Trading To Excellency

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TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS

Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

“The most important investment you can make is in yourself.” –Warren


Buffet

THE TRADEXLNC JOURNEY I have been trading the stock markets on-and-off since
2011. My story is not about success on the first day. Money has not always
come to me easily. I completed a Bachelor's degree, but never worked in
the field that I studied in. After college, I ended up working another job
that was extremely fulfilling, but was not quite financially satisfying. The
salary at this job was equivalent to minimum wage, and I worked on this
salary for years. Making money and being financially stable was
undoubtedly a true struggle for me in my early 20s. After about five years
of work, I could consider myself to be on my feet financially and had saved
up enough funds to open a trading account. Since it took me many years to
save up for this trading account, I certainly had very high hopes that I
would become successful quickly and that my financial worries would
come to an end once and for all.

I opened this first trading account in 2011, mostly swinging and taking long
positions, losing $1,000 after the first month, then $2,000 after the second
month, and finally losing a sum of $8,000 by the end of that year. I took
multiple losses, one after another, and ended up holding three "bags",
which I ultimately took big losses on after about two years of holding. I
called it quits at that time. I remember feeling defeated, overwhelmed and
tired. I felt like I was in a never-ending cycle of losing money, the pain from
losing repeatedly was unbearable. Opening another trade was the last
thing on my mind. However, I wasn’t one to give up, and the desire to learn
how to trade and have financial freedom was constantly on my mind. Then
one day, out of curiosity, I stumbled upon Stocktwits while researching

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

random stocks on the Internet. I saw many traders utilizing the platform
and sharing ideas, and I decided to try to trade again, hoping that if I
worked hard enough, I would be able to recoup my losses. I started
following multiple people, not knowing where to begin. I took trade after
trade, loss after loss, wondering why others were making money and why I
was the one repeatedly losing. This left me with more negativity, causing
me to lose confidence in myself at each and every day that went by. I found
myself looking forward to the weekends, waiting for the week to finally
end. Weekends seemed more fun than weekdays. It made me so angry and
upset that these losses were affecting my life, work, and even sleeping
habits. I was growing depressed - now not only had I lost hard earned
money, I was set so much more behind than before. Within 6 months into
2016, I ended up losing a total of $25,000, my entire day trading account.
The stock I ended up FOMOing on had gone bankrupt, and fast. I still hung
onto the stock even when the price went below .12, then went all the way
into zero, and I was still holding onto hope that somehow it would one day
run 1,000% and I would win a jackpot. Now not only was I down $8,000
from the first account, I was down another $25,000, a total of
approximately $33,000 which was at least two year's salary at that time for
me. How did I lose my money this time around? Through FOMO, HODLing,
blindly trading, revenge trading, and emotional trading. Every single cent
of it. Many are in this same situation as you read this. Finally, I opened my
third trading account in 2019, and through determination and focus, I was
finally able to send my account back into the green and get rid of years of
losses. It did not happen overnight. It took me a whole year to recoup three
years worth of losses. It took me a whole year because I realized every time
I made one winning trade, I would instantly lose it in a second with a
mistake in the following trade. I would keep making different mistakes,
repeatedly several times without understanding what I was doing wrong. I
finally started to make mental notes to the point where I was self conscious

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

and fully focused on every second of my trade, from hitting the buy key all
the way to hitting the sell key. A lot of people think that trading is just
pressing buttons and involves luck. There is a lot more to it than just that,
and I will try and cover as much of that is in the later sections.

When trading penny stocks, you have to start with a small amount of
shares. Penny stocks are volatile, and they can drain your account within
seconds. You also have to keep stop losses so you can cut a stock quickly if
things aren’t working out, so it doesn't bleed your account dry. Additionally,
you want to try for the least risk vs. best reward. If you can read the charts
and trends properly, you will have a more clear idea about how to
differentiate between which stocks have the most potential risk vs. which
stocks have the best potential reward.

No successful trader became a millionaire overnight. And if they did by


accident and their stock ran 1000% overnight, they aren’t likely to have the
knowledge nor the self discipline to be able to maintain that million and
grow it into more capital. There would be a high chance to end up losing
that million in the later trades they make due to their lack of knowledge in
the game. That is why getting a feel of the market is so important. You have
to paper trade and first practice to get the hang of this game. At times, you
have to watch on the sidelines. Not every day is a trading day. Even today
after trading for over ten years, I have days where I don't touch a single
trade because I have the self discipline to sit on my hands when the market
is tanking. You have to know what sectors are running. You have to know
trading terminology and when companies file forms, and you must know
the definition and reason for those forms. You have to face losing and tell
yourself that before you enter a trade, you will lose and that it is impossible
to avoid losing. You have to humble yourself and realize that you are just a
beginner, and you are here to learn. A lot has to do with your discipline,
sitting on your hands when the market is slow, taking trades when the

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

market is hot, trading the uptrend, etc.

