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In the Beginning It’s About Staying Safe

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 9/18/2026 5 min read

Never forget that 90% of traders lose.

And in the beginning, trading can be very confusing.

I want you to survive your learning curve.

And that’s why, in my own trades, I’m overly cautious.

Here’s what I do…

Focus On the Process

Unless you’re brand new, you’ve heard me say this before (and there’s a reason).

© Millionaire Media Tim Sykes Inner Circle event
© Millionaire Media Tim Sykes Inner Circle event

Trading is like trying to hit a moving target (sometimes more than one).

For example, you might find something that’s working now, like my after-hours Overdrive strategy.

But what happens 10 weeks from now when the market stays open longer than ever before?

Will your strategy stop working?

It has happened to me several times since I started:

  • In high school and college I traded breakouts
  • After the dot-com bubble burst I became a short seller
  • Then, I fell in love with dip buying…

It’s not because I wanted to make big changes. It’s because the market shifted and I chose to adapt instead of struggle.

Understand that you will ALWAYS have to refine your process.

It’s not rocket science. You can learn most of what you need in a year or two (depending on how dedicated you are).

But the market will shift and you’ll have to adapt.

And THAT means you’ll have to…

Learn To Love Taking Singles

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Oftentimes I take 5%, 10%, or 20% on a stock that’s up 100% or 200%.

Some of my students say…

“Tim, like, you’re WAY off. What’s up with that?”

Yes. I like to take singles. I teach taking singles. For me, it’s about teaching you the process.

I do it because I can’t trade big and expect students to do the same.

That would lead to a lot of students getting crushed.

But check this out…

Once you learn to take singles, you can start to size up. You can scale into and out of trades.

More importantly, when the market shifts again, you can ALWAYS go back to trading small because you’ve done it before.

You will have a better chance because you know it’s about preparing for the next time the market is hot.

That’s why…

I Will Teach You To Trade Cowardly

The great Warren Buffet stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway on Friday.

In his honor, memorize this quote:

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

Image created with Google Gemini
Image created with Google Gemini

Hot markets hide risk, right?

So I take pride in teaching you risk management and all the other parts of trading that aren’t so much fun.

Yes, I teach you to trade scared so trading isn’t scary. I teach you to lock in singles. I teach you to stay safe.

And I teach you to prepare for the coming changes in the market ahead of time.

How?

By showing you how I…

Trade the Biggest Percent Gainers

All those 10% and 20% singles I love so much…

They come from stocks that are up 100%, 200%, or even as much as 500% in one day.

For example, IM Cannabis Corp. (NASDAQ: IMCC) spiked in premarket on Friday (Sept. 18) and peaked up +319% before pulling back.

IMCC, 9/18/26, big percent gainer
IMCC, 9/18/26, big percent gainer

When stocks move like that, you only have to take a small amount to grow your small account nicely.

But you need to start learning the process right away, because in just 10 weeks, something HUGE is coming.

Are you ready?

23-Hour Trading Is Coming In December

This is the biggest change in the markets since I started trading.

Image created with Google Gemini
Image created with Google Gemini

And I think it’s going to put my new after-hours Overdrive into overdrive (DOUBLE overdrive).

This is BIG.

That’s why tomorrow, September 22 at noon, I’m going live for an emergency briefing:

After-Hours Workshop: Get Ready for the New 23-Hour Markets

When the 23-hour shift happens, it’s going to make the PDT rule ending look like a kid’s ride at the fair.

The end of the PDT rule made this year one of the best summers for traders in memory.

I think 23-hour trading is going to be bigger.

Key Takeaway

Focus on staying safe in the beginning.

Focus on the process and learn to take singles.

But also understand that huge shifts are happening in front of your eyes and you MUST prepare now.

I’ll see you tomorrow at noon ET.

Cheers,

– Tim Sykes


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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.
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* 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”