In today's episode, Kim Ann Curtin of The Wall Street Coach interviews JJ (VWapTrader1) of the Confessions of a Market Maker Podcast.
If you've never checked out the Confessions of a Market Maker podcast, please do so right away! It's a killer podcast co-hosted by JJ, a former market maker who has traded billions in dollar volume, and Ray, a newer trader looking to find his way in the market. Ray couldn't join this session—he was at a poker tournament. However, JJ (who you may know by his handle, @VWapTrader1) joins Kim to provide speed coaching to listeners in this recording of a live stream from Twitter Space.
JJ and Kim got a ton of great questions in this session. Here are some of the topics they tackle:
- Fear of failure and how it affects traders. Learn how one trader "failed" at Kim's homework to "fail at ten things" and how it prompted him to think about the right adjustments he needed to make in his trading. Often we attach our value to success and winning, which can create its own problems. It's all about getting comfortable with your own humanity!
- The importance of understanding what moves markets.
- Not just supply and demand, but who and what is driving that supply and demand. As a former market maker, JJ can speak to the other side of the trade.
- Can traders access a stock's historical float? It's not as easy as you might think! JJ has some tricks for figuring it out, though.
- The advice JJ wishes more people would heed: "don't get starry-eyed about price action." JJ talks about why people follow price and why it pays to be "a little bit paranoid" in the current market.
- Self-doubt plagues many traders. Both JJ and Kim weigh in on quieting the "bad wolf" in your head.
- The danger of being too early in a trade. Even if you're right, things could go terribly wrong. In retail trading, it's not always about getting a jump on the trade!
- Manufacturing a short squeeze—how does it work? Get the dirt from the point of view of a former market maker.