The turn-around year for me required a lot of patience, repetition, and


skills that I acquired through studying charts, symbols, recognizing the
relationship between volume and stock price action, and much more. At
one point during my second successful year trading, I had made a
record-breaking 73/73 straight winning trades which lasted from Winter of
2020 into Spring of 2021. The money was great, but the life-long experience
that trading had taught me was much more valuable. Now I felt that I had
the knowledge and skills required to be able to independently trade and
identify a bullish vs. a bearish setup with a blink of an eye. Now that I have
learned to do it, I want to try to help those people who are in the same
situation that I was, who have the same drive in them to be successful, to
be able to do it on their own as well. Giving up and calling quits was not an
option for me, and if you want to be successful, it should not be an option
for you either.

I was motivated to write this because over the past couple of years, many
of my followers on social media have asked so many questions. We usually
do Q&A's (questions and answers session) once a year and I try my best to
answer hundreds of questions that they ask. Questions such as what to look
for in a trade setup, what steps to take during a trade, and what trading
rules to follow for success. I decided to write this so I could explain my
ideas clearly and succinctly, as well as more in depth. I hope you can
potentially learn something by reading this. There is so much more that
can be explained in detail but I will continue to add onto this as I find more
time. You may follow my ideas on Stocktwits and Twitter via the handle
@tradexlnc. After reading, tag me and share your feedback. Let me know
what you think.

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

TRADING LIKE A CHAMP There's a reason why 90% of traders fail. It looks easy
from afar. Trading is mostly mental, like a game of chess. Had the 90% that
did fail known that fear and panic were some of the main reasons why
they lost their money, they too could have been a part of that winning top
10%. Control over one’s mind is everything in the markets. There's no place
for panicking. I feel that reverse psychology works best here. When a stock
dips, the normal reaction is fear. Smart traders turn that fear into greed
and capitalize on the trade, whereas fearful traders continuously take the
loss, afraid of losing their capital – only to see that stock run hard soon
after they have sold. I know this because it happened to me many times in
my first years, so I know exactly how it feels. As this vicious cycle
continues, many traders grow troubled, worried and anxious, and soon
give up in despair.

For starters, before you even get your hands on buying a stock, do
something that helps your mind be at peace and ease. You do not want to
be trading with twenty different things on your mind, unless that is your
cup of tea. Relieve your mind of any stress before you begin the trading
day. For some, this could be through deep breathing, yoga or meditation.
For others, it could be through doing a prayer, breathing exercises, or
simply sitting in silence and clearing your mind. Try it out, you could
possibly find yourself in a more peaceful place mentally, and it could
potentially help you make more clear decisions throughout your trading
day.

I also like to look at the money I invested in the market as simply: not my
money anymore. Once it's invested, it's gone. Of course it's my money, but I
detach myself from it. I tell myself that this money is invested. Whether it
comes back to me in double value, or comes back to me as half the value, I

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

will accept it, because no one knows the outcome of a trade or investment.
Every investment is a risk, therefore, I am not afraid of losing it. This helps
take away my initial fear and I can focus on the trading with a clear mind.

No matter what happens during the trade–you MUST remain focused. That
means, if you are about to take a loss, or have taken a loss, do not let it
affect you. You should be quick in shifting your attention, and should be
able to move on from one trade to another swiftly. The same goes if it was a
winning trade. You cannot be too happy or egotistical when you win a
trade. You never know if you will lose it all on the next trade that you
make. Stay humble and focus on yourself. Do not look at others and focus
on their P&L's. "Why is it that they are making thousands and I'm only
making hundreds?" is one of the stupidest questions you can ask yourself.
Everyone has their own risk and reward levels. In the markets, it's you vs.
you. You are not competing against anyone, except the you from yesterday.
A lot of traders get this one wrong and get cocky, which causes them to size
heavily into trades, or take a big short trade and losing, later causing them
pain and suffering. Trade according to your comfort size and comfort level.
Never over-do anything, no matter how much you know or are aware of
the situation. Also, if you start winning a few trades, don't think the next
will be an automatic win. You must understand the fact that the next trade
may not be a winning trade. Even the biggest traders take losses. Stay
humble and don't treat the market like a casino. For some, this will be the
biggest lesson learned.

