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Can Trading Really Be That Simple?

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 12/22/2022 5 min read

Promoters will tell you that only they can make you money.

According to them, there’s no process you can follow that works for everyone.

They are all 100% wrong!

It’s absolutely possible to learn a profitable trading process.

My 30+ millionaire students are proof.

I recorded a YouTube video with six of my Millionaire Challenge students a year ago.

Each of them had crossed that 7-figure threshold.

If you listen closely, you’ll find remarkable similarities in their stories.

Every single one of these traders started in the same place.

They studied the 7-Step Penny Stock Framework, learned how to pair it with the right setup, and practiced.

Kyle Williams fell in love with short-selling.

Matt Monaco did a lot of swing trading and cryptos.

All of them began with the same foundation, the same rules, and the same principles.

And yes, it is that simple.

But I get that you might be skeptical…

…which is why I want to walk you through a trade I took last week in Cloudweb Inc. (OTC: CLOW).

It’s a simple setup that combines the framework and morning panic dip buys.

Cloudweb Inc. (OTC: CLOW)

This is the daily chart of CLOW.

Other than a short period from December 1st to the 8th, this stock has been in a perpetual uptrend.

Nearly every day closes in the green.

I want to highlight three areas on this chart.

Notice those long tails?

Those are intraday panics that got bought up.

Right after the open is the best time to scoop those up.

That’s exactly what I did when I traded the name last Wednesday.

People asked me why I didn’t buy breakouts as the name went higher.

Quite honestly, the stock didn’t rise all that much from one day to the next.

Sure, it went up. But it never really went parabolic…yet.

And in terms of percentage moves, it wasn’t enough for me to jump in.

So, instead, I waited for the right setup to develop just like you see above.

In my mind, I like to see morning panics that drop a stock +10% from the previous day’s close.

That triggers the short sale restriction which prevents shorting the stock without an uptick.

In layman’s terms – it tends to lighten the downward pressure.

After that, I use the skills I developed and teach to read level 2 data and look for volume capitulation where the selling is exhausted.

That part takes practice and can seem daunting at first. However, if you know what to look for and when it becomes easier to spot.

I love the morning panic dip buys because they can work on the front side of a Supernova and the back side.

Plus, as a long-side trader, I don’t have to worry about getting punched out by a massive short squeeze.

Now, not every setup works. I only win around 75% of my trades.

But I teach my students to lose small and fast by cutting losses quickly.

When you study these morning panics, you’ll realize that they don’t need a lot of time to work.

It either happens fast or it’s unlikely to happen.

Knowing this, I don’t need to sit around, waiting to see if buyers will step in.

If the trade isn’t moving within 5-15 minutes, I cut it and move on.

Doing this does not help prevent large losses, one of the most common problems traders face.

Ebbs and Flows

is diluted shares bad for stocks
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Like any strategy, there are hot and cold markets.

That’s why I like to say there are markets for learning and markets for earning.

If you study hard, practice, and prepare for the bonanzas, you’ll be able to capitalize on the moment.

On the flip side, you need to have the patience to wait for setups and not force them.

CLOW was a great stock for these setups. But, it could have crashed any day.

I trade cautiously.

If there isn’t enough volatility, I’m not going to press a breakout just because the stock has had a nice run.

My trades ONLY happen when the timing is right.

Patience is something you need to learn if you want to earn.

—Tim


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Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity. Read More

* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”