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Communication

“No man’s opinions are better than his information.” —J. Paul Getty, Founder, Getty Oil

Not only must a prop trader communicate their best trading ideas but they must review their trades.

REPLAYING IMPORTANT TRADES

“Find the trading plays that make sense to you and make more of them with more size.” —Mike Bellafiore, SMB Blog

Good prop traders constantly strive to improve their performance.

an old school self-improvement technique: Replay important trades in your head. When the market slows, this is the time to think through your important trades. Do this multiple times during the trading day. Ask yourself these questions:

 Was there a spot where you could have added more size?
 Did you sell too early?
 What made the stock go up?
 Was there a catalyst for the move?
 Did you assume too much or too little risk?

Replay the trade and construct improvements for the next similar trade.

Traders who watch video can find setups where they can add more size, plays that are not working for them, patterns that they did not discern initially, gain screen time that improves their skills, and imprint their best setups in their mind.

Also, talk to other traders on your desk who are trading your stocks. Ask for their thoughts. You will get better as you gain experience, but you will get much better if you improve your technique while you are gaining experience.

Print out your trades. Were you disciplined? Did you execute on your stops? Did you do worse in a stock than you thought? Are you trading some stocks better than others? Are there some stocks that you just don’t trade well?

Get into the habit of evaluating your more important trades during the day.

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