AT09 - Blog #3 - “THE PROCESS”

Trading, ah trading. Let’s get down to it. Last week we

discussed specifics of “The Process” - my MONTRA.
This week I wanted to talk more about my daily routine,
daily thoughts, general trading thoughts, and most
importantly: trading ruts, and trading Victories.

Here’s how I start my day, each morning:

1. First things first… COFFEE! You’d have to be crazy not to do this job without
it but to each his own.

2. Living on the east coast, I generally wake up around 5AM in the morning
EST, which gives me PLENTY of time, to do many things… so I can not only
be ready, for the open bell, but I can have a plan of attack, so precise that
NOTHING will surprise me, because each eventuality, is already taken into
consideration.

3. I find the pre-market runners for the day, or tickers that are still in play from
the day before. I keep a very close eye at my scans, to see which stocks
meet my criteria of interest.

4. Here’s the key: That most traders are not only too LAZY to do but thank god,
because it gives me a clear edge by putting in the extra bit of work to cinch
my conviction when the time comes: I READ THE NEWS ARTICLES. I re-
read it, I read it again. You need to make sure that you are very familiar with
each, and every PR released, earnings announcements, fluff pieces,
whatever what have you, and long story short: KNOW THE STORY!

5. So now that I have a clear vision of the runners for the day, and now a clear
understanding of its “Catalyst” for movement and potential RANGES… I
delve deeper.

6. What is the volume of the move already?

7. Is it trading thin, thick, or neither?

8. Now I go back on the daily and make sure that the stock I’m either looking to
short is SHIT, or looking tot long - has a clear reason - to continue upward.

9. I’ve now developed a really good technical sense of the stock, and potential
moves are taken into consideration and based on many technical factors, I
decide where my IDEAL entries would be. AGAIN TRADING IS ALL ABOUT
HAVING THE RIGHT ENTRY!!!!!!!!!

10. Then I Go Fundies… what are the fundamentals? EDGAR, gives me the
whole story.

11. VOILA!

12. Now, that I’m self-sufficient and ready on my OWN!, I can now concur with
some friends, on their thoughts, feel out their plan of attack, and see what
my “boys” are also considering given the tickers in question.

13. This is how trading should be… community shared ideas, and people
agreeing, and or disagreeing so you can see different points of view.

FWIW - I always like to establish my own plan of attack before consulting with
other’s, but consulting your friends is the 2nd half of the equation.

I’m not part of a service. I’m not looking for a “GURU” to give me the answers. I
am NOT looking to do anything, but see what I have already learned to devise a
conclusion on the given day. Trading is all about being your own boss, self-
sufficient action, and thinking for yourself. It all starts with self. “The Process.”

————————————————————————————————————

Now I want to talk about the DIFFERENT mind-sets that accompany trading.

Victories:
- I have been on a huge TEAR lately and wanted to give my thoughts because
unless you reflect from time to time, you can get in REAL trouble.

- NEVER let yourself get cocky in trading, because the minute you do, and
you’ve done nothing, but win lately, you will think that every stock will GO
your way. The way you see fit, whether it be LONG, or SHORT! This is a
massive FALLACY!

- You should go into each trading day with a clear head, and NOT thinking
about yesterday’s win. Some of my biggest losses have come after days,
weeks, even month’s of massive triumph.

- Just when you think you have the King Midas touch, it might fuck with your
head, and you size heavily into a C- setup at best, and you are in TROUBLE.

- Go every day into the trading field, with a clear head, a relaxed mind, and
NOT thinking of previous Shorts. This goes hand in hand with losses as well.

Pitfalls:
- Some of the biggest pitfalls, come from trading after a series of LOSERS. A
bunch of consecutive losses, and you just cannot seem to find the “right”
stock to trade.

- This is NOT the time to push.

- This is the time to drown out noise, size down, and do what has alway’s
worked.

- This is NOT the time to “try something new.”

- This is the time to make sure your mental clarity is on top of its game, even if
profits are not yet… because MENTAL CLARITY is everything. I repeat.
EVERYTHING! As closely tied to your trading capital as anything!

We are playing a game where…

“Not one stock will make your career, but one can end it if you are stupid.”
Memorize this and alway’s take it into consideration.

