How To Execute when Trading (Thread)

Trading is a matter of preparation, discipline and execution.

Execution is about reacting to what we see on the charts in accordance with what you have already planned out when the market is closed.

The reason we plan our actions beforehand is because our emotions are at a lower state and we are more objective at that point in time.

Many traders often have the same watchlists going into the week but when the opening bell rings and setups emerge, the traders who can execute have the best performance.

Trading execution begins with research and preparation.

Why do we track institutional footprints? 🐘 (Thread)

Large institutions like mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, insurance companies, trusts, etc. amount for over 75% of all volume. These institutions move the market, not you and I.

It makes sense that if these guys are moving the markets, we would ideally want to buy the same stocks they are buying, but before they buy them? Right?

So, let’s get a clear understanding of how and why this is so important and what this might look like behind the scenes.

For starters, let’s discuss what we mean by a large institution. In this case, we are referring to the many funds, pensions, trusts, etc. that are responsible for managing tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars.

Hence, they easily attract and can afford to retain the planet’s top talent, not to mention, their research budgets are enormous.

They have access to information and resources that the retail crowd simply does not, and if they did, it would likely be extremely unaffordable.

What to look for when the market gets volatile. (Thread)

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The first thing you should be on the lookout for is tight price action in leadership names. During corrective markets, liquidity is low as market participants take a step back due to uncertainty.

This leads to larger price ranges and therefore tight action is a sign that liquidity is returning to the markets.

As certainty returns, price action becomes tighter and more rational.

This type of action is much easier to operate in as a retail trader since it allows you to define risk which is always first and foremost in any trading strategy.

Another key thing to look for is multiple RS days within specific stocks and groups.

RS ( Relative Strength) Days occur when a stock outperforms the market and other stocks during a corrective period.

If you need a refresher on Relative Strength techniques check out this blog post:

In the fall of 2018, I signed up for a class called "Introduction to the Stock Market and Technical Analysis" taught by Dr. Eric Wish

This class changed my life.

Here are 10 Lessons Dr. Wish taught me from his over 50 Years of Trading.

(Thread)

Before this class I had absolutely no knowledge about investing, trading, or how to read a stock chart

Today, trading & studying the commonalities between the greatest performing stocks is my passion, and what I’ve spent the past 1000+ days focused on

Now onto the first lesson

Financial Literacy

The first lesson Dr. Wish taught me was the importance of overall financial literacy.

Roth IRAs, interest rates, budgeting, building credit the right way.

You need to master money management before thinking moving on to trading/investing.

Overall Strategy

Throughout the class, Dr. Wish repeated his trading mantra.

As you gain trading knowledge and experience, you'll appreciate the simplicity and depth of this one sentence:

Determine the Market Trend

The vast majority of stocks follow the overall trend of the market. This is why the mantra begins with “In a Rising Market”

"At least 50% of the whole game is the general market."

-William O'Neil

10 Lessons I Learned While Working With William O’Neil (Thread)

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1. The importance of trading psychology and emotional/physical well-being

Trading psychology and physical/emotional well-being is probably one of the least discussed, yet most important aspects of becoming a successful trader.

However, the large majority of traders spend little time if any focusing on this aspect of their trading and instead, dedicate their time to methodology, technique, and “special indicators.”

Start by taking good care of your physical and emotional health.

This means getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, etc.

Next, pick up a couple of books and study trading psychology. Two excellent books on this subject are, “Trading in the Zone,” by Mark Douglas and “The Psychology of Trading,” by Brett Steenbarger

2. The importance of sound rules to avoid emotional decision making.

Having a sound set of rules that are proven to work is essential to success in the stock market. Why is this so important? Two words. Human nature.

How to identify the next Market Leaders (Thread)

After a basing/corrective period in the market, new merchandise will start to emerge and show itself as the market is setting up for another uptrend.

Some leaders from the previous run may continue their moves, but often it's the new leaders which will provide the most alpha.

So keep an open mind and search for the stocks that are standing out from the crowd with the strongest combination of superior price + volume action and fundamentals.

Here is how to find these next leaders:

First, market leaders by definition lead the market. They will often be making new price and relative strength highs as the market starts moving up from a potential bottom.

Keep an eye on Relative Strength Lines especially. A Relative Strength New High Before Price is a key Leadership Blueprint. For instance, $TSLA showed this characteristic before advancing 350% in 2020

The RS Line is calculated by the Price of the stock/ SPX

The best traders take advantage of alternate entries to build positions before a stock becomes obvious to the crowd.

Here are 7 lesser known Chart Patterns that are a MUST in any trader's tool box 🧵👇

#1: Alternate Pivots

Alternate pivots offer earlier entries when compared to regular pivots.

These pivots are important because:

▪️ They offer the same if not better R/R then regular pivots
▪️ Less volatility around these areas
▪️ Allow you to start positions EARLIER

#2: High Volume Close (HVC)

The HVC is created from a big volume gap up.

The close of this day is an important point for institutions to support.

If institutions are in supporting this point, price should be very responsive - making it a great, lower risk entry.

