TV Shows Watched -- Peaky Blinders

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Watched season one and enjoyed it. 

Notes for Chat with Traders, Episode 32

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Repeat guest ... first heard him on Episode 66, listened out of order. 

Episode 32 ... Dan Shapiro (68:43)

  • Grew up in Brooklyn
  • Lacked direction in life
  • Generic Trading / Carlin Equities (1999-2006),  sold to RBC [in 2007]
  • Borrowed money from neighborhood loan shark
  • Ron Shear at Generic Trading hired him
  • Met Mayer Hoffman, great prop trader (made hundreds of millions)
  • Did well during dot com boom
  • Would just buy the dips and did very well
  • Dot com bust and 9/11 changed everything
  • Didn't make any money for two years
  • Incredibly depressed, would sob himself to sleep
  • End of 2003 started making money again
  • People trading off their iWatches while on vacation on social media (it ain't real)
  • "Here's the deal"
  • Grew up poor in Brighton Beach, mom a manicurist, dad a waiter
  • Tasted success trading during dot com boom, had no Plan B
  • If he didn't succeed at trading, he would have killed himself (he's serious about this)
  • No highs, no lows to trading, it's just work
  • Wife told him he'd have to get a real job
  • Make $100 a day first, then go from there
  • Stocks trade in intervals, like steps in a staircase
  • Stocks go from supply to supply and demand to demand
  • Most stocks are not trade-able
  • Most traders have no patience and no bankroll and no education
  • Looks at 60 minute pivots
  • Figure out who the hell you are
  • Where emotional buyers meet technical sellers: the supply zone
  • The more hands you play, the quicker you'll figure things out
  • He'll only be 6'2" if he puts on his wife's 4" heels -- be realistic
  • Figure out what not to do
  • How do you mentally stay afloat? Turn off your P&L
  • The more emotional you are about a trade, the more you'll mess it up
  • Don't walk away from the table when you're dealt pocket aces
  • Trade the set-up, not your P&L
  • Can't take trading to heart, you have to have a sense of humor
  • The revenge trade does not work, ever
  • You can't cry your money back to you
  • A lot of traders can't accept defeat
  • Lose the battle, not the war
  • The market takes your money and your confidence
  • You don't lose your confidence, it gets transferred to another trader
  • Don't let things snowball, get a massage, go to a sauna, do something nice for yourself
  • Listens to Sade to get depressed which makes him angry which makes him a better trader
  • Makes his money as a swing trader in a trending market
  • Dumb money trades in the morning and smart money trades in the afternoon
  • Will keep a good runner overnight
  • Treat trading like a business, it isn't fun
  • You don't serve filet mignon on a paper plate
  • Mayer Hoffman, Jason Lieber -- they'd tell you if you were trading like a putz
  • Hoffman taught him there's no such thing as overbought
  • "Whatever goes down, should go lower"
  • Price action dictates everything, opinions don't matter
  • Don't fight price action
  • Turn off social media, read good blogs instead, old vets
  • Every trader he knows has blown out, including Mayer
  • He never sells dreams, only reality
  • Don't think you're alone, keep your head up
  • "The rich people don't live in Times Square"
  • Twitter: @DanShep55

The Times Ain't Forgotten

Added on by C. Maoxian.

No good live version on YouTube so I'm forced to embed this ... Jason Isbell's album The Nashville Sound has several tracks that I like, which is remarkable. I'll feature the others in time. This song was written shortly after the booboisie elected T___p. 

The Nashville Sound is available now: http://smarturl.it/IsbellTNS

Notes for Chat with Traders, Episode 157

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Repeat guest, formerly featured in Episode 119

Episode 157 ... Alex @TAGRtrades (62:23)

