SMB Capital

To learn 3 real-world setups that our traders use, including the simple setup that we teach all our new traders, and the setup that turned one of our traders into a 7-figure big money earner, check out the free webinar we're currently running. bit.ly/smbcaptraining

Before you call a stock in play, check this..

Your ticker count can hide one oversized bet, especially when leverage is involved, so before adding a trade, check which holdings move together and size that shared exposure as one position.

A textbook breakdown lost its context after hours, which is why your entry rules need a session filter: if the setup appears outside its planned trading window, you pass.

Action bias turns every price wiggle into a reason to trade, so make patience mechanical: cap your day at 15 round trips and, after two losers, keep your hands off until your setup appears.

Good earnings don't always mean a stock goes higher. Overhead supply can turn a strong gap up into a sharp selloff. But if the stock breaks through that resistance, it can open the door to a powerful move higher.

🚨 Desk Alert: Today’s PlayBook Review — Alex Takes the Hot Seat 🚨 Today we are back for another [mentoring session](smbtraining.com/blog/smb-ins…) that our traders have used for over 15 years to build their trading business—the PlayBook. Alex P. is stepping into the hot seat to deconstruct a live institutional setup from his trading ledger: The 9 EMA Continuation + Adds in $EWZ (Gap into Support) from Monday, October 26, 2026. Alex took a non-traditional development path worth admiring: he was an SMBU student who took SMB In-House, consistently stood out, and earned a permanent seat on our desk. Bella Side Tip: Alex is genuinely one of my favorite new traders. He is always smiling, always positive, and deeply grateful to have earned a seat on the desk. He is a true culture carrier who lifts the energy and morale of everyone around him. That is an excellent quality to recognize and model, whether in trading or in life. He is a pleasure to work with and be around, and the entire desk feels the same. Be like Alex. I have graded hundreds of these [presentations](smbtraining.com/blog/smb-ins…) over the years. On our desk, 80 gets a Junior Intern passing grade, 85 is the Senior Intern benchmark, and 90 is the line required for new hires. Today, we’re putting Alex through our standardized 10-point PlayBook scorecard live. What You’ll Learn Today: - Trading a 1-in-58 Quadrillion Statistical Outlier: $EWZ opened down over -19.8% (-8.43 standard deviation event) following the Brazilian presidential runoff election shock. We will break down how an extreme, front-page WSJ political catalyst created massive positioning dislocation—where Brazilian 10Y yields surged +300 bps and call open interest reached record highs—setting up an asymmetric mean-reversion bounce into multi-year support. - The "Must-Haves" vs. "Bonus Points" Sizing Framework: Alex built a rules-based gating system to scale from C-risk up to A+ sizing. Learn why trading an ETF gapping >3% into support with RVOL >1.5x warrants baseline B-risk, and what extra variables give you the green light to push size. - The 9 EMA Continuation & Tape Confirmation: How to use the pre-market VWAP reclaim to establish a long bias, and how to execute on the 9 EMA continuation off the open. Alex walks through how he added risk across multiple 9 EMA retests and trailed his stop under swing lows, holding B+ size while keeping net downside strictly capped at C+ risk. - Exiting into Structural Options Gravity: Stop guessing where parabolic moves will stall. Alex showcases his custom Open Interest Levels indicator, mapping out why the $34 strike was an institutional brick wall to take off 50% into the highs. - Custom Technology Built with AI: See how Alex built custom morning reports, real-time RVOL scanners, and economic calendars using Claude to automate his pre-market homework and screen for high-conviction catalysts. Get off the sidelines, come support Alex as he takes the hot seat, bring your questions, and let’s see what grade he earns today. Will Alex pass? 📍 Where: [SMB Inside Access](smbtraining.com/blog/smb-ins…) — The PlayBook ⏰ When: Wednesday 1:30 PM EST One Good Trade, Bella

Before your next trade, can you name the catalyst, setup, and trade direction—we walk through real examples to show how those three parts form a complete strategy and give you a simple way to check your own plan. youtu.be/er08UGHCHCA

The level itself can be the catalyst: we walk through our eight-step approach to breakouts without news, connecting setup quality, confirmation and execution so you can practice with a clear plan for risk. youtu.be/M1o0XqCaDiE

Failed breakouts, broken support and bearish moving average crosses can signal a market shift—when those warnings stack up, we dial back longer-term swings and focus on intraday moves instead of counting on breakout follow-through.

