What do top traders do that others don’t?

The Trader’s Handbook breaks it down.

Here are 10 lessons that help you build consistency and real results. Lesson 1: Every trader follows the same 4-stage path:

Stage 1: Unprofitable and random
Stage 2: Boom and bust
Stage 3: Controlled consistency
Stage 4: Outperformance

Figure out your stage by studying your equity curve. It never lies.

Most traders miss the best moves because they don’t recognize high-probability setups like the “Oops Reversal.”
Here’s how HIMS offered a textbook entry right after earnings—and what to learn from it: This case study breaks down:

How HIMS got on the radar

The exact setup and entry

Risk sizing and trade management

Key takeaways for future trades

QMCO exploded 146% in one week.

This setup was fast, high conviction, and packed with lessons.

Here’s how to spot performance enhancer trades, manage risk, and lock in profits during explosive breakouts like this: Performance enhancers are volatile, fast-moving stocks with big upside.
Not for core positions.

Use 10-15% of your account.

QMCO was a textbook example, breaking out from a tight range at the 10ema.

Bob Fehrmann has quietly been a top fund manager for 5 decades.

He's made it through the '73 crash, '87 Black Monday, all the way to today's market, and at one point managed nearly $11 billion.

Here are his 10 timeless growth stock trading rules (that still work in 2025): 1) The more simple you keep it, the longer you'll be in the game

"If it's above the 50-day moving average, I'm interested. If not, I ignore it."

Fehrmann keeps it dead simple. No need for 20 indicators when you can focus on a simple moving average to identify trend.

Most traders dream of a 409% return year.

Leos Mikulka did it at the US Investing Championship.

Here’s how he trades with precision, disciplines emotion, and captures big themes: Free rolling = freedom

✔️ Lock in gains
✔️ Move stops higher
✔️ Take partial profits

→ If stopped out, worst case is break even

Stress-free trading starts with risk-managed freedom.

Stan Weinstein just issued a warning: leadership is narrowing, and danger signs are flashing.

• He called the 1973 crash early
• Nailed the 2022 top
• Warned on Nvidia before it broke down

For 50+ years, Stan’s edge hasn’t been news; it’s been price stages, breadth, and repeatable patterns. The Market Never Changes

In 1973, 2022, and now — the signs were the same:
• Indexes hit new highs

• Breadth quietly deteriorated

• Only a few names led

These “narrow rallies” are classic topping behavior. The advance/decline line gives the warning before prices do.

Identifying support near market lows is key to getting positioned for the next uptrend.

∙ Momentum shifting
∙ Clear lows to play against
∙ Tight action allows for better entries

Let's take a look at the market's current action, and some positive signs we're seeing: Positive Sign #1: 3 Gap Downs In A Row

While some may think this is negative... "Why would it be positive for the market to be gapping down 3 days in a row?"

...it's the close that matters!

Here's $SPY:

Most traders miss the best opportunities because they can't recognize a new bull market early.

Here’s how to identify major turning points using:

• Breadth signals
• Historical case studies
• Moving average trends

🧵 Let’s break it down: Before you can spot market turns, build a solid foundation:

• Technical analysis (charts, trends, breadth)
• Fundamental analysis (earnings, revenue, leadership)
• Macro context (inflation, GDP, Fed policy)

All 3 pillars must align.

The best thing you can do for your trading right now is go back and study winning setups.

Here's a step by step walkthrough on how you could have used the Episodic Pivot setup to catch an 80%, single day move $CRNC: Before you can trade a setup like CRNC consistently, you need to have a process to find names that are gapping up on the open.

You can use @deepvue to run the "Premarket Movers" scan, and on that day CRNC was at the top of the list with 290% volume.

Struggling to find consistency as a trader?

Christian Flanders went from poker player to 2nd place in the U.S. Investing Championship with a 433% return.
Here's how he overcame setbacks, controlled risk, and mastered the markets: 🧵 🎯 Key Takeaways:
• The poker & trading mindset
• Progressive exposure: adjusting size dynamically
• Why episodic pivots outperform
• The #1 rule for reducing drawdowns
• How historical chart work gives you conviction Let’s break it all down:

This gap up strategy has the ability to change your life — and we're not exaggerating.

It's the exact one that @Qullamaggie used to go from 5k to 100M...

Here's everything you need to know about the Episodic Pivot setup by @PradeepBonde (bookmark this): @Qullamaggie @PradeepBonde Let's start by answering the question:

"What is an Episodic Pivot?"

