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How Losses Affect My $7.6 Million Profits

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 3/20/2024 6 min read

Welcome,

My name is Tim Sykes.

I’m a transparent trader in an industry full of scammers, wannabes, and degenerate gamblers.

This is my blog. It’s where I reach out to students in an effort to inspire their success. Because, contrary to popular belief:

There is a process for consistent profits in the stock market.

Especially for small-account traders.

But a lot of people get swept up in the bull crud.

So let me say it again … 

Welcome to my transparent-trading blog. It’s maybe the only one of its kind on the internet. And somehow you found it.

Now let’s get something straight, there are losses in trading. Even the best trading patterns will fail every now and then.

My strategy can help traders limit their losses, while revealing possible profit opportunities.

For example, yesterday Spire Global Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) spiked 50% before noon. I pulled a profit on it that helped me wipe away losses from earlier in the day.

Here’s a chart of the spike:

SPIR chart 2-day, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

I’ll show you a real strategy.

With real profits and losses.

Now, let’s get to business.

Small Losses

There were a few stocks that spiked yesterday.

I made a few trades, and the first handful turned out to be losses.

Let’s take a look:

#1:

Post image

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Source: Profit.ly

Here it is overlaid on a chart:

HOTH chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

#2:

Source: Profit.ly

Here it is overlaid on a chart:

ENVB chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

More Breaking News

#3:

Source: Profit.ly

Here it is overlaid on a chart:

SPIR chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

At this point, collectively, I was down $1,530 on the day.

I put myself in a timeout. But I remembered to stick to the process.

My next trade brought me all the way back to the green … 

Profitable Discipline

Small losses are part of the process.

Any trade can fall apart at any time. There’s no such thing as a 100% profitable strategy.

And you can tell from the charts above, had I held my positions for longer I would have lost even more money. My discipline saved my overall account from unnecessary losses.

And when I found another good trade setup, I was ready to profit.

My starting stake was $60,200:

Source: Profit.ly

Here’s my trade on the chart:

SPIR chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

My profits outweigh my losses.

The next time someone tells you trading is impossible. Show them this blog post.

Plus, I’m not the only trader making money right now.

I have over 30 millionaire students from all walks of life. The one thing they have in common: They’re disciplined enough to follow the rules.

I already mentioned that this industry is sketchy. Greed runs rampant. And it’s easy to get lost.

I think that’s why all of my millionaire students come from the Challenge. It’s where they find:

  • My trade alerts.
  • A huge library of live trade webinars.
  • Access to upcoming live trade webinars.
  • The Challenge chat room to mingle with millionaire students.
  • Up-to-date watchlists.
  • All of my trading DVDs.

It has everything. A complete and transparent review of my ongoing profit journey in the stock market.

To learn my trading process, apply for the Challenge.

There are new opportunities to profit every single day. Use my strategy to control your losses and target the best setups.

Cheers.

 

*Past performance does not indicate future results


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Author card Timothy Sykes picture

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”