PREPARATIONS Trading is like any other work and requires full preparation
and undivided attention. When you are serious about something, you give
your full potential. No half-assing. That means: waking up early in the
morning, at pre-market, scanning stocks, reviewing and studying charts

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

until market close Monday through Friday, until you finally have a hang of
what the markets are all about. Even a few minutes in the kitchen or
bathroom while stocks are running, you come back, and your penny stock
could tank or could skyrocket.. Take your screens to the bathroom or
kitchen, do what it takes, but don't leave your eyes off your ticker. It's your
money. Would you want to give your money to someone and be unaware of
where it goes the next minute? Of course not. You would want to know
where your money is going every second. So, track it by watching the
charts. Keep a daily chart open on your screen. You must focus. Without
true focus, one's actions are not fruitful. For me, personally, if there is
on-and-off noise in the room that I'm trading in, I cannot focus properly. If I
have to constantly move around to get other things done, I cannot focus
properly. I would miss so much in the markets. Random phone calls, text
messages, and other such work cause huge distractions. I cannot speak for
others here, but I need complete silence to do any kind of trading. In the
stock market, every damn second can make you a lot of money or cost you
a lot of money. So it's good to be alert and focused at all times. Reserving as
much time as possible to the market can be a great idea.

I like to have two screens turned on at all times. People use more screens to
see every little detail. It's not necessary to have five different monitors in
front of you to become a successful trader. I have always used two screens
since I can remember, and don't plan on increasing that number at all. For
me, more screens are just more distractions. I don't like to over-complicate
things. Two screens get the work done for me.

The platforms that I prefer to use for trading are ThinkorSwim via
TDAmeritrade, Webull, and Robinhood. ThinkorSwim is known for its
detailed charts and quick news and updates. You have to be careful
because it has a lot of options so I recommend fiddling with it over the
weekends and adjusting until you get a hang of it. It actually gets quite easy

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

once you get the hang of it. Webull is also another great platform that
offers great broad trading hours. It’s great for doing DD, has in-depth
updated financials of various stocks, easy to scalp, and a real nice layout.
Lastly, Robinhood – I don't really mind it, honestly. I started with
Robinhood in my first days, and although the charting is not that too great,
it's still basic and could possibly serve the purpose for beginners. It
provides the basic tools necessary to get the job done.

Aside from giving your undivided attention and preparation, as well as


having a good trading setup, you should have a few go-to websites to track
stocks that are trending. YouTube offers a lot of great and free content. You
can follow successful traders and watch how they trade live. A few of
Yotube's famous traders are Ricky Gutierrez, Warrior Trader, and
ZipTrader. They provide top of the line educational material. I learned a lot
from YouTube in my beginning days. You would be surprised how much
free trading content is available online. You probably won't even get that
much information from books than you would with free videos on
Youtube. Stocktwits and Twitter are two other great websites to join. Great
communities and so much to learn every day. I love learning about
anything stock related, even years after I started to make money. It
becomes quite addicting. When I get free time, I'll scroll through hundreds
of stock-related posts and tweets, picking up on new information and news.
To name a few, Manpreet and Suri on Twitter are very disciplined and
successful traders with years of experience and knowledge. Trading has
become a part of their lifestyle, a second nature. These gentlemen share
their setups and ideas through stock charts and news, it is very helpful and
useful. Each has their own set of unique trading styles and have been very
successful in their careers. There are many other successful traders on
Twitter. I follow many others as well. You just have to figure out which
trades fit best to your own trading style. As far as informational web sites

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
Prepared by TradeXLNC on Aug. 27, 2021, modified Oct. 2023

are concerned, Tradingview.com is great for charts and Investopedia.com


is great for stock related information. If you're not sure where to begin, do
a random search of "how to read a stock chart" or "identifying a chart
pattern" on YouTube. You will find a lot of videos. Watch a few, take notes
of points mentioned, study, and apply that knowledge to your every day
trading. For example, you must know what a "head-and-shoulders pattern"
is, you must be able to identify it, and must be able to see it on the chart
etc.

Another great tool that you can use towards your benefit is financial stock
forums and websites. Nowadays, we live in a society where social media
makes it easy to connect with others. I've used this to my advantage. If
anything, I've built relationships with others and it helped me integrate my
ideas with others, and it is an enjoyable experience. Stocktwits, for
example, is a really great community to share ideas and learn about
different stocks. Sign up for free and start tweeting about your ideas about
your favorite stock. Join their trading community.

