Danny Riley, aka MrTopStep
Danny Riley and I met more than 5 years ago, but I personally began working alongside of him two years ago. I had been around some of the well known traders, and have seen many of the trading products that float around the internet, but there was something different about Danny.
The difference was that Danny is personal. I quickly saw how his eagerness to help people who come in contact with him on social media, IMPRO forum, and elsewhere…I would often hear him repeat the words of the famous CBOT bond trader Charlie D:
“It’s up to us, that know how to trade, to help the next young traders.”
When we first met Danny saw potential in me as a trader. He would reminded me of what the Pitbull often said, “If you want to make the money, you have to put in the work”, and I have known Danny to be working from before sunrise to midnight during the week, and even on weekends.
In the process, he taught me that trading was not merely about the charts or their indicators, but about understanding how the market works, learning it’s personality, and thinking outside the box. He stressed to me to keep a notebook, or Google document, and journal everything I learned, and every idea I had.
There is also a human side to Danny. He was my first friend to offer support during the most troublesome profession/personal time in my life. I have noticed that he tries to find the best in people, and will invest in them to reach their full potential, and be everything they can. This is the Danny that I know.
Friday’s NFP “Old School” Counter Trend Day
Recently, someone hit MrTopStep on Twitter, and seemed to minimize our old school approach. While we agree that the markets have changed, and traders must adapt, we still see much use in many of the rules we learned on the trading floor.
Some time ago MrTopStep produced an e-book of trading rules that Danny Riley learned from the floor going back to the late 1980’s. The book is free and can be downloaded by following the link below…
Download The MrTopStep Trading Rules e-book here
Many pundits and gurus attempt to capitalize on every piece of information and flow. Not Danny, I learned from him the importance of giving back to help traders, that’s why at no cost he writes the Opening Print, it’s why he puts out flow on social media, and it’s why he makes his personal email address available and invites traders to reach out to him.
Fridays jobs report was a good example of how MrTopStep sees things in contrast to other traders, analysts, and commentators. In Friday’s Opening Print, and on the radio show, he spoke of the Counter Trend Friday rule that’s in the e-book mentioned above. Going into Thursday’s close the S&P futures had failed by 65 handles in two sessions, leaving traders concerned heading into Friday’s NFP number. However, before Thursday’s close, Danny mentioned on the message board that the risk was higher going into Friday. Then after the initial reaction to the job’s number on Friday, the futures were heading lower into the cash session, with the S&P looking it’s weakest, MrTopStep took a Twitter poll with nearly all participants responding with a belief that the ESZ would trade lower. With the sentiment so bearish, that was when Danny called the flip, and he called it early.