Category Archives for Prop Trading
What’s Different About Apple Right Now
Professional trader Derrick Oldensmith hates shorting Apple (AAPL) because of the massive buyback. But now the stock is in a buyback blackout period. Watch the video below to learn how this has the potential to change how the stock trades: Derrick is a professional prop trader with T3 Trading Group. Click here to get his free ebook to learn more about the benefits of prop trading vs retail! Derrick’s positions as of 1:09pm ET September 24, 2024 Derrick Oldensmith is an associated member of T3 Trading Group, LLC (“T3TG’), a SEC Registered Broker-Dealer & Member of FINRA/SIPC. All trades are placed through T3TG. T3 Live, LLC is a financial publisher that disseminates information about economic, business, and capital markets issues through various media. T3 Live is not a Broker-Dealer, an Investment Adviser, or any other type of business subject to regulation by the SEC, CFTC, state securities regulators or any “self-regulatory organization” (such as FINRA). Although T3 Live and T3TG are affiliated companies by virtue of common ownership, the companies are managed separately and engage in different businesses. The programs that T3TG distributes (including articles, commentary, videos, blogs and social media postings) are for informational and educational purposes only. No one should consider the information disseminated by T3TG to be personalized investment advice, a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any investment, an offer (or a solicitation of an offer) to buy or sell any investment, or the provision of any other kind of investment advice. No one associated with T3TG is authorized to make any representation to the contrary. T3TG provides information that viewers of its programs may consider in making their own investment decisions. However, any viewer will be responsible for considering such information carefully and evaluating how it might relate to that viewer’s own decision to buy, sell or hold any investment. Such decisions must be based on that viewer’s individual and independent evaluation of his or her financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, family commitments and other factors, not in reliance on any information obtained from T3TG. Statements by any person (whether identified as associated with T3 Live, T3 Trading Group, or any other entity) represent the opinions of that person only and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of T3TG or any other person associated with T3TG. It is possible that any individual providing information or expressing an opinion on any T3TG program may hold an investment position (or may be contemplating holding an investment position) that is inconsistent with the information provided or the opinion being expressed. This may reflect the financial or other circumstances of the individual or it may reflect some other consideration. Viewers of T3TG programs should take this into account when evaluating the information provided or the opinion being expressed. Although T3TG strives to provide accurate and reliable information from sources that it believes to be reliable, T3TG makes no guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correctness of any such information. T3TG makes no guarantee or promise of any kind, express or implied, that anyone will profit from or avoid losses from using information disseminated through T3TG. All investments are subject to risk of loss, which you should consider in making any investment decisions. Viewers of T3TG programs should consult with their financial advisors, attorneys, accountants or other qualified professionals prior to making any investment decision. The risk of loss in trading equities, options, forex and/or futures can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. The high degree of leverage that is often obtainable in options trading may benefit you as well as conversely lead to large losses beyond your initial investment. Past results are not indicative of future results. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits similar to those shown. T3 Trading Group, LLC is a Registered SEC Broker-Dealer and Member of FINRA/SIPC. All trading conducted by contributors associated with T3TG on the Virtual Trading Floor is done through T3TG. For more information on T3 Trading Group, LLC please visit www.T3Trading.com.
Continue Reading -->How Derrick Oldensmith Makes A Trading Game Plan
Professional trader Derrick Oldensmith comes into every trading day with a game plan. Watch the video below to learn what his daily research process looks like. Derrick is hosting a free week in his trading room. Click here to work with him and his team of other professional traders! Derrick’s positions as of 9:42am ET July 23, 2024 Derrick Oldensmith is an associated member of T3 Trading Group, LLC (“T3TG’), a SEC Registered Broker-Dealer & Member of FINRA/SIPC. All trades are placed through T3TG. T3 Live, LLC is a financial publisher that disseminates information about economic, business, and capital markets issues through various media. T3 Live is not a Broker-Dealer, an Investment Adviser, or any other type of business subject to regulation by the SEC, CFTC, state securities regulators or any “self-regulatory organization” (such as FINRA). Although T3 Live and T3TG are affiliated companies by virtue of common ownership, the companies are managed separately and engage in different businesses. The programs that T3TG distributes (including articles, commentary, videos, blogs and social media postings) are for informational and educational purposes only. No one should consider the information disseminated by T3TG to be personalized investment advice, a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any investment, an offer (or a solicitation of an offer) to buy or sell any investment, or the provision of any other kind of investment advice. No one associated with T3TG is authorized to make any representation to the contrary. T3TG provides information that viewers of its programs may consider in making their own investment decisions. However, any viewer will be responsible for considering such information carefully and evaluating how it might relate to that viewer’s own decision to buy, sell or hold any investment. Such decisions must be based on that viewer’s individual and independent evaluation of his or her financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, family commitments and other factors, not in reliance on any information obtained from T3TG. Statements