Idea – if you do choose to be socially active amongst the online community,


be kind to everyone. This should go without saying but be a good human
and be humble. If someone's trade does not go as expected, don't go full
blast bashing and insulting them constantly. The truth of the matter is that
no one truly knows if your stock will go up or not. People can give educated
guesses through their ideas but only the chart, the fundamentals, and the
overall trend will tell where the stock is headed. If your trade does happen
to skyrocket, don't get hyper and egotistical. People can pick up on that vibe
and it is annoying. It is equally as annoying if you pound negative
posts–nobody wants to hear someone being negative about a stock that
they are bullish on. Although everyone has freedom of speech, why be a
nuisance and say "this trash is going to zero" and post random negativity?
All just to poke fun at someone? It's not funny to watch someone lose

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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10

money. Be mature and professional. This is like any other job out there. But
maturity is something that comes natural as you grow. So if you have not
yet hit maturity, do us all a favor and stay away from social media. If you
are taking a short position, try mentioning that you are short, call out your
bearish position, and leave it at that. Even then, you will get people
disagreeing and you may make people upset, but you can't really help it.
You have to take a position, bullish or bearish. At the end of the day,
everyone is giving their best educated guess based on their chart work and
due diligence, but no one knows the outcome, so try to be as professional as
possbile, and show some etiquette.

FINDING YOUR IDENTITY AS A TRADER Get to know and fully understand who you
are as a trader. Calling yourself a trader simply does not do justice. What
kind of trader are you? Do you find that you cannot hold a stock for more
than 60 seconds? Are you a scalper? Do you find that you are a quick profit
taker/day trader? Are you more at work and do this part-time and are
comfortable with a swing trade while keeping your limit buys and limit
sells on? Or are you an investor with tons of patience and willing to hold
for years into the catalysts? Each trader is different and has a different
plan. You must be able to know what kind of trader you are, or what
trading personality you have. Ripster does a great job in going into detail
about this in his Youtube videos via Benzinga. When I was trading back in
2016, I was taking day trades, swing trades, and long trades all at once, and
I did not know what I was doing. I didn't even know which trade was a day
trade, which was a swing, and which was a long. I was just so focused on
the stock price and nothing else. I knew nothing about stock catalysts,
news, updates, forms, or price action. I was creating misery for myself and
getting more and more lost day after day. I was selling swing trades too
early, selling day trades too late, and missing out on action because I was

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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11

not focused. I did not know what to do with my long trades on dips,
catching myself selling half of my position just because I was afraid the
stock went south, even before the stock hit major support levels. It took me
a few months to realize what types of trades I was most comfortable with
initiating. It turned out that day trades fared well with me. However, as I
began trading into my second successful year, I realized that I do well in
swing trades, because I started to understand the concept of "buying the
dips." Before I would panic on dips. Huge difference. However, you cannot
just simply buy every dip you see. You must support buying dips by
checking the chart and understanding support levels. Search "how to
identify support levels" on Youtube and you will find videos that can help
you with this, if it is not something you are aware of.

What I'm trying to say is, be patient, take some time out, and get a feel of
trades. After experiencing weeks of trading, you will know what style fits
you best–scalping, daytrading, swing trading, investing, or even shorting if
that’s what suits you best. Again, if you're more into the types of trades that
could potentially give you returns intraday, then try looking into more day
trades. If you're more into the types of trades that slowly take time between
1 day to a couple weeks, then try looking into more swing trades. If you're
more caught up in your work and don't have time to look at your platform
every day, then try looking into long trades or investments. You have to get
a feel of what style you adapt to. With time, traders get accustomed to
multiple types of trades simultaneously. As for me, I have been doing that
for years now, so I am comfortable with all three, however, I personally
still consider myself more of a day trader and swing trader because I do not
like to wait around too long with my stocks. And the stocks I do have
patience with, I'm long and strong with full 100% conviction.

In the beginning, I used to think that when the market bell rings until it
closes, every hour is the same. As I started trading more, I started to realize

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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12

that it is quite the opposite. There are certain times that I enjoy trading
during the day. Again, not everyday is like this, as it always depends, but
from my observations, the most volatile times are from 6:30am-8:00am PST.
Most traders are active during this time, so it's quite hectic, as there are
bids and sells all over the tape. It starts to die off during lunch period (9:00
AM PST) then starts to pick up two hours later into the close (11:00 AM-1:00
PM PST). I generally noticed this trend, but again, it's not always like this.
Sometimes lunch time itself can get hot, depending on how bullish the
general market is. To be able to understand these timings has helped me
take advantage of the multiple trades I take during the day.

Also, many beginner traders think that all pro traders do is buy and sell
multiple times all day. That is controversial. Most of my time in a day is
actually spent finding stocks and doing the due diligence to find out if it's a
low risk and high reward setup. The buying and selling is just sporadically
during the day. Remember, the whole point is to find ONE good setup in a
day and bank hard on it. There is no reason to be joining five different
stocks because you read someone's post on social media that it is going to
the moon. You are setting yourself up for failure if you are blindly buying
and chasing random stocks without doing any due diligence. Start slow and
easy, one to two trades a day, watch them like a hawk, be ready at any
given moment to make a move, whether it's to buy more or sell, and follow
the trade into the end. Once you get the hang of it repeatedly, after a few
weeks, increase your trades as well as your shares size as you feel more
comfortable IMO. Again, paper trading is a good way to start to get a feel of
what trading is like.

