Stocks in play: playbook trading
Also known as SMB Capital. Mostly intraday, with occasional swings, in either direction. Any size stock can qualify if it has a real catalyst and outsized volume.
SMB Capital teaches traders to focus on stocks in play and keep a written playbook. That can mean earnings, guidance or news, with volume and range well above normal and enough liquidity to trade. Premarket highs and lows, the prior day and VWAP give them levels to watch.
How the setup works
A stock in play has a reason to move today and the volume to prove the market cares. Earnings, guidance, an upgrade, FDA news or a sector story can all do it. What matters is that more shares trade than usual and the range is wider than usual, which brings real buyers and sellers and cleaner moves.
The playbook is the other half. Traders write down the setups that work for them, with the entry, stop and target for each: an opening range break, a pullback to VWAP, a fade from a premarket high, a day-two continuation. Each day they match the stocks in play to plays they already know, instead of improvising.
Scans to try
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In Playis this exact filter: elevated relative volume plus real range, updated through the session. -
Up On Newssupplies the catalyst, and earnings flags separate report moves from drift. -
RVOLand day-volume columns put a number on "in play", withUnusual VolumeandMomentumas the wider net. -
Prior Day Moverscarries yesterday's names into the day-two playbook. - Alerts to Discord, Telegram, desktop and in-app when a name enters play mid-session.
A ZenBot workflow
- Before the open, run
In PlayandUp On Newsto build the list. - Check the catalyst: the earnings flag and news show why each stock moved.
- Mark premarket highs and lows, prior-day levels and VWAP on each chart.
- Add
Prior Day Moversfor day-two plays. - Turn on alerts for In Play so stocks that come into play mid-session reach you.
What to watch for
Not every mover is in play. A stock up on light volume, or one with a wide spread, can trap you. Volume against its own average is the test. A strong catalyst can also overpower a play that bets against it, so know which side the news favors.