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Trading Lessons

The #1 Thing You’re Doing Wrong

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 3/4/2022 7 min read

With all this crazy volatility in the market…

… you’d think you need a setup like the one below just to compete…

However, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, I’ve had some of my best trading days on a laptop with sketchy Wi-Fi…

I’ve even had some monster days trading hungover and sleep-deprived.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Because I hear too many traders make excuses about this current market. And how it’s so hard to make money.

It’s not the market … It’s you.

Sure. it’s not as easy as it was last year. However, that hasn’t stopped me from being profitable.

And if you’re not like Roland Wolf or some of my other profitable students…

Then you’re probably doing this ONE THING WRONG.

The Proof Is in the Profits

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We’re going to run through some of my most recent trades so that I can illustrate my point to you.

First up is a $720 profit on…

Elektros Inc. (OTCPK: ELEK)

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Full disclosure: I wasn’t operating at 100% capacity for this trade.

So I didn’t play it perfectly, but that’s OK. Remember that 90% of traders lose. Any profits at all put me in the top 10%.

Actually, one of my students played it better than I did. Check out my video lesson where I give props to Suzy

She had a better plan and execution. I’m so proud to see my students doing well.

I was really sleep-deprived while making this trade. And a lot of people might think, “Tim, why would you trade while low on sleep? What if you mess up?”

Well, for me, trading on low sleep actually improves my performance. I know that sounds pretty counterintuitive.

Let me show you my trade and then I’ll explain…

I saw this former runner start spiking in the morning on recent EV news. Here’s the headline

elekros headline

I got in safely on a dip and then sold into strength as it broke out again. I think you’ll agree that I could have done better. But again, I wasn’t entirely awake. And as you can see in my trade notes, I was having broker issues…

Here’s a chart of the morning run…

ELEK chart
ELEK chart: 1-day, 1-minute candles (Source: StocksToTrade)

I’ve got another example too. And this time I started with a loss

Dark Pulse Inc (OTCPK: DPLS)

One thing that separates me from the rest of this sketchy niche … I share all my trades on Profit.ly. Including my losses.

I’m not afraid to show my failures because I’m not in it for the money anymore. I trade to teach my students the process. And all my profits go to charity anyway.

Help save the reefs and buy some apparel!

Again, the main reason I show my trades is so my students can learn from them. They get to study the what, when, where, why, and how of each trade.

This stock is another former runner that’s been grinding higher for a few days. But instead of trading the breakout, I was trading a panic dip buy pattern.

When stocks fall off a cliff, sometimes they bounce after hitting a bottom. My goal is to buy at the bottom and sell into the bounce.

My first attempt didn’t go so well…

But I recognized the weakness and cut it for a small loss. Which was a great move, because it kept falling after I sold. And that opened the opportunity to rebuy

Here’s a chart of the panic and resulting bounce…

DPLS chart: 1-day, 1-minute candles (Source: StocksToTrade)

There’s a lesson you need to learn and it’s hidden in these trades. Can you see it?

Why You’re Losing

Tim Sykes prepares for a potential market crash in 2022
© Millionaire Media, LLC

Stop caring so much.

So many newbies start trading penny stocks to make millions of dollars. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve helped more than two dozen students do that exact thing … But it takes time.

You can’t profit more than the market will let you. Does that make sense?

I trade better when I’m sleep-deprived, using bad Wi-Fi, having broker problems, and so on because it forces me to focus on only the best plays. There’s no time to screw around.

And I don’t pocket any of my profits. That helps me remove myself enough to trade smart.

My student Suzy did better than me on the same trade because she took time to study my framework and waited for the best time to strike.

She traded like a sniper.

My trading framework is the key to less stressful profits.

I’m not saying it makes trading easy. It’s still a pain in the butt. That’s why all my new students have to apply to study with me. I don’t have time to waste on lazy gamblers.

Think you have what it takes?

Apply right here.

It’s a tough journey. But the most rewarding ones always are.

Comment below that you promise to focus on the best plays ONLY! No more screwing around. What’s your trading plan and how are you going to stick to it?


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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”