TRADE WITH A PLAN Everyone should have a plan and their own personal
reasons and thesis to back that plan up. For example, I am currently an
investor in the cannabis stock $IMCC for the long term. I've been an

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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13

investor since 2021. I'm invested for the future into Germany cannabis
catalysts such as legalization of cannabis in Germany and in the broader
EU. My conviction levels are high that it could rocket in the near future due
to its revenue numbers QoQ and that they are one of the few companies
that are international in the cannabis industry. I feel the company has
many opportunities to grow. Management has done private placements
and have been buying the stock up this past year. My plan is to hold into
2024/2025 as I have mentioned on Stocktwits and Twitter here and there
for the past couple years. This is my plan. Simply holding a stock because
you think it will go up is not a plan. Find out your stock's catalysts. What do
you expect is going to happen with the stock in the future according to your
own due diligence? Build a thesis. Are they doing anything interesting that
could potentially bring your investment a good return in the future? Find
out how much cash your stock has on hand, follow the press releases, and
follow the chart for daily price action. But blindly holding a stock is setting
yourself up for failure. If you are trading a stock just to gamble a few extra
dollars blindly to come out ahead by the end of the day, that is not a plan.
You might as well hit the casino and gamble a few hundred or thousand
because that's basically what you're doing here in the market. If you are
trading a stock because someone told you it will go to the moon, that is also
not a plan. Some people are holding $AAPL stock for the long run because
they feel it could be the next to be coming out with electric cars. Will it
happen? It could, it could not. But that's a plan, so they stick to it. Some
people are holding $AAPL in the short term because they feel it will return
back to the high levels on the longer chart after inflation and recession is
over. Will it happen? It could, it could not. But that's their plan. Having
your own unique conviction or plan and executing it maturely will
certainly help you in the long run.

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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14

TRADING PRICE RANGE As I have mentioned before, when I first started trading,
I was all over the place. I was taking .20 penny stocks, $2 penny stocks, $5
stocks, and $10 stocks all simultaneously. I had no clue about the risks such
as bigger stocks could have bigger daily dips, smaller stocks could have
risky financials, or micro pennies could R/S fast. I thought it was all the
same. When I started to do this on a daily basis, after months down the
line, I was able to figure out what price range I was comfortable with. I
realized that I found my comfort in trading a specific range–from .20 to $3,
micropennies to penny stocks. I think twice before trading anything above
$3 and less than .20. That is just because I was not exposed to such stocks
as much, and personally, even now, I feel it's riskier for me personally due
to the volatility. However, if I see that it's worth the risk, I will definitely
give it a go. Of course everyone is different and can speak for themselves
here. I know traders who just are strictly OTC traders, and I know traders
who strictly trade above $5 and feel penny stocks are risky. Everyone is
different, and the main point is to find the price range that you are
comfortable trading with.

I get asked a lot–what is a good size to buy? That depends on your comfort
zone. At the end of the day, you have to look at how much money you are
willing to spend, essentially how much money you are willing to risk, and
for what reward. It's all about risk vs. reward. Ultimately you want to
always be in a situation where you have minimal risk and maximum
reward.

TRADING LOW FLOATS VS. HIGH FLOATS Nothing is set in stone in the markets. Lower
float stocks do not necessarily mean that those stocks will run hard. The
float is lighter, therefore, the stock price is more volatile. That could mean
that the dips can be deeper, too. And that could also mean that the runs are

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
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15

harder. Higher floats are heavier, however I've also noticed that at times,
the shorts squeeze could be harder, it really all just depends. Learning float
size and how it affects the stock both positively and negatively is very
important to understand.

TRADING SECTOR MOMENTUM I generally enjoy trading sector momentum. Let's


say OIL is the theme for the day. Oil stocks are taking off one by one.
Finding a stock that nobody else has found gives me great pleasure and
satisfaction. I will try a scanner or use Yahoo! Finance to search some oil
stocks to see which stock is still at cheap prices. If I find a stock that is oil
related and still cheap, I will grab it and potentially ride the wave. This is
what I call smart money – fishing for a stock that has been untouched,
while everyone else is chasing other stocks that have made their run, or are
already up over 100% on the day. In the stock markets, higher can go
higher and lower can go lower, but buying dips could potentially be safer
than running after a green candle. You will probably be better off when a
stock cools down rather than when it's skyrocketing. So you want to be
smart and find a discount, but you also want to try your best to make sure
that you come out green, and capitalize on the trade as well. Practice makes
perfect. You have to keep trying again and again until you get the hang of
it. Again, giving up is not an option. More than likely, if you give up after
taking several losses, you will be back years later trying to re-try to get
your money back, like I did. But if you don't re-try, you might as well
consider that money gone forever.