#3: Pivot Retest

The pivot retest setup happens when price retests the prior support/resistance point & then rallies back through.

This can be a powerful setup as it acts as a 'shakeout' and reverses higher with stronger hands holding the name.

#4: In The Wick Setup

We are looking for stocks that open in the wick of the prior session's bar.

The buy trigger is when price moves through the prior day's high.

The stop loss should be the low of the current day.

10 truths I wish I knew when I started trading:

Trading always was, is, and will always be a game against yourself. Nobody can make it happen for you, and there’s nobody to beat.

Your only chance of winning is to practice being a better version of yourself today than you were yesterday.

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Traders waste so much energy lamenting on "I missed this" - if all that energy was spent on fixing a problem they just identified — many of them would be better off than they are today.

Be a good problem solver, not a complainer. That negative energy is no bueno.

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Performance is a byproduct of position sizing.

Position Sizing stems from conviction.

Conviction is built by doing deep dives and studying specific setups in the markets, especially ones that tap into its structural tendencies consistently.

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Have a few setups you know really really well.

I have hundreds of examples on each, done deep dives & can trade them when I see them instinctively.

You have to know exactly what ur looking for…so u can repeatedly execute those setups & make them sources of income.

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There are thousands upon thousands of stocks that you can trade.

But how do you narrow it down to the best of the best?

In this thread, we'll highlight the 3 most important steps you need to take to create a Focus List (& how you can apply these lessons immediately)

👇🧵

By the end of this thread, you'll be able to:

✅ Scan quickly and effectively to build a Universe List
✅ Narrow it down further to a Weekly Focus List
✅ Find the best stocks possible to trade

It's that simple so let's jump in.

· Scan quickly and effectively to build a Universe List

🔎 Pullbacks
🔎 Breakouts
🔎 High Volume
🔎 Fundamentals
🔎 Momentum Edges

Here are the criteria you can use in your favorite scanning platform for each:

Pullbacks Edge 🚨:
· Above your favorite Key Moving Average Scan (> 10EMA, 21EMA, 50DMA)
· % Off Highs Scan (< 20%)
· Reverse Pocket Pivot Scan

Breakouts Edge 📈:
· 52 Week High Scan
· Volume > 2x Avg. Scan
· Price > 5% on Session Scan

10 Essential Trading Principles (Thread)

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1️⃣ Trade Plan:

The first thing before a position is initiated is a clear plan must be in place detailing specific entry areas, their associated sell stops, and potential profit-taking zones.

Below are some factors to consider when crafting your trade plan:

✅ Individual Goals
✅ Personal Progress
✅ Current Market Environment
✅ The many fundamental and technical factors relevant to each individual stock, its sector, industry group, and its overall strength relative to the rest of its industry.

2️⃣ Risk Management:

This is the golden key to consistent success in the stock market. Yes, it is even more important than stock selection.

Bernard Baruch, a close friend of Livermore said even being right 3 or 4x out of 10 should yield a person a fortune if he cuts his losses.

3️⃣ Annual & Quarterly Earnings:

Look for companies with:

✅ Annual earnings that are positive and have been increasing YoY for at least 3 years.
✅ At least 25% QoQ earnings/sales growth for a minimum of 3 quarters.

These are early indicators a stock may be ready to explode.

Building a Daily & Weekly Routine Workflow to Increase Profitability

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The stock market is one of the most complex systems in the world, with parts that change every single second.

As individual investors, we need to bring a level of consistency to our system that can prevent us from feeling overwhelmed.

Routines offer this consistency.

As a retail trader/investor, you must have a set routine for your daily review and weekend review.

This is non-negotiable if you want to outperform the market or increase your current levels of profitability.

In your Daily Routine, you should review the following 👇

🔹 General Markets
🔹 Current Positions
🔹 Emotional Review
🔹 Focus List
🔹 Summary

General Markets (10 min)

The goal is to identify if the wind is at our backs.

You should note whether there has been a recent cluster of accumulation/distribution, where price is with respect to the KMAs, & the index's relationship to the highs.

8 Chart Patterns by William O'Neil

Let's break them down one by one🧵

Perhaps the most famous basing pattern found in the market is the Cup with Handle pattern.

✅ Chart resembles a cup with a handle
✅ Base length: Minimum 7 weeks
✅ Base depth: 20-30%
✅ Buy point: high of the handle
✅ Handle length: 1 week
✅ Handle depth: no more than 15%

There is also a Cup without Handle pattern.

✅ Chart is just a cup, no handle
✅ Base length: Minimum 7 weeks
✅ Base depth: 20-30%
✅ Buy point: High of left side of cup

The Double Bottom chart pattern is also very common & is one of the most powerful patterns to learn.

✅ Base resembles a "W"
✅ Base length: Min. 7 weeks
✅ Base depth: < 40%
✅ Buy point: middle of "W"
✅ Second low must undercut first low

The Flat Base pattern is another well known structure coined by William O'Neil.

✅ Base resembles a shallow consolidation
✅ Prior uptrend must be greater than 30%
✅ Base length: Minimum of 5 weeks
✅ Base depth: < 15%
✅ Buy point: High of structure

How Stage Analysis can improve your Trading & Investing 📈📉

Thread🧵

👇

Stan Weinstein's Stage Analysis offers traders a powerful methodology to identify trends in the markets while following strict risk management principles.

