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Tiny Trades Teach Tim The Truth — $SYSX

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 1/26/2023 5 min read

Hey Trader. Tim Here.

Just a few more weeks until I teach IN PERSON!

I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed connecting with traders in person. It’s literally my lifeblood.

But before you arrive, there’s one thing you must understand.

I’m not a perfect trader. Far from it.

I know. Totally mind blowing right?

Despite earning millions as a trader, the stock market continues to humble me.

Like a couple of days ago when I traded Sysorex Inc (OTCQB: SYSX).

This tiny trade reminded me of the importance of patience, a lesson you don’t always have to learn the hard way.

Many of you probably think you have this in the bag. Trust me. I did as well.

That’s why I want to show you how Evil Tim popped up in the SYSX trade and what I should have done differently.

Examples like these help all of us recognize and manage our itchy trigger fingers.

Before We Begin

Above all else, I want you to walk away with this…

DO NOT FORCE YOUR TRADES!

Trading is meant to be deliberate and methodical.

Learn to recognize and manage your emotions.

SYSX – The Setup

SYSX was a fairly simple setup.

As the chart below illustrates, shares rose in heavy volume in the days prior to my trade.

In the premarket, there wasn’t any price action, nor had there been in the days prior.

However, SYSX was on my watchlist which includes other names I want to keep an eye on.

Once the market opened, shares dipped in a quick panic move.

That was when I attempted to jump into the trade … and where I made my mistake.

Our StocksToTrade Guru Tim Bohen talks extensively about his ‘9:45 rule.’

It’s simple really. You allow a stock to open and give it 15 minutes to make the violent moves before entering a trade.

Frankly that’s what I should have done.

Luckily, after a minute or two, I realized that I bought on the high side of that panic dip and didn’t get the bounce I wanted.

So I sold for a very small profit.

While this was a win and I don’t necessarily swing for the fences, I do try to get 5%-10%, not 1%-2%.

But let’s face it. I’ve been in Bali building 22 schools for the past several weeks, I haven’t slept much, and I’m lucky that I walked away with a profit here.

Looking back, as I wrote in the comments, I should have looked at the low $0.05s or $0.04s.

And wouldn’t you know it, that’s where it found support.

Going back to the chart, I want to zoom out to the day before.

In this chart, I drew horizontal lines on the swing points where the stock ran into support or resistance.

Those levels worked splendidly the next day when I was trading.

Here’s how I could have worked them better.

As you read above, I should have considered a rebuy at lower levels.

Those lower levels coincide with those support prices I drew on the chart.

Frankly, if you want to be conservative, using the prior day’s low is a good risk-reward spot to trade a bounce.

You know there are a lot of stop orders below that point.

And you can see how the heavy volume held up the stock around 11 a.m. right at that price.

From there, you can trade the consolidation against that low, looking for a swing higher.

Now let’s say you got in early at around $0.053 or so.

If you took half a position there, you could take a similar-sized position at the lower level to bring down your average entry price.

From there, you can scale out of the trade if it rises or stop out should it fall.

More Breaking News

Again, using that low with heavy volume is a much better choice because it keeps my losses small compared to my potential reward.

Applying This to Your Trading

© Millionaire Media, LLC

Everyone has a different style.

Even if we trade the same patterns, you probably execute your trades slightly differently.

Explore what works best for you.

You don’t always have to follow my exact trades. In fact, I encourage you not to.

My trades create a framework for you to build.

Think of it as the foundation for your home. I lay the concrete, you build your palace.

One great way to build that foundation is our upcoming LIVE in-person event. 

If you want to cut your learning curve, this is a great way.

Make sure you sign up now — seats are limited.

 

—Tim


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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”