Thanksgiving is over. The leftovers are gone.
And the market’s back to full throttle.
This week opens with volatility front and center.
NVIDIA (NVDA) just got publicly challenged by Google (GOOG) after reports that Google’s custom chips could disrupt the GPU dominance that’s fueled NVDA’s monster run all year.
Meanwhile, the Fed is still wrestling with what to do next on interest rates. Every new headline, every data leak, could swing their decision one way or the other.
And then there’s Trump’s latest tariff talk, which is already making investors nervous about another round of price wars heading into 2026.
Translation: This market is tense. And tension creates volatility.
That’s good news for traders who know how to adapt. Volatility is an opportunity for those who respect it.
And for my students and me, that means sticking to simple, repeatable patterns. The same patterns that help us find countless runners week after week.
When the market is more volatile, our patterns help us gain an edge.
There’s one clear framework behind all of these explosive moves.
That’s how we catch the biggest runners while others get chopped up chasing noise.
The Checklist for Big Stock Spikes
When the market’s volatile, you can’t trade everything. You have to trade smart.
That means filtering noise through a strict checklist and refusing to bend your rules.
Because when chaos hits, discipline is your only real edge.
Here’s what I’m focused on right now, and what my best students focus on too:
- A price under $5 per share.
- I like small, fast-moving stocks where retail traders, not institutions, control the flow. Cheap doesn’t mean low-quality, it means room to move.
- A spike of at least 20%.
- If it’s not moving, it’s not worth your time. I want momentum strong enough to prove buyers are in control. No spike, no trade.
- Volume above 1 million shares.
- Volume confirms conviction. Thin plays die fast. Anything under a million shares traded is too illiquid for me to risk it.
- A float below 10 million shares.
- The smaller the float, the faster the squeeze. When demand overwhelms supply, you get those beautiful, explosive moves that can make your entire week.
- A real catalyst.
- No rumor chasing. I’m talking earnings beats, fresh partnerships, PRs, sector momentum. Something that justifies why the stock is moving today.
- Price action that fits my patterns.
- Whether it’s a morning panic dip buy, a first green day breakout, or a weekend setup fading into strength. The chart has to fit my process. I don’t force trades. I wait for confirmation.
This is how I survive in volatile markets.
I’m not trying to catch every move. I’m trying to catch the right ones.
Cut Losses Quickly. Protect Your Account Like a Pro.
In a market this volatile, discipline is everything.
Forget predictions. Forget calling tops or bottoms.
The best traders don’t aim to be right. They aim to be safe. When a trade starts to go against us, we don’t pray for a bounce. We cut losses quickly.
That one rule has saved me and my students more times than we can count.
The goal isn’t to win every trade. It’s to protect your capital so you can take the next one. If you manage your downside, the upside takes care of itself.
You’ll never blow up your account by taking small, controlled losses.
But one ego-driven “hold and hope” trade can erase months of progress.
This week, as volatility ramps back up, remember: We only focus on the best setups. And we walk away from anything that doesn’t meet our criteria.
When the trade works, great.
When it doesn’t, we step aside.
That’s how you survive. That’s how you grow. Cut losses quickly, stay patient, study the patterns.
And let’s make this first full week after Thanksgiving count.
Cheers
*Past performance does not indicate future results
Leave a reply