by any person (whether identified as associated with T3 Live, T3 Trading Group, or any other entity) represent the opinions of that person only and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of T3TG or any other person associated with T3TG. It is possible that any individual providing information or expressing an opinion on any T3TG program may hold an investment position (or may be contemplating holding an investment position) that is inconsistent with the information provided or the opinion being expressed. This may reflect the financial or other circumstances of the individual or it may reflect some other consideration. Viewers of T3TG programs should take this into account when evaluating the information provided or the opinion being expressed. Although T3TG strives to provide accurate and reliable information from sources that it believes to be reliable, T3TG makes no guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correctness of any such information. T3TG makes no guarantee or promise of any kind, express or implied, that anyone will profit from or avoid losses from using information disseminated through T3TG. All investments are subject to risk of loss, which you should consider in making any investment decisions. Viewers of T3TG programs should consult with their financial advisors, attorneys, accountants or other qualified professionals prior to making any investment decision. The risk of loss in trading equities, options, forex and/or futures can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. The high degree of leverage that is often obtainable in options trading may benefit you as well as conversely lead to large losses beyond your initial investment. Past results are not indicative of future results. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits similar to those shown. T3 Trading Group, LLC is a Registered SEC Broker-Dealer and Member of FINRA/SIPC. All trading conducted by contributors associated with T3TG on the Virtual Trading Floor is done through T3TG. For more information on T3 Trading Group, LLC please visit www.T3Trading.com.
Continue Reading -->Derrick Oldensmith’s Strategy For Earnings Season
Professional trader Derrick Oldensmith is focused on one thing heading into an earnings report – where the stock is currently trading. How a stock moves after reporting earnings isn’t just about whether it beats or misses expectations. Watch the video below to learn what you should be looking at ahead of each report: Derrick is a professional prop trader with T3 Trading Group. Click here to get his free ebook to learn more about the benefits of prop trading vs retail! Derrick’s positions as of 10:14am ET July 17, 2024 Derrick Oldensmith is an associated member of T3 Trading Group, LLC (“T3TG’), a SEC Registered Broker-Dealer & Member of FINRA/SIPC. All trades are placed through T3TG. T3 Live, LLC is a financial publisher that disseminates information about economic, business, and capital markets issues through various media. T3 Live is not a Broker-Dealer, an Investment Adviser, or any other type of business subject to regulation by the SEC, CFTC, state securities regulators or any “self-regulatory organization” (such as FINRA). Although T3 Live and T3TG are affiliated companies by virtue of common ownership, the companies are managed separately and engage in different businesses. The programs that T3TG distributes (including articles, commentary, videos, blogs and social media postings) are for informational and educational purposes only. No one should consider the information disseminated by T3TG to be personalized investment advice, a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any investment, an offer (or a solicitation of an offer) to buy or sell any investment, or the provision of any other kind of investment advice. No one associated with T3TG is authorized to make any representation to the contrary. T3TG provides information that viewers of its programs may consider in making their own investment decisions. However, any viewer will be responsible for considering such information carefully and evaluating how it might relate to that viewer’s own decision to buy, sell or hold any investment. Such decisions must be based on that viewer’s individual and independent evaluation of his or her financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, family commitments and other factors, not in reliance on any information obtained from T3TG. Statements by any person (whether identified as associated with T3 Live, T3 Trading Group, or any other entity) represent the opinions of that person only and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of T3TG or any other person associated with T3TG. It is possible that any individual providing information or expressing an opinion on any T3TG program may hold an investment position (or may be contemplating holding an investment position) that is inconsistent with the information provided or the opinion being expressed. This may reflect the financial or other circumstances of the individual or it may reflect some other consideration. Viewers of T3TG programs should take this into account when evaluating the information provided or the opinion being expressed. Although T3TG strives to provide accurate and reliable information from sources that it believes to be reliable, T3TG makes no guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correctness of any such information. T3TG makes no guarantee or promise of any kind, express or implied, that anyone will profit from or avoid losses from using information disseminated through T3TG. All investments are subject to risk of loss, which you should consider in making any investment decisions. Viewers of T3TG programs should consult with their financial advisors, attorneys, accountants or other qualified professionals prior to making any investment decision. The risk of loss in trading equities, options, forex and/or futures can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. The high degree of leverage that is often obtainable in options trading may benefit you as well as conversely lead to large losses beyond your initial investment. Past results are not indicative of future results. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits similar to those shown. T3 Trading Group, LLC is a Registered SEC Broker-Dealer and Member of FINRA/SIPC. All trading conducted by contributors associated with T3TG on the Virtual Trading Floor is done through T3TG. For more information on T3 Trading Group, LLC please visit www.T3Trading.com.