  • Wife takes care of their new baby (four months old)
  • Hasn't had a full night of sleep in four months
  • Child care $30K a year so doesn't make sense for wife not to stay at home [only in 'murika]
  • December 2017 his best month to date
  • Bitcoin / Blockchain mania at end of year 2017, he was able to catch that
  • MARA, DPW, RIOT his main plays ... sympathy plays
  • He would buy the one that was still red when the other two turned green
  • Lots of liquidity, easy to trade size since exits so easy
  • June 2018 will be five years of trading full time
  • Have to know what are the leaders and laggards in a sector
  • He knew when to back off, take the foot off the pedal, this time around
  • When friends and family contact you for advice, it shows the end is near
  • One or two days a month was where he made the bulk of his gains
  • Equity curve looks pretty when stretched out, but if you zoom in it looks choppier
  • Compounding is the key
  • Only one day this year with zero trades, but quite a few with only one or two trades
  • Stocks that he trades are low float, under $10 ... lots of liquidity issues
  • Makes errors, then doesn't correct them, tries to wriggle out, problems snowball
  • Trying to be better about 1) market preparation; 2) holding longer; 3) getting bigger 
  • In order to get bigger, you have to get better [great saying]
  • Liquidity issues are huge when your account size gets bigger
  • Lives in central time zone, market opens at 8:30 AM
  • Starts looking at market about 90 minutes before the open
  • Develops watch list night before -- stocks to watch
  • Puts 12 charts on the screens at once
  • Looks at daily charts for support / resistance levels
  • Following the right people on Twitter is important for getting news
  • Pays for two news services, squawk boxes (TradeXchange, Benzinga Pro); worth the money
  • He's in favor of journaling, but doesn't do it as much as he used to
  • He's not a big spender, seeing himself down $2-3K in a trade still painful
  • When he has a big day, he doesn't celebrate
  • Still risks same percentage per trade (max 2-3% loss) as in the past
  • Has no confidence in his swing trading ability yet
  • People say he's just a long-biased trader in a giant bull market (to put him down I guess?)
  • Now he's 85% on the long side, 15% short side
  • Short trades are 1/20th the size of his long trades
  • Never adds to his short trades, takes one shot
  • Watches top ten most volume names closely
  • Uses finviz.com to scan ... under $10 stocks, trading 2.5x average daily volume (whatever the default is)
  • Great charts don't matter if the volume isn't there
  • Looks closely at all the charts (20-30) from scan above
  • Low float, hot sector, high short interest, good chart setups
  • Knows top five and bottom five from his list
  • Always starts with the daily chart, only looks back 20 days for high / low resistance
  • Then looks at the hourly chart for support / resistance
  • Uses 3 minute chart to enter trades
  • Looks for flag and pennant patterns after a breakout
  • Uses VWAP on every single chart, but doesn't overanalyze it
  • VWAP gives you a quick basis of where the average person stands
  • Adds 200- and 50-day moving average to charts as target levels (since other people look at those levels)
  • No longer scales into trades, he just goes all in now, max risk from single entry, one shot
  • Quickly takes profits on a piece, then slowly scales out the rest (1/5th his size left at final target, e.g. 200-day MA)
  • Self-discipline all important, be flexible, make adjustments
  • New traders see one mold, try it, it doesn't fit them, they give up or lose a lot
  • Be flexible instead, find what fits you
  • Twitter: @TAGRtrades

Already Told Jesus Everything I Know

Added on by C. Maoxian.

No good live version so I'm forced to embed this ... great song. 

Download the album From A Room: Volume 1 - http://umgn.us/FromARoomVol1 Stream the album here - http://strm.to/stapleton Get the album on vinyl - http://umgn.us/FromARoomVol1Vinyl Sign up to receive email updates from Chris Stapleton: http://umgn.us/chrisstapletonupdates Keep up with Chris here: Website: http://www.chrisstapleton.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisstaplet... Instagram: https://instagram.com/castapleton Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisStapleton Music video by Chris Stapleton performing Death Row.

Won't You Help Me Share My Load

Added on by C. Maoxian.

No good live version so I'm forced to embed this. Another case where the cover is better than the original ... Raul has a nicer voice than Van's:

Bright Side of the Road by Raul Malo, Pat Flynn, Rob Ickes, & Dave Pomeroy on CMH Records' The Nashville Acoustic Sessions: Raul Malo, Pat Flynn, Rob Ickes, & Dave Pomeroy -- Available Now at CMH Records, Amazon, and iTunes!!! CMH Records: http://www.cmhrecords.com/web/page.asp?pgs=product&catid=3&id=578 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Nashville-Acoustic-Sessions-Malo/dp/B0001MDPNQ/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_aud?ie=UTF8&qid=1394734841&sr=8-1&keywords=Raul+Malo%2C+Pat+Flynn%2C+Rob+Ickes iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/nashville-acoustic-sessions/id277666690

Great Videos from Linda Raschke

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Linda Raschke did this series of videos for Futures Magazine back in 2013 and every one of them is pure gold. (Great story in the final segment about Linda's cat making some amazing hotkey trades.) 

In the first video of this series on Improving Trading Performance with Better Execution, Linda Raschke introduces why it is an important topic and discusses why traders need a plan before they begin trading for the day.

In the second installment of our series Improving Trading Performance with Better Execution, Linda Raschke discusses setting up your workstation to set yourself up for success.