Our four-step earnings process connects the headline reaction, conference call, and price confirmation to plans for the next day so you can define your risk and recognize when the trade has changed. youtu.be/FQIH6o18y9g

🚨 James takes the PlayBook hot seat. 🚨 Will he pass? Join Bella for SMB Inside Access on Wednesday, October 21 at 1:30 PM Eastern. James is breaking down his Day-1 Earnings Gap-Down Reversal in $INTU from August 26, 2026: +3.06R on A risk. A green P&L is only part of the story. On our desk, we grade the process. The benchmarks: 80 → Junior Intern 85 → Senior Intern 90 → New-hire standard to earn a professional trading seat We’ll put James’s trade through our 10-part PlayBook scorecard live—the mentoring process SMB traders have used for over 15 years. Here’s what we’ll review: • The earnings gap-down: How a guidance reset and a 9.5% pre-market gap created a reversal setup near daily support. • The VWAP targets: How the 2-Day and Week-to-Date VWAPs shaped his profit-taking plan. • Confirmation vs. anticipation: Starting with B risk on a volume-backed session VWAP reclaim, then adding to A size after the $327.50 pre-market high broke. • The fast exits: James sold 15 of 20 shares into the VWAP targets in just 98 seconds. Disciplined scaling—or too much, too soon for an A-conviction trade? • The technology: Using standard deviation overextension flags and 50-minute EMA trails to make scale-outs and runner stops more systematic. Bring your questions. Come support James. See what grade his process earns. 📍 SMB Inside Access — The PlayBook ⏰ Wednesday, October 21 | 1:30 PM Eastern Join us: smbtraining.com/blog/smb-ins… One Good Trade.

From opening drives to exhaustion reversals, we walk through six momentum trades and how to read the urgency behind each, so you can connect stock selection, setup and execution. youtu.be/reWtEMpWlpA

Trade well. Give back. Those words hang on the wall at SMB Capital. We’re bringing that spirit to Traders4ACause Austin 2026, and we’d love to see you there. Come meet Mike Bellafiore, SMB’s Co-Founder, and Jeff Holden, our Head of Trader Development, in person. Talk trading with Bella: Bring your toughest questions about improving your performance and sharpening your edge. Hear stories from the desk about who is doing exceptionally well at SMB right now—and why. (Fair warning: Ask Bella about youth baseball training only if you have an hour to spare.) Talk recruiting with Jeff: Curious about earning a seat on a prop desk? Ask what it takes to get hired as a full-time trader at SMB or land an internship. Whether you’re looking to break into prop trading, take your independent trading to the next level, or connect with top proprietary and independent traders while supporting a great cause, come join us in Austin. Register and learn more: traders4acause.org/austin26/ If you’re coming, make sure to say hello!

Trading breakouts with options takes more than a bullish thesis: our MRNA call debit spread illustrates how to define your downside, match the structure to the move you need, and reassess risk even when the trade’s working.

Trade well. Give back. Join SMB’s Mike Bellafiore & Jeff Holden at Traders4ACause Austin 2026! Talk trading with Bella. Ask Jeff about prop desk careers & SMB internships. Connect with great traders for a great cause. traders4acause.org/austin26/

If you're only watching price on an options trade, you're missing two other moving parts: volatility and time.

Before you trust an options strategy's win rate, watch how we evaluate the size of wins and losses, risk across expirations and backtested exit rules so you can plan for what happens when you're wrong. youtu.be/7zFONVRQHFs

We're breaking down six core momentum trades behind familiar strategy names so you can identify what price is actually doing, put it in context and know what needs to happen before you enter. youtu.be/h6KnW-ahzbU

Forcing day two continuation inside day one’s range can mean repeated losses: zoom out, limit yourself to one attempt while price is trapped, and wait for a key level to break and hold before giving it your full attention.