Continue Reading -->26 Questions With Derrick Oldensmith
Get to know Pro Trader Derrick Oldensmith in this fun interview! *This transcript has been edited for length and clarity Who are you? I’m Derrick Oldensmith and I am a Senior Trader and Registered Principal at T3 Trading Group. How long have you been a trader? I’ve been a trader with T3 for about 12 years. I was a sales trader for a different company before that. And I’ve been involved in markets in one way or another since I was a kid. I bought my first stock when I was about 13 years old. Do you love it? I love what I do. Every day is different, and that’s what gets me excited. I’m looking at the same Excel spreadsheets all day, every day. I’m studying the market. My role is to figure out the next step of this constantly evolving puzzle. What’s the most important personality trait for a trader? The most important personality trait for a trader is to be disciplined. Discipline, first and foremost with your risk management and your money management. A lack of discipline with risk management and money management is the number one reason why traders fail in this business. You also have to be disciplined with the rules that you create for your trading. The only way that you can be a consistently profitable trader is to be consistent in regards to your actions with the market. The only way that you can do that is by having rules in place that you are consistently following. That may sound easy right now, but when you’re in front of the screens, and your P&L is moving, it can be very difficult. What’s the best trade you’ve ever made? One that just comes to mind right away was being long JNUG on the run back up after Covid. It might not be my best trade ever but it’s up tere. It’s a 3X leveraged junior miner gold ETF. I always think it’s funny because for most of my career I’ve disliked the gold miners as trading vehicles and even as investments. Yet here I am involved in a 3X leveraged junior Gold miner ETF in a multi-week swing that turned out to be one of my best trades ever. How do you define success as a trader? That’s a very individual question for each trader based on the goals that they make for themselves. First, you have to have goals. And then success is in achieving those goals and then in the creation of new goals. Those could be goals for profitability, for consistency, or for building an account size. How do you stay up to date with the changing financial markets? I read a lot of news and information. And what I try to avoid as much as possible, which is really hard in this day and age, is other people’s opinions. I want more of the cold, hard facts of the news. And then I take that information into my own brain to try to figure out the next steps. And then of course, you need to have the the technicals confirm that. But this is not a 9 to 5 gig. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to be successful in this business. What’s the hardest mistake to avoid while trading? Probably getting in your own head. It goes back to being a disciplined trader and having a disciplined approach. It always sounds very easy on paper that you just have to do the right things consistently over time with your trading. But in practice, it’s so easy for us to get in our own heads. You get shaken out of that one trade right before it works. Or you have a bad P&L day and then it affects your next day of trading. What did you hate most about learning to trade? It’s a tough question, because I love learning, period. The hardest thing about learning, though, is probably the fact that you’re going to take a lot of step backs, right? A lot of this business is, you take two steps forward in your trading, two steps forward in your learning process, just to then have the market environment change, or you take a P&L hit, or a new obstacle gets in your way. And then you’re taking one step back. But sometimes you have to take that one step back in order to learn more and take those next two steps forward. So, I love learning in general, but you’re absolutely going to hit stumbling blocks along the way. Do you beat yourself up after a bad day? Before I can answer, I have to define what a bad day is in trading. I don’t think that a good day or bad day is necessarily P&L based. Obviously, that has something to do with it, right? If you have a big P&L day, up on the upside or on the downside, it’s hard not to feel a degree of emotion about that. But the real thing to be asking yourself when you have that good day or you have a bad day is, “did you do the right things today?” Because if you did all the wrong things and made a lot of money, you should not be happy about that. As a matter of fact, if you are happy about that, you’re setting yourself up for long-term failure. The truth is that we work in a game of probabilities. Sometimes you will do all of the right things and still lose money. You have to be able to take a step back and say, “Hey, I did all the right things. If I did this 100 times, I’m gonna be making money in the long run. It just didn’t work out today.” So, when I beat myself up, it isn’t just because I lost money today. It’s because I made mistakes that caused me to lose money. Or heck,
Continue Reading -->New eBook: The Ultimate Trading Journal
In this business, success and failure are 100% on an individual’s shoulders. You make all your own choices and decisions, which directly impact whether you win or lose. To become a successful trader, you need to develop expertise through practice and constantly improve yourself. Journaling can help you accelerate your learning curve and become successful faster in this business. That’s why I hope you’ll download “The Ultimate Trading Journal” today. When journaling, you review your trades, reflect on your actions, summarize what you have learned, and then lay out things you need to improve upon. That will give you the roadmap you need to build your confidence and get you on the road to sustainable success. Check it out here.
