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4 Tips For Beating A Slow Day

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 4/4/2023 6 min read

Each day is a fresh chance to capitalize on opportunities…but some days don’t play out as expected.

The quicker you accept this, the less frustrating it’ll be.

Yesterday proved to be one of those days.

After Kerrisdale Capital’s updated short report on AI, the shorts launched a full-scale attack on the AI sector, sending recent runners like AI, GFAI, BBAI, SOUN, and AMST into a tailspin.

I attempted to dip buy on BBAI, but the selling pressure was relentless.

In hindsight, waiting for a bigger panic would have been the smarter move.

Today I want to talk to you about four things you can do to stay out of danger and avoid the temptation of trading when there isn’t much going on.

Review & Analyze Past Trades

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I tell my students to review and analyze their trades daily. Heck, after +20 years of trading and millions in trading profits to show for it…I still find time out of my busy schedule to review and analyze my trades.

When I’m doing this, I’m looking for patterns or trends that can help me identify areas of improvement.

For example, last Friday, I had an amazing trade in GFAI, utilizing my weekend strategy. Knowing that the pattern worked, I’ll focus again on it this coming Friday.

In addition, I’m reviewing catalysts and patterns and determining which ones work best in the current market environment.

I’m looking at the time of day and trying to see if mornings are playing out better than afternoons.

I’m reviewing my execution and trying to decipher if I’m jumping into trades too fast, giving them enough time to work, and cutting losses quickly.

None of this stuff is fun, but it helps me get clarity and focus.

Study

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Over the years, I have put together hundreds of hours of training material. New challenge subscribers often want to know the best videos to watch. But there is no shortcut.

You can’t skip steps.

Study everything…twice.

Again, that’s probably not what you want to hear. But the truth is, my best students studied like crazy their first couple of years. Many of them weren’t even profitable after year one. 

Try to get in an hour or two of studying each day. If there isn’t any good action in the market, then take the time to sneak in a study session.

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Review Trades You Missed

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One of the best ways to learn is to study trades from other successful traders. Try to figure out what they saw in the trade, what goes through their mind, and if there are any takeaways you can take from them.

My goal is to develop self-sufficient students. So when I say study someone else’s winning trades, I’m not saying that for you to become a copycat trader.

I want you to observe what they’re doing and see if you can get any insights to help your trading.

Another thing you can do is look at the top movers for the day. Find the stocks with the biggest moves and figure out why.

  • Is there a new catalyst emerging?
  • Was it a short squeeze?
  • Are there potential sympathy plays to trade?
  • Should I create a watchlist based on this sector?
  • Are there levels you would consider buying?

You’ll put yourself in a good position once you know what traders are reacting positively and negatively towards.

Work On Your Mindset

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I always tell my students to think like they’re retired traders.

Only jump back into the market if you see a trade so compelling…you’d feel bad for not being involved.

This mindset helps me stay more disciplined.

Another thing I like to do is go over my rules to make sure my actions align with them.

For example, my number one rule is to cut losses quickly. I tell this to my students all the time, and you’ll hear me say it on social media.

If I’m known as the guy who cuts losses quickly…guess what I need to do?

I have to stay true to my words.

Taking something difficult and making it part of my identity as a trader (someone who cuts losses quickly)…I’ve put myself in a strong mindset.

You’ve got to tell yourself that success as a trader doesn’t happen in a straight line. Focus on the process of learning and developing your skills.

Make acquiring knowledge the goal. And be prepared not to make money for a while.

If you want help developing those skills…click here for more information. 

 

P.S. Find out why this is one of my favorite strategies right now.


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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”