Not long ago, I started using a service called Traders Audio. As I am day-trading, I am listening to a guy on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, calling out bids and offers on the S&P. I trade the mini (ES). It sounds like a live pork auction. Better yet, sounds like a horse race. Sugar foot out in front..Sugar foot out in front Sugar foot out in front, aaaaaaaaaaaand here comes Pony Up. Pony up is making a move, he's coming around the bend,...Sugar foot, Pony up, Sugar foot, Pony up....well you get the idea.
But what this guy is calling out are the bids and offers from traders on the floor which are referred to as "LOCALS". Then, in comes "PAPER". "PAPER" are the guys representing the big brokerage houses such as Bache Securities, Merrill Lynch, Solomon Smith Barney, etc. When these guys are buying and selling, the sound on the floor gets pretty exciting. People are yelling and screaming, and if you're watching the market on a chart, you can see the price moving like it had just mainstreamed Red Bull and caffeine.
Here is my experience in the first two weeks of using the service. When I hear "PAPER is buying", it is the locals that are selling to them. The market will move down temporarily. But it seems that in the end, "PAPER" gets it's way. This is not to say you should use the service based upon my observations. Again, I am fairly new with Traders Audio at this writing but my experiments after a period of observation, have proven to be profitable. Not only have I turned some profit using the service, but I no longer feel alone and isolated as I am trading. If you've been trading for a while, you know the isolation I'm talking about. You're sitting at home, looking at a screen all day, watching CNBC or Bloomberg, reading the latest financial news, watching the screen, sipping your coffee, watching the screen, making some phone calls and watching the screen. Oh yeah, did I mention watching the screen? So now, I turn off the TV and listen to Ben Lichtenstein and others from his organization call out the live action. They're telling you who's buying and who's selling. Additionally, he is also making side remarks about conviction, market participation, who the players are and more. So now, when I make a decision, whether right or wrong, at least I feel like I'm part of a team of traders and my actions are the same actions as the pros. Additionally, there is a traders chat room going on as well.
Here's another surprise. You know how the term "customer service" is kind of a joke these days? I had a few questions about the service in terms of how to interpret some of the things I hear. Ben, who is the owner of Traders Audio, has his email and phone number right there on the website, so I decided to email him. Honestly, I did not think I would get any kind of response. But low and behold, he emailed me right away and even invited me to call him, which I did. Geeeez, How'd that happen? This guy is inundated with s--t all day----the frenzy of the market, his employees (which you can hear candid conversations of in the background), customers and thousands like me! I cant even get the cable guy on the phone!
TAGS: pit noise, squawk box, day trading, emini trading, ES day trading, Traders Audio, Ben Lichtenstein, stock exchange, CBOE, technical analysis trading, investing, stock market, Chicago Board of Trade, futures trading