EMOTIONS Those who have been following me for years, know that no
emotions is Rule #1 in my books, no questions asked. If you take a trade out
of emotion, whether it be out of revenge because you lost the previous
trade, or out of anger because you missed a trade, it will prevent you from
making rational decisions. The end result will be, more than likely, another
loss for the day. If you are nervous and afraid of seeing red because your

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
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previous trades went south, then welcome to the vicious cycle of losing. Try
to learn to be comfortable and stay under control while being in the red,
because red days are inevitable. If you just won a trade, try not to get too
excited because that can cause you to be overconfident. If you just lost a
trade, try to forget it and move on, because having a positive mindset is all
about correcting our mistakes and moving forward. Dwelling too much on
losses can affect confidence and self esteem for our future trades. For
example, I remember buying $BIOA at .50 back in 2019 and they had a
reverse split overnight. This resulted in me going red over $10,000 within a
few hours. It was enough to make me take a break from trading for a year.
Sure, seeing a R/S on your stock is not the best thing that ever happened,
but if it happens, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it but cut our
losses and move on. Either that, or hold through and pray for a miracle to
happen and continue to hold bags for years to come. In the end, what is
meant to happen is going to happen and no one cannot change this, hence,
leave the emotions outside when you trade, and no matter what the
circumstances, be positive and find strength in tomorrow. Again, trading is
just like any other work. You have to work hard every day constantly
non-stop to be able to reap the benefits and rewards of this profession.

BAG HOLDING Setting a stop loss is something I learned through my first


successful year of trading. It saved me countless times from losing large
amounts of money. I would put a stop loss below my entry, about 3% to
10%, depending on how much I'd want to risk off, and it would either hit,
or not hit this threshold. If it hit, I wouldn't be down much money. If it
didn't hit, I could continue into the trade. The stop loss helps as a support
for me so my trade doesn't go down the drain. If you do not have a stop
loss, you can always cut your losses before you get yourself into a hefty
bag. If you are long, it's not really considered a bag because you have some

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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17

kind of conviction that your stock will soon go up again in the future.
However, if you are holding a stock in blind hopes that it will go up, you
are setting yourself up for a big L. Nowadays while day trading, I don't
necessarily always need a stop loss because I'm constantly watching the
stock price, but at times when I'm trading multiple stocks, stop losses do
come in handy. What I've learned through time is to cut the losses early
and let the gains rip. What I mean by cutting the losses early is, if a stock
breaks a major support level, I'll more than likely take the L, unless of
course I have conviction, then I'll add more. Again, it all depends on the
situation. However, if the stock breaks a major resistance level, I'll be
riding it up. For investments in which I intentionally go long, I hold no stop
losses and accept the fact that at the end of the investment, after all
potential catalysis fall through, the amount of money I put into my
investment is risk-all or take-all.

QUICKNESS, DECISIVENESS & TERMINOLOGY Let's say I'm trading a stock like $RMBL.
They do an offering. What should I do? My stock is going down fast, I'm
clueless! Well, for beginners, it's not a bad idea to first get familiar with
terms to be well equipped for any decision making as soon as the company
comes out with such PRs: S3 shelf, S1 offering, DO (direct offering),
dividend, IPO, liquidity, merger, reverse split, partnership, acquisition,
earnings reports, delist, etc. It's very important to understand the
terminology that companies use while putting out press releases. It will
help you greatly to know what these terms mean ahead of time, so you
have an idea of what is about to happen.

JACKPOTS I see a lot of my followers on social media being up 20-30% on a


stock and then ask me "are you still in?" or "I'm up 30% but this is nothing,
wait for tomorrow, it will rocket 100%", or "this is going to the moon, $100
tomorrow!"

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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Regardless of the situation, I avoid jackpots at all costs. If I'm up on a stock


10-15% and it was planned to be a day trade, I'll close the position and be
perfectly happy with that gain. I like to stick to at least 10-15% gains per
day trade. Anything above that, I’m grateful. Sometimes, I get a 30% gain,
you just never know. It all depends on the situation. If a jackpot comes
through naturally and my stock goes bonkers, that's extra brownie points
for me. However, it's not something I'm constantly looking forward to. I'm
not willing to risk it for the biscuit nor I am willing to wait in greed for
more potential gains. I'm happy with taking consistent profits again and
again, building my portfolio larger as the days and weeks go by, rather than
risking my gains for more gains. That's just one of my rules that I abide by.
I'm not a greedy trader and I feel greed kills in the markets. Greed can
really bring you down, in any profession. So you have to tell yourself you
are here to make consistent profits, not hit the jackpot in one day.

