timothy sykes logo

Trading Psychology

Join the 4 AM Club, Get Ahead of the Market

Timothy SykesAvatar
Written by Timothy Sykes Reviewed by Jack Kellogg Fact-checked by Ellis Hobbs
Updated 6/17/2026 6 min read
Join the 4 AM Club, Get Ahead of the Market Thumbnail

Do you REALLY have to get up at 4 AM to be a successful trader?

Image created by Google Gemini
Image created by Google Gemini

The short answer is no.

But right now some of the biggest opportunities in the market happen between 4 AM and 7 AM ET.

Depending on where you live that means you might have to get up earlier.

I know…

Some retail brokers don’t even allow you to trade before 7 AM.

There ARE solutions, but it doesn’t matter because you can still learn by watching.

And before you ask…

This has NOTHING to do with the cultish book “The 5 AM Club” (more on that later).

Look, I’m not saying you have to have some kind of amazing morning routine.

I do have millionaire students (like Mari) who get up early, exercise, journal, meditate…

I respect that, but it’s not what this is about.

This is 100% about what I’m seeing in the market day after day.

Right now, you MUST try to wake up for premarket trading.

If the market shifts and there aren’t so many Supernovas, THEN I’ll get back to sleeping in.

For now…

Every trader (ESPECIALLY beginners) should do this…

Wake Up To Opportunity

I mean that both figuratively and literally.

People keep asking me about sleep…

“Tim, if I get up at 4 AM, what time do I have to go to bed?”

Seriously?

Look, I know sleep is important.

But are you willing to risk missing one of the most amazing markets in decades over an hour or two of lost sleep?

Sleep less. Drink more coffee. Drink Red Bull and Celsius. Do whatever you have to do.

Squeeze in a 20-minute nap later in the day (good luck finding a quiet 20 minutes in THIS market)…

Sleep more on weekends…

Go to bed earlier…

FIGURE IT OUT!

Opportunity Knocks 16 Hours a Day

Again, this isn’t one of those cultish posts about how “The 5 AM Club” changed someone’s life.

Honestly, that book was kinda meh.

There’s nothing wrong with the idea, but it can be explained in two sentences:

  1. Get up early so you don’t have distractions
  2. Exercise, meditate, and learn something new during the first hour of your day

There… I just saved you $15 (and hours of your life).

You can apply that to your life any time you want. But…

This Market Is Happening NOW

Post image

Get my weekly watchlist, free

Sign up to jump start your trading education!

There’s no time to waste.

This is one of the greatest markets for learning in my 25+ years of trading.

This is truly the Supernova summer that Jack and I anticipated.

Millionaire Moves

I’m still here in Italy trying to entertain a group of new millionaires.

We have several new millionaire students and this group I’m currently with doesn’t want to be public.

Some people are saying “Come on, show them.”

No.

Some of my students and their families want to keep their privacy (and I respect that).

So I grouped all the private people together.

But I’m still trading with views like this every day…

It’s great working with new millionaires and I hope they’re having a good trip.

I think they’d all agree that if the stock market ever crashes and there are no more plays…

I could be a travel planner.

Do you want to learn from two dedicated millionaire traders….

 WITHOUT having to leave the comfort of your home?

Next week, June 26th and 27th, I’m hosting…

The Millionaire Formula Conference

I’ll be joined by special guests $26M trader Jack Kellogg, and $2M trader Bryce Tuohey.

The best part is…

It’s FREE and YOU are invited.

All you have to do is register below.

Yes! I’m Ready To 

Discover the Battle Tested Trading Formula

That 50 Everyday People Have Used To Crush The Markets

Seriously, it’s free. And this is a greatttt time to learn about crazyyyyy runners!

So register NOW and I’ll see you there next week.

Catalyst Watch

Even though I trade penny stocks, I still pay attention to the overall markets. Why?

Because roughly 75% of stocks follow the market on any given day.

And very good (or bad) news can turn a winner into a loser in seconds.

So, I’m keeping my eyes on two things:

  1. The market’s reaction to yesterday’s Fed decision
  2. Whether the Iran deal gets signed tomorrow

Whatever you do, don’t play guessing games. React instead of trying to predict

On My Radar 

Key Takeaway

Get up early every day, turn on your laptop, and run your StocksToTrade scans.

Start with the Top % Gainers scan.

Yesterday (as I was writing this) there were three +100% spikers and 12 more double digit spikers by 4:30 AM.

And this is happening every day right now.

See you bright and early…

Cheers,

– Tim Sykes

How much has this post helped you?

(0 votes, average: 0 out of 5)
Leave a reply
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”