Emirates: there was a threat of a default of Dubai on a multibillion-dollar public debt (Steve and I are not only business partners, but also friends from the age of six). We couldn't talk to all the traders, so we launched a message on StockTwits - the largest social network for people working in the field of finance - that you should not miss this Friday session in any case. The SPY ETF opened lower with a huge gap. Maybe there will be some kind of rebound, or maybe everything will go to hell, but, anyway, we had a great opportunity. It is situations like this that help intraday traders survive (though not all, we have one who survives thanks to Burger King and sweets). I can't think of another trading session during which traders had as many day trading opportunities as on Black Friday 2009.

A trader cannot know when he will enter the market and get into a situation that will make him rich. Black Friday could be that day. 2009 year. I couldn't afford to miss it. Therefore, sacrificing a day off in the circle of loved ones, I got up early in the morning and went to work.

Sitting in a train car, I watched on my crappy $300 laptop a StockTwits broadcast of a morning meeting at my company. The wireless connection worked intermittently, but, nevertheless, I could hear Steve's voice talking about the plan of action for the opening of the session. In the "good old days" this was unthinkable. Great job by Steve and all those who helped him identify all the key technical levels that needed to be tracked at the time of the opening of trading. Having finished with technical analysis, he moved on to the most important thing. Steve brought the idea of ​​the psychology of the market today.

The news that hit the market before the opening was bad. The news from Dubai had a negative effect on Asia, which could not digest it - there were all signs of serious poisoning. Asian markets collapsed, and we should have expected a low opening of our session. But Steve reminded us all that the most important factor in our business is the psychology of the market. Since the SPY index fund was trading at $70 9 months ago, the market has refused to take into account any negative information. Throughout 2009, the tactic is buying low; brought traders a stable income. If the SPY index fund manages to stay above the $109.10 level, it will be a sign that the market will ignore the negative news from Dubai as well, according to Steve. And so it happened.

As I left the Manhattan business center where our office is located, I thought, “What a shame that the market closes earlier than usual this Friday. Couldn’t the auction be extended until Monday?!” I really wanted to trade! I felt like Randolph and Mortimer Duke from the classic movie "Trading Places" yelling in the middle of the trading floor, "Turn those damn machines back on!" The only difference was that I had just made the money instead of getting a $394 million margin call.

However, if private trading companies act as their own customers, then where is the competition? Believe me, there is more than enough of her. There is more than enough liquidity in the market, and there is something from boxing in every working day. a duel in which private trading firms take on hedge funds, big banks, and all sorts of automated trading programs.

So who are these people? For the most part, they have sports careers in the major basketball and baseball divisions or degrees in mathematics from Ivy League universities. They feel comfortable at the tables of conference halls, they like the elegant cufflinks of their French shirts and Gucci moccasins, which are so nice to move their toes. Sipping mineral water from small bottles, they enjoy the view of Central Park from the windows (I will not be modest - I have a good view of the Statue of Liberty from my office window). Many of them manage much more money than we can afford, not to mention the quality of research information, mental capacity and experience. They work for companies whose names are familiar even to those who are far from the world of investments. NBA superstar Kobe Bryant is just Kobe to basketball fans, and no less worthy player LeBron James is LeBron. Likewise, Wall Street watchers can recognize my competitors by a single name.

Welcome to my world. Welcome to the highly competitive world of private trading. Unlike a large bank financed by wealthy shareholders with a low overnight lending rate (overnight lending), or a hedge fund backed by powerful investors, a private trading company is funded by the funds of several partners, in our case, Steve and my. In most cases, in terms of financial capital, private trading firms are far behind their more well-known Wall Street competitors. Some firms specialize in options trading or, say, arbitrage, some use long-term trading strategies, we at our company concentrate on intraday trading of US stocks. We bet our trading strategies and money against the rest of Wall Street.

Steve and I teach traders to identify important intraday levels and trade from them. It is important for us to make sure that our employees are focusing on the so-called Stocks In Play, which are news releases, and we ask them to make trading decisions based on technical analysis, tape reading and intraday company fundamentals. If we fail to properly train them, the financial losses for us personally can be extremely significant. After all, it's all about our money. Any mistake in the process of selecting candidates for traders will subsequently result in serious economic losses. If our company begins to run short of funds, we will have to go out of business. No government will come to our rescue, however, in my heart I hope that we are too small to fail ..

The beauty of this job lies in the challenge of becoming an elite performer. Every day I try to improve the standard of my work, doing my best to achieve a better understanding of the psychology of trading. In a year of active work in the market, traders learn more about themselves than many people in their entire adult life. The challenge is so intense that, willy-nilly, one has to find deep inner resources, to bring to the surface all the best that is in people. Otherwise, you will not survive in the market. The claim to become an elite performer results in the effort extending into all aspects of life, including relationships with friends and loved ones.

It would be wrong to believe that a cult of worship of the successful leader of the firm reigns in a private trading company. There is no Mike Bellafiore or Steve Spencer cult at SMB Capital, nor do we claim to be omniscient. We don't have all the answers. Guess how I know this?

I received and learned a lot more from the traders whom I taught and with whom I had the opportunity to work, than I conveyed to them myself. At the time of writing, I have over 60 professional traders under my wing, and I never stop searching for our new stars. Firms exist thanks to the talented traders working in them. Without traders, there would be no private trading firms, no SMB Capital, and no book.

Unlike companies operating in the field of traditional business, all of whose real estate and equipment are included in the balance sheet, the assets Wall Street companies leave their offices every evening by walking out the door. Steve and I often joke that we would like to make a company in which the worst traders

we would be with him. Now that would be a company!

Cultivating an atmosphere of lifelong learning requires more than just star partners. Supertraders should be in the office, which young traders will look up to, to whom they can turn to with a sore point during a joint dinner or a glass of beer in a pub. From a business perspective, the presence in the company of outstanding personalities, powerful traders

absolutely necessary. They have to drag dozens of young mediocre traders along with them until newcomers can open up and start making money.

However, one should not overdo it with arguments about corporate culture and the philosophy of human capital. Let's talk about the people around me. The traders discussed in this chapter are damn good. It is very difficult to find someone better in our industry. Unlike other areas of business in which young talents dress and behave in a certain way, prop traders look quite colorful and non-standard. This alone has helped me throughout my career to keep the freshness of perception.

Let's take a closer look at our characters. They are all great guys. There are many funny stories about them included in our book to give you an idea of ​​what really goes on in the office of a private trading company.

These are very good guys.

The main asset of the company: its traders
In this chapter, you will meet the Franchise, Moneymaker, Dr. Momentum, G-Man, Z-Mash, Yappo-hippie and J-Tom (we will refer to them not by their names in the book, but by nicknames - all great traders have nicknames). Together, they quite fully represent the entire personal spectrum of stock trading. These people differ from each other physically, ethnically and have outstanding abilities. Each of them is a living example of the importance of staying competitive, staying focused, increasing your level