There are times to push, and there are times to bail. When you are on a hot
streak, GREAT! - Size up, go in harder and keep doing what you’re doing, with
the utmost force. When you are on a losing streak, cannot pick a correct ticker
and are feeling the burn for a while… this is the time to relinquish ego, size
down, calm yourself, and focus on ENTRIES on A+ setup’s ONLY!

There are stock market conditions, that should suit your different play styles.
Sometimes it’s a scalpers market, and you NAIL AND BAIL. Sometimes there is
a freaking HOLD-your-balls-type market. Examining the similarities between
weeks of price action over time will give you clairvoyance in anticipating whether
a certain play style should be present. Sometimes I am looking to get out quick,
and sometimes, I’m riding all DAY! There are so many factors in this but really
take into consideration different market types. Follow RECENT price-action and
the clues it leaves behind. Because it DOES leave clues for the future.

BUT ALWAY’s… Remember the emotions held WITHIN it… It is everything…

“Size into the best, and

scalp the rest.”
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“Love Letter To The New/Faltering Trader”
Dear Still Doubtful Traders,
Trading is one of the hardest jobs out there, and there are a lot of lies fed on how easy it can be. Trading from
beaches, 20-star resorts, all across the globe, while windsurfing on a hot blonde’s tramp-stamp. While in hindsight
this is possible, it’s just not feasible really. They don’t arch their back enough ;). Joking. What I’m saying is it’s not
that easy… and not one GREAT trader, ever killed it immediately starting out… and the ones that did, are absolute
outlier’s, maybe .002% of all traders. The numbers are rarified air. So take the pressure off your back. It’s a
marathon, not a race.

It takes time, it takes consistency. My advice is to always do what works until you build enough bankroll to explore
uncharted waters and reach outer space. The type of discipline established as such, that… when your setup is NOT
presented given a certain day… DO NOT TRADE. Building your bankroll at appropriate times will simultaneously
develop your mental capital greatly.

Anytime you think you shouldn’t be in a stock, you’ve already lost.

You build confidence, through consistency, and obviously numbers, but consistency and knowledge will give you
the backbone you’re looking for, and that backbone progresses - success exponentially.

So when in a rut, filter out the noise, and scale down until you develop this, if need be. Then it’s all about developing
conviction on plays through: being green constantly, sizing, holding while red, holding while green, whatever what
have you. Conviction is a many-faced deity and it comes in WAVES.

Never think that you are the only one, going through the hard times. We all have shit days… it happens. You get
confidence, then you get cocky, think you cannot lose, and make a very stupid decision. Eat it, and move on.

The market has no idea who you are, and how big your nuts/skill level is… it’s going to act accordingly give the
parameters of the RECENT price action. So review your trades, see what worked, cut out all the noise, on anything
that ever DID NOT generate you income, and that will be your GUIDE!

Always have a plan: This is the number one mistake that most traders make, due to being unprepared. if you have
set of rules, you are golden. 1/2 the battle right there. Another huge learning curve is trading with traders better than
you. FIND THEM! Discuss Everything!

For example: Of Some Major Rules… Some of these are a great start, and some I live by, even TODAY!
1. Don’t short size - if at all on 3M floats or under.

2. Don’t short ANY stock with 30% short-float-% plus. Just too Risky.

3. Don’t frontside short a stock with massive (float rotation type) volume holding trend, without a reason to fail.

4. No shorting Phase 3’s with good results. NO EXCEPTIONS. Just STUPID.

5. No shorting major acquisitions. Just play the next setup. Stay safe, stay alive. Leave the amazon Merger alone.

6. DO NOT SHORT - SSR WITH STRONG VOLUME. DO NOT DO IT!

7. Do NOT fight trend on big caps. That is a death sentence.

8. Long stocks making new highs after 11EST with strong volume, and good daily/fundies. 100% short AVOID.

Those are some of my rules, minus small exceptions, in which i try and stick to, for safety and consistency. Again
longevity in this career is paramount to success.

This game is a long one… so just self-reflect, and do what works. Keep asking the RIGHT questions, the smart
questions that ppl want to answer.

Keep fighting the good fight, confidence can come and go, but DID YOU DIE? No! So get back on the horse, leap
back up - off the ground, and hit some ticker harder this round, there’s always another chance to STRIKE.❤ 🍆