In the third installment of our series Improving Trading Performance with Better Execution, Linda Raschke discusses one of the most important things to keep in mind when trading: Fix mistakes immediately.

Bonus ... I found another good one (of course good traders are made not born, but I believe it does help to be born with a certain temperament):

http://www.moneyshow.com/?scode=013356 The changing face of trading has made it easier than ever for a person without killer instincts but with a methodical trading program to do well in the markets, says Linda Raschke.

Double bonus ... so much gold in the following three short videos, every word is precious ... if you don't get it, listen over and over and over until you do: 

http://www.moneyshow.com/main.asp?scode=013203 Legendary trader Linda Raschke discusses a few steps that you can take to become a better trader.

http://www.moneyshow.com?scode=013356 Why trade with stops, and how are stops determined? Linda Raschke shares the results of some of her trade modeling, and how it can be used to determine your stops

http://www.moneyshow.com/video/details.asp?wkspid=6A0C94CF97E84BC79FC97D0C9A6B2077&pg=1&pg=1&scode=013355 Linda Raschke shares some examples of how an OCO order can be used to enter a trade, and why she rarely uses trailing stops.

Misery Loves Company

Added on by C. Maoxian.

No live version on YouTube so I'm forced to embed this ... maybe the perfect anthem for San Francisco? 

Provided to YouTube by Independent Digital Licensing Agency Inc Café Society · Bruce Cockburn Bone On Bone ℗ 2017 Bruce D. Cockburn Enterprises Ltd. Under exclusive licence to High Romance Music Released on: 2017-09-15 Producer: Colin Linden Composer: Bruce Cockburn Auto-generated by YouTube.

Notes for Chat with Traders, Episode 156

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Episode 156 ... Michael Katz (59:45)

  • Has three kids, two boys and a girl
  • Started in markets, late 1990s, then in his late teens, during internet boom (born 1980?)
  • Opened first account with a couple thousand dollars 
  • Blew up a couple of accounts early on
  • Discovered equitytradingonline ... Gary Roth
  • Seven Points Capital (Mike Mangieri, Gary Roth, Mike Katz) started as execution firm
  • Started trading "parity" on NYSE 
  • Parity: buy on the bid through the floor broker, could easily scratch the trade, "risk free"
  • Getting good locates is a key edge a prop firm can provide [don't I know it!]
  • Scalping with size in high volume stocks within $5 to $20 range
  • Trades 50 million shares a month
  • Uses hot keys
  • Scales in and scales out
  • Has 15 different set-ups, each with its own rules
  • Descending triangles in low-cap trash names that have flown ("Flying Pigs") ... look for a lower high
  • Enters within the triangle, enters the break of the triangle, enters the retrace to base of triangle
  • ECN rebates don't make much difference to his P&L 
  • Trades eight to ten names on any given day
  • Will swing trade ... if it's green and it's working, he'll keep it; then exit rules come into play
  • The best trades start working right away
  • Whatever is gapping, he'll notice it
  • Uses scanner to find intraday setups: volume, volatility criteria
  • Watching volume important to him
  • Recommends Anna Coulling's book, A Complete Guide to Volume Price Analysis
  • He looks closely at Volume Profile
  • Consistency is what differentiates great traders from lucky ones
  • Need a clear and definable edge
  • Avoid large losses, scale back when you're not performing well
  • On the other hand, scale up dramatically when you're feeling in the zone
  • Always knows where he's getting out before he gets in
  • Amateur traders just hope for the best, never even consider their exit when wrong
  • Risks a fixed dollar amount on every trade
  • Sizes his positions based on stop price and fixed dollar loss, determined in advance
  • If he breaks his rules, he sizes down, slows down, takes a day off
  • Rule breaking very important to pay attention to [recognize when you're going on tilt]
  • Taking losses quickly, which most people can't do, itself is an edge
  • Reading order flow, observing patterns, also both edges
  • Big fan of journaling
  • Sports, trading, poker are all the same: you have a game plan, you execute during the game, then review the tapes afterward
  • Over time you develop a trading method
  • He still loves watching trading videos on YouTube, seeing what other people do
  • He's willing to learn from everywhere he can, then makes it his own
  • Can't imitate someone else's method, only yours will work for you
  • Establish rules for each set-up
  • Surround yourself with good, smart people who can mentor you
  • Be careful because there are false gurus and DVD sellers out there looking to take advantage of you
  • There are great traders on Twitter (mentions SmashTheBid) who are under the radar; seek them out
  • Katz says some kind things to Aaron in parting 
  • www.sevenpointscapital.com
  • Twitter: Michael_Katz11