217;ve failed numerous attempts at trading and blown through a lot of money&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m trying to apply your best set up\/idea concept to his strategy&gt; \u00a0the best example can be the BABA trade on 5\/25\/16. \u00a0SEC investigation into BABA earnings\/revenue, but the technical setup was that it closed on the previous day&#8217;s high \u00a0and gapped below the previous bar low. \u00a0 (Trading educator elsewhere) calls \u00a0that a kicker pattern because all the longs are trapped and have to exit and with SEC investigation, as you know, some funds have to sell. \u00a0I hit the first inside 5 minute bar and down and took off half my position almost equal to the inside bars range, because if I were to get stopped out it would be a free trade. \u00a0Well, I got stop out though 77.77 on another inside 5 minute bar and up. \u00a0But the real trade was hitting the 30minute shooter star and the inside 60 minute(bottom of the hour 60m) \u00a0down two hours later.<\/p>\n<p><strong>My question is, isn&#8217;t time and timing as important than any indicator?\u00a0<\/strong> When I was at (firm deleted) I would hit my daily stop loss at the opening and then the stock would trade in my favor later in the morning. \u00a0The BABA trade, I was expecting the move off the inside 5 to be the real trade because I&#8217;ve seen moves like this before and hit my targets in a flash. It&#8217;s the AM and the news is not good, institutions have to sell.<\/p>\n<p>I know my argument and plan is valid; and I know I need to protect myself. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But, it&#8217;s frustrating when some set ups work effortlessly, while others take their time and test your patience. \u00a0Yes, the inside 60 minute was the real trade to initiate and then add to with additional actionable signals. \u00a0I have patience issue because I want my stock to move \u00a0in my favor immediately or I&#8217;m out. \u00a0I expect something to happen immediately or why would I take a trade? \u00a0I don&#8217;t want to buy on support and wait, which seems like an eternity, for everyone to make up their minds and what they want to do. \u00a0I don&#8217;t like sitting in traffic especially when I&#8217;m in the passengers seat.<\/p>\n<p>Shouldn&#8217;t timing matter most and shouldn&#8217;t your position do something immediately?<\/p>\n<p>*I know I&#8217;ll never be a 100k\/month trader and I don&#8217;t even care but I know I can get better. \u00a0And I will!!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>@MikeBellafiore<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As an active discretionary trader, we must be right about:<\/p>\n<p>a) direction (very hard)<\/p>\n<p>b) timing (even harder)<\/p>\n<p>c) amount to risk<\/p>\n<p>d) exit plan if we are wrong<\/p>\n<p>e) exit plan if we are correct<\/p>\n<p>f) size<\/p>\n<p>On the whiteboard in my office sits a sketch of the variables of One Good Trade, which I often use to illustrate a point when mentoring experienced traders:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Thesis<\/li>\n<li>Price Confirmation<\/li>\n<li>News Catalyst<\/li>\n<li>Fight for Price<\/li>\n<li>Trade in your Niche<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>As an active trader, you are damn right! you have to be right about timing.\u00a0 I would agree that you should be in the money quickly for most of your trades as an active trader.\u00a0 There are some slow moving trades that do not require being in the money immediately, but they are the minority.<\/p>\n<p>I love your thought.\u00a0 I not only have to be right, but I have to be right right away.<\/p>\n<p>Often I trade with a time clock in my head.\u00a0 I enter.\u00a0 I expect the trade to move in the direction of my thesis in a certain amount of time.\u00a0 If it doesn&#8217;t, I have a trade decision.\u00a0 Often I cut and reevaluate as the trade has not done what I expected.\u00a0 Why have risk on if the trade is not working as I had intended?<\/p>\n<p>The best trades after review tend to exhibit these traits:<\/p>\n<p>a) you are in the money immediately<\/p>\n<p>b) the trade is clean<\/p>\n<p>c) upon you review you can find areas where you could have gotten bigger responsibly<\/p>\n<p>d) there is a catalyst behind the trade<\/p>\n<p>e) you can see competing interests take positions and one side starts winning<\/p>\n<p>f) you can identify a trade to express your trade idea from your PlayBook<\/p>\n<p>Gr8 question.\u00a0 Trade well.<\/p>\n<p>*no relevant positions<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/smbu.com\/winning\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-43539\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43539\" src=\"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg\" alt=\"winningtrader\" width=\"600\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg 600w, \/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader-300x149.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mike, I just joined SMBU and I&#8217;m half-way though all the lectures and I like it a lot. Bluntly, \u00a0I&#8217;m a piker. \u00a0I&#8217;ve failed numerous attempts at trading and blown through a lot of money&#8230;. I&#8217;m trying to apply your best set up\/idea concept to his strategy&gt; \u00a0the best example can be the BABA trade on 5\/25\/16. \u00a0SEC investigation into &#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4009,587,433],"class_list":["post-43712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-comments-2","tag-properly","tag-time","tag-trades","no-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Must I time my trades properly? | 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\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Must I time my trades properly? | SMB Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mike, I just joined SMBU and I&#8217;m half-way though all the lectures and I like it a lot. Bluntly, \u00a0I&#8217;m a piker. \u00a0I&#8217;ve failed numerous attempts at trading and blown through a lot of money&#8230;. I&#8217;m trying to apply your best set up\/idea concept to his strategy&gt; \u00a0the best example can be the BABA trade on 5\/25\/16. \u00a0SEC investigation into ... Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly\" \/>\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=\"2016-05-30T19:59:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-06T20:29:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg\" \/>\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\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bella\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161\"},\"headline\":\"Must I time my trades properly?\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-30T19:59:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-06T20:29:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly\"},\"wordCount\":750,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"properly\",\"time\",\"trades\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General Comments\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly\",\"name\":\"Must I time my trades properly? | SMB Training\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-30T19:59:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-06T20:29:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":297},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Must I time my trades properly?\"}]},{\"@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":"Must I time my trades properly? | 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\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Must I time my trades properly? | SMB Training","og_description":"Mike, I just joined SMBU and I&#8217;m half-way though all the lectures and I like it a lot. Bluntly, \u00a0I&#8217;m a piker. \u00a0I&#8217;ve failed numerous attempts at trading and blown through a lot of money&#8230;. I&#8217;m trying to apply your best set up\/idea concept to his strategy&gt; \u00a0the best example can be the BABA trade on 5\/25\/16. \u00a0SEC investigation into ... Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly","og_site_name":"SMB Training Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/smbcap\/","article_published_time":"2016-05-30T19:59:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-06T20:29:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg","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\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly"},"author":{"name":"Bella","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/80500a901d0e5ce0a27fa996bb1b9161"},"headline":"Must I time my trades properly?","datePublished":"2016-05-30T19:59:52+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-06T20:29:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly"},"wordCount":750,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg","keywords":["properly","time","trades"],"articleSection":["General Comments"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly","name":"Must I time my trades properly? | SMB Training","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg","datePublished":"2016-05-30T19:59:52+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-06T20:29:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/winningtrader.jpg","width":600,"height":297},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/must-i-time-my-trades-properly#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Must I time my trades properly?"}]},{"@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\/43712","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=43712"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50933,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43712\/revisions\/50933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smbtraining.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}