Continue Reading -->Derrick Oldensmith Talks Prop Trading on the “Trading Justice” Podcast
Hit the Play Button to Listen to Derrick Oldensmith’s interview on the “Trading Justice” podcast. Derrick discusses: His unique role as a professional prop trader trader, teacher, and mentor Why he started his own trading desk at T3 What makes prop trading different from retail trading The major advantages of prop trading, like access to firm capital Why leverage in prop trading is a double-edged sword The simple math behind successful trading Where people get into trouble in trading Why getting bored as a trader can lead you down a bad road The best way to expand your toolset without taking too much risk Where successful traders go wrong Why you should be a chart reader first and a tape reader second And a whole lot more!
Continue Reading -->Derrick Oldensmith Interview on “2 Bulls In a China Shop Podcast”
Hit the Play Button to Listen to Derrick Oldensmith’s interview on the “2 Bulls In a China Shop Podcast.” Derrick discusses: What it really takes to succeed as a trader Why this is not a glamorous way to make a living How to learn to trade the right way How he combines fundamental and technical analysis Why his professional kickboxing background laid a strong foundation for trading And a whole lot more!
Continue Reading -->Derrick Talks to The Simcast
Derrick recently visited the team at The Simcast to talk about his strategies and mentorship style. He also gives listeners an inside look at what it’s like to start at a prop desk, plus how his background prepared him to become a trader. Check out a recording of the conversation below! Derrick and John will discuss: How the COVID-19 pandemic changed his trading career His first foray into trading as a kid What happened when he graduated college in the middle of the 2008/2009 crisis How he transitioned from sales trading to prop trading The trading lessons he’s learned from kickboxing
Continue Reading -->Meet Derrick Oldensmith
Derrick Oldensmith is a pro trader and head of T3 Trading Group’s trading desk. And in this in-depth interview on the TIB podcast, you can get to know him. Listen in and learn: What working at 7-11 taught Derrick about money and life How he became interested in the stock market Why he left his sales trader job to join T3 What Derrick loves about trading The lessons he learned from the 2008 financial crisis The hard realization he made when he joined T3 Why making money is a pure numbers game Why money management rules are critical to success This is a fascinating look at the ups and downs of professional trading, so jump in and listen. P.S. Give the video a like and comment to help support the TIB podcast!
Continue Reading -->When to Exit a Winner
When your trade is going well, when do you get out? How do you know it’s time to book that profit? The answer depends upon the type of trade that you’re involved in. I categorize trades into two groups: with the trend or against it. Watch the video or read on below. What is a trend? An uptrend is a pattern of higher highs and higher lows, while a downtrend is a pattern of lower highs and lower lows. If a stock or index is in an uptrend and I’m long, I would be with the trend. If that name is trading down and I’m buying it, that would be a counter trend trade. I have a different plan for each trade when it comes to exiting for-profit. One of the key things to remember about trends in the marketplace is they tend to last longer than anyone expects. It’s a great rule to assume that whatever trend you’re looking at will last forever, until it shows you that it’s changing. 1) With the Trend Strategies When taking a trade that is with the trend on the upside, my reward is theoretically unlimited, as the S&P 500 has trended higher over the course of its entire history. When taking a trade that is with the trend on the downside, the maximum possible reward is just 100%, which would mean that stock goes to $0.00. When you’re with the trend, look for continuation chart patterns such as bull flags and bull pennants, with all of your moving averages (short and long term) sloped upward in the same direction as the trend. Trailing your stop when you’re with the trend, based on the pivots of higher highs and higher lows, can help you maximize your reward. 2) Against the Trend Strategies If I’m against the trend, I often exit on the way up. When I’m looking for a retracement higher to certain points, I like to utilize an 8 and 21 EMA (exponential moving average) to show me technical equilibrium for any stock or market that I’m looking at. If I’m going counter trend and I get a bounce back to the space between the 8 and 21 EMA, that’s usually a great spot for me to book the majority of my position for a profit. Then, maybe I’ll hold a smaller percentage of it — 10 to 25% of my original core holding of that counter trend trade — just in case that retracement actually becomes a reversal. Managing the Position with Trailing Stops I don’t always want to completely exit out of a position when it’s going in my favor. Rather I’d want to maximize my reward by implementing a trailing stop system for a percentage of my core position. A trailing stop system will allow me to slowly raise my stop, locking in more profits over time. Eventually, when that trend does change, I’ll get stopped out of the position for a win. Ideally, you want to give the name as much breathing room as possible to maximize reward, but always keep the proper stops in place. That’s how you can get the unlimited reward I’m always telling my team to focus on with their trading!
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