IDENTIFYING CHART PATTERN & SUPPORT/RESISTANCE LINES + MY THOUGHT PROCESS WHILST


TRADING I will not get into too much detail with charting, as I don't want this
guide to be too long, but, identifying the trend of a chart is super
important. Basically, what I do is look for the general direction of the chart,
and this is not difficult at all. Here's an example.

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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19

(Image courtesy: Investopedia.com)

You can see the direction of this basic chart is upward, obviously. Nothing
too difficult to see. Support is around $140-150s whereas resistance lies up
in the $200s. If it breaks that $200s resistance level, it could possibly go
higher up into the chart. This is a solid chart, something I'd be completely
bullish on, because of the general upward action. If it had fallen anywhere
below the $160s, I would be cautious, and if it fell even lower, I would start
selling in increments as the chart goes more and more into a bearish
formation. If I would want to join, I'd like to think of my Risk/Reward – if
it's worth getting at a certain spot and taking the trade. Also I'd like to ask
myself where I'd want to enter and exit first. I ask myself these questions:
could my trade be profitable from A to B? If it's not profitable, where would
I cut this trade? Minus 3%? Minus 5%? If I find it suitable, I would probably
wait for a dip, then join slowly in increments. I do not like to enter with full
shares right away, nor do I like to exit with full shares right away, unless
volume proves otherwise.

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
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PULLING THE TRIGGER VS. CHASING When I notice that most signs are turning
bullish, for example a curling MACD, low RSI, high volume influx, short
recovery, etc, I like to enter a stock. (You can search these terms on
YouTube to get a more familiar understanding about them). If the stock has
runs too fast and I have not yet taken a position, I will let it run without me
and move on. Or I will keep it on a watchlist to watch for dips to potentially
enter if the opportunity arises later on in the day. I absolutely don't chase.
I've never been good at it, and quite frankly, I'm just not trigger happy. You
have to learn how to let a stock go. Don't get too attached to a stock. If it
comes to an entry point that I like, I will then and only then pull the trigger
and join. I will let the stock come to me rather than chase. I will change the
number of shares according to how I feel comfortable, whether that be
lower or higher. I never keep the same sized position in every trade.
Trading is already stressful as it is. I don't want to make it even more
stressful by taking actions that cause me to stress even more. I'm very
careful about entries and exits. After all, finding great entries and exits is
half the work of trading. I don't chase the market. I let the market and
money come to me. I'm patient, and attack at a time where I feel will be
best suitable to my risk/reward. I will not explain how to find the MACD,
RSI, high volume here because that will take me another ten pages, but in
short, you can find that information through YouTube videos or books that
I have mentioned here. Everyone has their own conviction based on the
technicals of a chart. For me, it's the MACD, RSI, and volume. Float size is
also a huge factor, and a big make or break for me. Everyone knows I love
those low floated stocks!

BEING TRIGGER HAPPY Are you one of those traders that are easily convinced
that a stock will run hard so you jump the gun and take the trade, only to

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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21

see your account in the deeper red? Being trigger happy most probably will
not get you anywhere IMO. In my early days, I would trust anyone I
followed, and jumped on any trade because they would post "PT $5'' or "PT
$10." I would look at the stock and tell myself, "Wow it's only $2 and it's
going to run to $5" and "That should mean that it's going to run to $10, let
me get in now." This would automatically trigger me to buy off emotion
and FOMO (fear of missing out). That is not a healthy mindset. You are in a
better situation to take that money to the casino and gamble it out there. Do
not treat the stock market like a casino. That is going to take you nowhere. I
say that time and time again in posts on social media as well. If I see huge
volume influx on a stock through the Level II or a press release that I feel is
bullish, then I will pull the trigger quickly, otherwise, I won't. You need to
know when to pull the trigger. This will come through repetition and
experience. Many people become afraid the stock they’re interested in will
run without them, or they fear that this is the last train they can hop on
before it's all over. Many just pull the trigger because FOMO kicks in and
they don't want to miss out on a stock while seeing others in the
community who are in. That's actually the WORST time to pull it. Same
thing goes for chasing. More than likely you will end up taking a fat loss,
unless you're lucky of course, but remember, every situation is different. In
my opinion, chasing gets you nowhere. It only leaves you with a big fat bag
in the end and then a bunch of emotions of remorse.

