For years, I’ve taught students to do something that goes against the entire trading industry…
Start small.
My haters on social media LOVE to call me out for it.
Especially when you can open X any day of the week and find someone tweeting screenshots of 5- and 6-figure wins.
The reality is, very few people are willing to open up about what it took to get there.
If you REALLY want to reach the level where those size gains are possible, you MUST understand how important it is to do this…
Lock In Small Gains and Avoid Big Losses
I will always teach people to start trading small and learn to lock in gains.
It doesn’t matter if the market is choppy (like we saw most of July) or bouncing like the past three days:
Source: Stocks To Trade
SPY, 1-month, daily candles, choppy overall market.
It also doesn’t matter what pattern works best for you (or your favorite time to trade).
The most important lesson to take away from the entire market right now is… Take singles and don’t go for home runs.
Every day, my students are locking in small gains on big runners.
There’s no one best pattern or time of day to trade, either.
I have my favorite, but the most important thing is having the right mindset.
And no matter what time of day and no matter what my reason was for the trade, I followed rule #1: cut losses quickly.
Taking small losses does two things:
1. It protects your trading capital for the next opportunity.
2. It helps you to stay confident instead of getting worn down.
SPAD HERE
Always Another Play
First, remember how magical our world is…
It’s truly miraculous to work and trade from anywhere.
My office from yesterday. It was SO beautiful. Any guesses where I was? (Let me know what you think SykesDaily@BanyanHill.com.)
Then, know there will ALWAYS be another play.
The markets aren’t going anywhere and the same patterns have been playing out for decades.
The question is, will you stay solvent long enough to consistently lock in gains?
That’s it.
So, start small and learn to lock it in.
Cheers,
Tim Sykes
Editor, Tim Sykes Daily
