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!

Chasing a big breakout that you missed is the fastest way to go broke as a trader.

But there's one setup to rely on to get in big winners (even past their pivot points):

Inside Days.

Here's everything you need to master this setup (and start trading it ASAP): By the end of this post, you'll have mastered:

→ What an inside day setup is
→ Why it's so reliable on names already showing momentum
→ Different ways to enter/exit the inside day setup
→ 3 examples to study & deep dive
→ 1 easy scans to run

Let's get going.

Stanley Druckenmiller hasn't had a losing year in his entire 4.5 decades as a trader.

He recently sat down for a talk that every retail investor/trader needs to listen to.

We've broken it down for you into 10 clips (covering TA, risk management, selling losers, & much more): As we said above, Druck's never had a down year.

We're sure you can imagine why that's important, but he says drawdowns are stressful, and staying out of them keeps you level headed.

More ↓

A volume signature we saw a lot of today:

Pocket pivots.

One of the easiest patterns to use to see if a stock is under institutional accumulation.

Here's everything you need to know about one of the market's most reliable signals (so you can spot strong stocks instantly): By the end of this post, you'll understand:

→ What a pocket pivot is
→ How to spot it
→ How to trade it

Let's dive in ↓

Let's start the week off talking about two simple steps to improve your odds at becoming a profitable, high-performing trader:

→ Step 1: Trading Stocks Above Their 50DMA / 10WMA
→ Step 2: Trading Stocks In The Top 40 Industry Groups

Digging a little deeper... ↓ Step 1: Trading names above the 50DMA / 10WMA has to be your foundation.

You should never argue with the major trend at play on any given chart.

When institutions are accumulating stock, your opinion doesn't matter. Their $ will drive price higher.

The market's most explosive pattern has generated millions for traders.

The pattern? A High Tight Flag (HTF) breakout.

But what does this setup look like & how should you be trading it?

Here's the Ultimate Guide to Trading HTFs (that'll take your trading to the next level): By the end of this post, you'll have mastered:

→ The key characteristics of a High Tight Flag
→ Proper buy points of an HTF
→ Proper sell points of an HTF
→ Scans to spot HTF setups
→ 5+ examples

Let's dive in ↓

It only takes catching one big move to change your entire year & potentially your career.

The only way to do this is by studying historical winners.

Here's a deep dive on how you could have traded $ADMA, which is up over 325% YTD ↓ Key Characteristics:

→ Highest Volume In 1 Year (HV1)
→ High Volume Close Entry Tactics
→ Key Moving Average Respect
→ Relative Strength Phases

Let's take a deep dive into each one of the key characteristics above:

If you're consistently frustrated by losing money buying breakouts that quickly reverse & stop you out, it's time to add buying pullbacks into your toolbox.

Here's the exact framework you need to profitably buy pullbacks in an uptrend (& finally make progress as a trader): US Investing Champ @OliverKell_ has shared each step in his Price Cycle system, which was the foundation for his record breaking 941% return in '20.

In it, there are specific patterns that form during uptrends:

· Wedge Pop
· EMA Crossback
· Base N' Break

A visual:

Mastering one setup is how Market Wizards & US Investing Champions make millions.

If you’re struggling to find a setup, look no further than the High Tight Flag (US Investing Champ Leif Soreide @LeifSoreide's go to pattern).

Here’s everything you need to know : Leif’s go to setup is known as the High Tight Flag, a powerful momentum based setup that has resulted in massive gains over his lifecycle as a trader.

Here's more on Leif's background if you're unfamiliar with him:

Struggling with when to take profits?

It's the one skill that separates retail traders from the market wizards (who make millions).

We’ve simplified selling into strength into 3 actionable steps (plus 5+ rules you can use in tomorrow’s session).

Let's dive in ↓ The best traders take profits in pieces, which is exactly what we’re going to show you how to do.

1. Initial profit taking (within 2-3R)
2. Medium-term profit taking (4-5R)
3. Long-term profit taking (6R+)

Let’s dive into each. ↓