FOLLOWING INSPIRATIONAL TRADERS Every beginner trader has those special


people that he/she looks up to as an inspiration. My first years on
Stocktwits consisted of myself following at least 50+ people. I found myself
buying anything and everything, losing trades left and right, leaving myself
even more confused than the morning. Then I would go around asking
others "is this a good entry?" "Will this stock run?" or "Is this stock dead

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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now?" Years later, I realized, how was I supposed to even make money if I
myself was questioning my own trades? Once I identified my style of
trading, I started to shave my following list down to less than 15
exceptional traders, those who I felt shared the best due diligence and
suited my style of trading. If I'm daytrading, I'll follow the day traders on
my list. If I'm swing trading, I'll follow the swing traders on my list. It all
depends. Again, everyone trades differently, you have to first identify your
own style, only then you can understand the other person's style and
potentially make money. I like to follow respected and renowned traders
who have thousands and thousands of followers, not the negative type of
traders who tend to get upset and bash all day when their trades don't go as
expected. Cut the clutter!

PERSEVERENCE I was never a quitter. Quitting has never been a part of my


nature from the very beginning. The thought of quitting annoys and upsets
me so much, even to this day. When I start a project or something I'm truly
excited about, I will go the full nine yards to get it done. I've always
believed in hard work since I can remember. I'm the type of person that
always needs to be working on something constantly, because I've been
accustomed to doing that ever since I can remember. Throughout my
whole life, I never gave up on anything that I felt strongly about. I gave my
everything to what I believed in and what I wanted to achieve. I tried very
hard not to give up in the markets, but I have admitted here that I gave up
twice after losing over $30,000 in over 1,000+ losing trades in a span of
three years. I felt I was the worst trader in the world. It really brought me
down to the point where I lost my self confidence. My account was
bleeding $200-$500 every day. I was desperate to get my money back. At
that time, I was only making $20,000 per year so you can only imagine how
difficult trading was for me as a fresh trader. Many of you are in this same

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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situation so I totally understand how stressful and painful it is. This is why
I created this guide, in hopes that some of you could learn and get ahead, so
you don't make the same mistakes I did as a trader in my earlier days.

After I had quit, I felt defeated for months on-and-off. But I told myself I
would be back when I had the money again, and would continue to trade
until I became successful. It wasn't until the third time, a year later, that I
came back, but this time, I had changed my mindset, and that is one of the
biggest things that helped me get through the rough times. I learned
everything I could via Youtube. A lot of people still ask me, "how did you
learn all that on Youtube?" Everything is there. Traders who have made
lots of money share their insights on Youtube and you will be amazed at
how much information is on there for free. You just have to search those
videos and take several notes on how to read charts, chart symbols, how
volume affects stock price, etc. I was finally able to get that $33,000 back
within the one trading year, which was huge for me. And the second year
became so much easier, as trading had become a second nature, and a part
of my daily routine. I was beyond excited, and I still remember it. My first
success story was with $PRTY, I had bought it at support levels during the
holidays after looking at the long chart and reading up on the stock. I
grabbed the lows around $1.80s avg. It came down to $1.50s. I stuck with
my homework and followed all my rules regarding risk vs. reward. Three
months later, I rode that up all the way into $5+. It was not an easy three
months, but when it ran, it ran in a span of a week. I still remember it like
it was yesterday. I realized that wow, the markets are all driven by
emotion, and once you think outside this emotion, there are plenty of
opportunities that one can capitalize on. By my first successful year, I had
grown a Stocktwits community to 1,000 followers, and that pushed me to
work even harder, so I could share my trading ideas with everyone. My
success gave me more determination and confidence since that year, and

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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24

my conviction in myself grew more and more as I began to take on the


journey of trading. I was actually beginning to think that this could be a
great side job for me! Little did I know that I would quit my other jobs and
trading would become a full-time job for me. Once that happened, I knew
that I had it in me to move forward with authority. Now, here we are.
Again, never give up. It doesn't matter how rough the times get. Keep a
positive mindset and continue to be diligent and humble. One day, things
will fall in place. As for me, I'm grateful to now call myself a successful
first-generation full-time trader.

FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE

http://stocktwits.com/tradeXLNC

http://twitter.com/tradeXLNC

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The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.
TRADING TO EXCELLENCY: FOR NOVICE TRADERS
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25

My plan is to add more sections onto this write-up in the future months, as
I realize that there is so much more to mention about trading in general.
Some other points I'd like to cover in the future are more of technical
analysis in trading: MACD, RSI, moving averages, VWAP, EMA clouds, and
other indicators. In this write up, my hope was to shed some light and
introduce trading in general through my own personal experiences. After
reading this, I truly hope you end up a little more knowledgeable and
informed about trading the markets.

“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size
of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” –Robert
Kiyosaki

The information shared in this write-up is from my own personal ideas, opinions, and
experiences that I've gathered throughout my trading career. This information is meant for
educational purposes, and is NOT financial advice.

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