Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

31 Habits Of Wealthy Traders (by Market Sniper)

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While relaxing on a Saturday afternoon, doing some market related work, I thought I would pass this on to my fellow traders on The Slope.

A while ago, I listened in on a video done by Tim  Bourquin who has interviewed hundreds of successful  traders. He has distilled some excellent points here that he keeps hearing over and over again. Said in different ways but the messages are the same. Here are actually 31 "habits" and in a few instances I have added a few comments to them. Some over lap as well. You would do well to incorporate these "concepts" into your trading. Tim Bourquin has done some excellent work in the area of trader psychology and great interviews with superior traders. You might want to visit his site. Here is a link to his latest work.  

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Binary Options (by Market Sniper)

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Binary options are fairly new to the speculation/trading landscape. They are called binary options as there can only be two possible outcomes. There are two types. Either cash-or-nothing binary options or asset-or-nothing binary options. They are binary in that you get all or nothing. They are also called all-or-nothing options, digital options (more common in forex/interest rate markets), and Fixed Return Options (FROs) (on the AMEX). Binary options are usually European-style options.

There are two ways of going with this as well. There is exchange traded binary options such as offered on the NADEX and there is non-exchange traded options. Each are structured differently. With exchange traded binaries, there is a set strike price. With most non-exchange traded binary options, you set the strike price upon entry. Your strike is your entry in the trade. It then expires in or out of the money. Structure of payouts are also different. Both Amex and CBOE listed options have values between $0 and $1, with a multiplier of 100, and tick size of $0.01, and are cash settled. In 2009 Nadex, the North American Derivatives Exchange, launched and now offers a suite of binary options vehicles. Nadex binary options are available on a range Stock Index Futures, Spot Forex, Commodity Futures, and Economic Events.

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FINAL Update for Slopefest IV! (Market Sniper)

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The fun is about to commence forthwith!  Here is a link to the main post which includes a map of scheduled festivities.  http://slopeofhope.com/2012/04/slopefest-iv-is-almost-here-market-sniper-and-vittorio.html

A few changes and updated information! Great news! Our Las Vegas connection, Mr. K, aka, Ferrari, has scored for us again! It seems that our Slopefest night is also member's night, an annual shindig. We are still getting in! Free food and drinks from 6 pm to 8 pm! And here is the food menu!

Buffet and tray passed Hors d’oeuvres

Crudites with Blue Cheese Dressing

Hummus with Crispy Pita

Tapenade with Grilled Bread

Pear Goat Cheese on Belgian Endive

Warm Jalapeno Corn Bread & Spanakopita

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Bananas Foster Empanada & Mini Assorted Chocolates

After 8 pm, tabs will be run. They do have a "theme" for dress but it is not mandatory. Dress is 1940's garb (which I guess means zoot suits!). We will still have our own room but it most like will be the Ganesh Room rather than the Media Room. Be certain to identify yourself with the Slope Of Hope to the elevator concierge. 

Vittorio and I are leaving for Vegas Sunday, May 13 and will be there through Sunday, May 20. We are staying at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino and can be reached by asking for Holland or Abbene. Those who are coming in prior to Friday can get a hold of us as there are other festivities also planned. We are looking forward to meeting with all of those who can attend and yes, Mr. Tim Knight will be making a cameo apperance Saturday night!

SPY Guessing Game Results: The  close of SPY ETF on Friday, May 11 was 135.61. Two entrants had the exact same number, 135.45! According to the rules, first entry in got the first prize. I have been in contact with both and prizes will be going out to them right after Slopefest. Third prize winner with a guess of 135.42 was a Dr. Peter (last name omitted). Doc, for some reason, I do not have your email address. Please contact me at Dutch302 at gmail and be certain to include your last name for verification.

Final note: for those of you that enjoy casino gambling, bring a roll and we will go after a casino. Who knows, maybe we can make a big dent in their quarterly earnings results. IF we do, then we will short the living hell of their stock and score again! Legal insider trading!  LOL!!! Look forward to seeing as many of you there as can make it. Surprise prize for the Sloper in attendance who came closest on the SPY guessing contest as well!

Yours in the never ending search for edges wherever they maybe found!-The Market Sniper

Opportunities EVERYWHERE (Market Sniper)

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While discussing with other Slopers our business experiences, it occurred to me that perhaps the community might benefit from a topic not directly related to markets and "trading." The purpose of this post is to perhaps help you make some significant amounts of money in a relatively short period of time. You can also become very wealthy by looking at this very hard and closely and implementing the concepts.

This will require some "out side the box" thinking on your part. The concepts presented here do NOT require capital outlay on your part! They do require a lot of creative thinking, ability to perceive and solve problems as well as the ability to get in front of decision makers and present  a plan or plans of action.

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Calendar Stacking- a New Way to View Price (by Market Sniper)

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I promised a post on just one thing that I use in my trading. This is but one very small piece of the "puzzle" but I find it VERY useful and you may as well.

As I am predominately a day trader, this is actually an extension of the daily Opening Range (OR) into longer time frames. If you are not familiar with trading using the OR, feel free to email me at Dutch302 at gmail and I will send you a pdf on the subject, called Trading The 10 O'clock Bulls.

What we use here is the monthly opening ranges and the six month opening ranges. The monthly opening range is defined as the absolute high and low of the first trading day of each month. This is regular session only. No data from pre-market or after hours trading is used. Why should we even look at this? Main reason, it is objective information.

    1. It happens twelve times a year, every year!

    2. It is a calendar specific defined price area on a chart.

    3. Key players tend to respect and react to it, just like they do on the daily opening range.

    4. It can be easily identified on all stocks and in all markets.

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