1/

First, let's review who Stan Weinstein is and his contributions to the market.

Weinstein is a veteran technical trader who has over 50 years of experience and now works as an advisor for institutional investors.

2/

Stan is well known for authoring "Secrets for Profiting in Bull & Bear Markets" which you can find at the link below.

This book is incredibly well written and gets into the nitty-gritty of his processes in the

So, what is Stage Analysis?

Stage Analysis is used to identify the longer-term trend of a stock or index. There are 4 different stages 👇

The Basing Area, Advancing Phase, The Top Area, and Declining Phase.

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A Guide to Position Sizing

--- Thread 🧵 ---

To perform in the market, position sizing needs to be the main focus.

This is what ultimately separates the good from the great.

It will make no difference on your account if you have a 100% gain in a name with only 1% of your equity.

It will make a huge difference on your account if you have a 100% gain in a name with 20%+ of your equity.

There are 2 consistent ways to position size in the markets 👇

1️⃣ Position Size Based on Risk
2️⃣ Position Size Based on Number of Edges

1️⃣ Position Size Based on Risk

Before you take a position in a stock, you must know how much you are willing to lose on a trade.

We recommend never risking more than 1% of your overall account equity on any single trade, especially if you are in the consistency phase.

Top 7 Things You Must Do Differently to Achieve Massive Success as a Trader by Jesse Stine

(Jesse turned $46,000 into $6.8M in 28 months, netting him a return of 14,972%)

🧵👇

Learn How to Sell

🔹 "Most investors spend 99% of their time studying what to buy and when to buy it."
🔹 "If you don't become passionate about the art of selling, you might continually lose a majority of your gains."
🔹"Fear is NOT a profitable sell signal"

Focus on Weekly and Monthly Charts

🔹"Smart money billion dollar hedge funds and institutions base their buy and sell decisions almost exclusively on longer-term weekly and monthly charts."

To make big money, we have to know what big money is doing.

Wait Until Everything Lines Up

🔹"There's only one way to put yourself in a position to hit a grand slam. Wait, wait, & wait some more until most of the technicals line up in your favor. By waiting until EVERYTHING lines up, your odds of massive success go through the roof."

Invest on an Island

🔹"Ignore the noise and make your own decisions."
🔹"By eliminating all the 'noise', you open up the possibility of massive success."

As Traders, Technical Analysis allows us to Judge Potential, Identify Accumulation, and Manage Risk.

It allows us to see through the noise and interpret price action.

Here is How To Read a Stock Chart For Beginners (Thread)

Let's start with the basics.

When you first pull up a stock chart you will see Price and Volume plotted versus time.

Each price bar represents one period of whatever timeframe you are on

Some people like candlesticks, I personally think Open/High/Low/Close (OHLC) Bars are more intuitive

For each bar/candle, the four important data points of each period are represented:

High
Low
Open
Close.

For each bar, we want to be able to determine whether buyers or sellers are in control and how much conviction they have.

To do this we use our tools: Price and Volume

Thing about turning a price Bar 90 degrees counter clockwise so the high is now on the left and the low is now on the right.

Then picture a game of tug of war with participants representing buying pressure on the left and selling pressure on the right.

The best traders in the world have made millions from one setup.

The setup? A breakout from a base.

But what do these bases have in common & what should you be looking for?

Here are the most important characteristics of a proper base, broken down one by one 🧵👇

By the end of this thread, you will:

✅Be able to identify the main characteristics of a proper base
✅Understand subtle clues of accumulation
✅Have access to 20+ real world examples

Let's get started! 👇

Proper bases all have the following characteristics:

▪️ Shallow Base Depths
▪️ Prior Uptrend of at least 20%
▪️ Early Stage Base
▪️ Daily & Weekly Accumulation Signatures
▪️ Relative Strength Periods

Follow along as we break down each aspect in greater detail below 👍

#1: Shallow Base Depths

Base depth is a key component of a proper base.

We measure a base's depth from the absolute peak to the absolute low.

Institutions are the major base builders in the market, & the shallower the base, the stronger the institutional hold in the name.

Here are some good criteria to keep in mind when analyzing bases:

< 20-30% off the highs = best
< 30-40% off the highs = good
< 40-50% off the highs = acceptable under certain circumstances
> 50%+ off the highs = avoid (with exception to some younger IPO names)

How to deal with Deep Red/ Reversal Days (Thread)

Often when the market is extended, we can get a quick reversal to the downside with little or no warning.

There are two main ways these days can go.

We can have a steady selling day with key stocks losing pivots or we can retrace, reverse and then finish strong.

When the market starts showing signs of accelerating distribution during the day, and leading stocks are suddenly down 5+ %, emotions and panic can quickly cause you to ignore rules and make non-systematic decisions.

Below we will cover how to prepare for this event and manage it objectively.

It’s key to understand that emotion can never be eliminated from your trading, that isn’t the goal and is not achievable.