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Trading Lessons

While You’re Christmas Shopping, I’m Banking

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Written by Timothy Sykes Reviewed by Jack Kellogg Fact-checked by Ellis Hobbs
Updated 12/10/2025 6 min read
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Every once in a while, the market gives us a gift.

A stretch of weeks so volatile, so packed with trading opportunity, that it almost feels unfair.

We’re in one of those stretches right now.

While most people are stress-buying holiday gifts on credit, traders who show up to the market are watching small-cap stocks double. Sometimes before breakfast.

Every day there are new +100% runners lighting up my scanner.*

Look at my post below from December 10:

It’s not just the premarket moves.

We’re seeing this volatility all hours of the day …

After the market opened for regular hours on December 10, ASPC spiked to new highs. The entire move measures 510%*.

BBGI took off after the open as well. It squeezed 410%*.

These stocks follow the same repeatable patterns over and over again. The patterns repeat because people are predictable during times of high stress.

In this 2025 market, stress is at an all-time high.

Here’s what’s fueling the chaos:

  • Tariff drama between the U.S. and China puts pressure on the global economy.
  • The Fed’s interest rate decisions have traders swinging wildly between fear and euphoria.
  • AI investment headlines continue to flaunt billions in spending.
  • The year-end “January Effect” is already creeping in. Funds are repositioning and the money churn is noticeable.

It’s a perfect storm.

Every single one of these catalysts creates volatility, the lifeblood of our favorite small-cap stock spikes.

Traders who show up to the market right now have an opportunity to level up their accounts and build momentum going forward.

Stop sitting on the sidelines! This is your wake-up call!

You’re missing the biggest plays of the year!

The Biggest Stock Spikes Right Now

There are almost too many to keep track.

From this week alone:

  • TWG spiked 330%*.
  • CETX spiked 560%* during premarket hours.
  • IBIO spiked 210%*
  • BBGI spiked 550%*.
  • ASPC spiked 510%*.
  • BDRX spiked 190%* during premarket hours.
  • ENVB spiked 170%* during premarket.
  • AFJK spiked 1,100%*.
  • NCPL spiked 190%*.
  • XCUR spiked 190%*
  • OCG spiked 630%*.

It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

Plus, I alert my trades as I’m entering so you can follow my thought process. The more you see these trades in real time, the quicker you’ll pick up on these setups.

Here’s my alert from OCG on December 10:

Source: Profit.ly
Source: Profit.ly

I was texting Strati about this play as he was on a livestream with students.

It was too good to miss! See my texts to him in the post below:

Here’s my buy overlaid on the OCG chart, there was 81% of upside after my entry.

Every candle represents one trading minute. The chart is red because it was in a volatility halt when I took the screen shot:

OCG chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
OCG chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

Volatile stocks like to follow specific patterns as they push higher. OCG was following a breakout pattern on December 10.

That’s how I knew where to build a position …

These patterns are a product of people’s emotions as they trade a +100% runner. They’re stressed.

And because people have always behaved similarly when they’re stressed, these trade patterns always stay the same.

How To Trade The Next One

tim sykes dressed as santa sitting at laptop
© Millionaire Media, LLC

There will be another insane stock spike this week …

And the next week.

And the week after that.*

But this volatility from the larger market won’t last forever. The big money is already warning of what’s to come next year.

  • JPMorgan says a major decline could hit AI stocks in 2026.
  • Goldman and Dalio agree, even mentioning a market drawdown may already be in motion.

Understand, when the overall market slows down, my trade setups will still be here. That’s why I’m not worried about the coming selloff.

These patterns have worked through bubbles, crashes, market booms, pandemics, rallies, etc.

The same patterns that fueled this year’s +100% and +1,000% runners will still show up next year … And the year after that.

The only question is:

  • Can you recognize them with enough time to capitalize and shield yourself from a 2026 meltdown?

If not, don’t worry.

My student-turned-millionaire, Bryce Tuohey, is hosting a trading bootcamp on December 12 and 13.

This FREE 2-day virtual event will teach you the exact process my top students use to trade. The same process I use to trade.

During booms and busts, you’ll know how to:

  • Find the hottest small-cap stocks before the crowd.
  • Time your entries and exits.
  • Cut losses fast and take profits like a pro.

Seats are limited.

>> Claim Your FREE Ticket Now <<

 

Cheers

 

 

 

*Past performance does not indicate future results

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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”