Here's Pradeep's answer:

Trading is 95% mental (maybe even more).

That's why Mark Douglas' work was so transformative for traders of all markets — it's not just about TA. To be successful, you have to focus on the mental side of trading.

Here are 15 of his top quotes on trading psychology (save this): 1. "Good market analysis can certainly contribute to and play a supporting role in one’s success, but it doesn’t deserve the attention and importance most traders mistakenly attach to it."

Instead, you should be focused entirely on how your mind works.

One of the best ways to identify a bottom in real-time is using US Investing Champ Oliver Kell's @oliverkell_ Price Cycle.

The key pattern you need to know: The Reversal Extension.

Here's what it is, how you can spot it on the charts, with examples: What is a Reversal Extension?

A Reversal Extension is a large reversal bar in a stock or index that is already extended to the downside below the 10 and 20 EMA.

Look for heavy volume capitulation — showing that buyers start selling and sellers cover shorts.

One question we get a ton — does the 8% stop loss rule from William O'Neil still work?

While it depends on the exact scenario, we've heard a different type of strategy from other market wizards:

Here's more on the the 3-4-5 rule: Traditional CANSLIM methodology taught an 8% stop loss from a proper buy point, but even those who traded with WON said his stops were much tighter.

And if you study great traders like @markminervini or @Upticken, you'll see they implement the 3-4-5 strategy (or something similar).

Here's what that means:

It takes the best traders 5-7 years to find a system that works for them to ultimately become profitable.

Here are 10 lessons (from market wizards & hundreds of top traders) that will shorten your learning curve significantly: Lesson 1: Trading Takes Patience & Hard Work

There's no shortcut to success in the markets.

William O'Neil is a perfect example of this — he put in the time necessary to build a system that fit his personality (CANSLIM).

Study the greats, & you set yourself up to be one.

William O'Neil was a true visionary.

From being the youngest ever to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, to turning $5,000 into $200,000 in less than a year.

Here's his story & a deep dive into the principles behind one of the greatest traders ever: WON was from the souther plains of Oklahoma and went to college at Southern Methodist University.

His investing background was heavily influenced by great traders like Nicolas Darvas, Gerald Loeb, and Jesse Livermore.

Earnings season is here, and the best way to take advantage of it is by mastering one specific edge:

The High Volume Edge.

This is the same pattern that made traders like @Qullamaggie millions.

Here's everything you need to know (so you come prepared to start next week): What is the High Volume Edge?

Simply put, you're looking for huge gap ups (10% or more) on BIG volume. Big volume is:

· The Highest Volume Ever (HVE)
· The Highest Volume Since IPO (HVIPO)
· The Highest Volume In 1 Year (HV1)
· The Highest Volume Since Last EPS (HVLE)

There's no better way to study fear & greed than by analyzing historical corrections (perfect for this environment).

Here are 8 you must study, ranging from the 80s to 2018:

—

1: Feb 1980

Peak Date: Nov. 28, 1980
Percent Loss: 27%
Absolute Low: Aug. 12, 1982
News: Recession 2: October 1982-July 1984

Peak Date: October 28th, 1983
Percent Loss: 14$
Absolute Low: July 24th, 1984
News: Heightened hostilities in the Persian Gulf, Interest Rates, 5 year bull prior without significant pullback, computerized trading

Paul Tudor Jones was made famous for his $100,000,000 short in the 1987 Black Monday Flash Crash.

His net worth now exceeds $8 billion.

Here are 9 snippets from his very own documentary, highlighting the mindset & principles behind one of the world's best traders: The first minute of the documentary sets the tone for what's to come.

PTJ clearly has a risk first mindset... ↓

"Risking 10 cents to make $8...that's not a bad trade..."

10 trading principles to set yourself up for a great year in 2025:

1/10 2/10

Topping is an ongoing process. It doesn't happen in one single session.

Institutions unwind positions over weeks/months, the same way they accumulate positions over weeks to months.

Here's what leading stocks are doing right now (that's a big cause for concern): Let's start with $MSTR.

After getting super stretched above the 10EMA, $MSTR put in a Major Sell Bar on 11/21/2024.

You can see in the days following, gaps were sold.

The RS line has also flipped negative vs. its 21EMA.

$MSTR has been a leading name for a good while, so taking note of this distribution is important... Always be open to the other side of the trade!