Trader's Thread 05 (Jan 20 - Dec 26)

[winston]

99% of traders can’t wait for 5-star setups.

But your main job is not trading.
It’s waiting.

Waiting for setups so clean, so obvious, that ignoring them would feel stupid.
Setups where you think: “If this fails, fine — but I have to take this.”

That’s 5-star territory.
And it’s brutally hard.

I’m not immune to impatience.
I feel FOMO too.
I still sometimes trade things I know aren’t A+.

That’s human and most of my mistakes are very cheap.

But when I review my trading year, one thing is always clear:

Almost all profits come from very few trades.
Not from being active or busy.

Here’s what waiting for 5-star setups really looks like:

1) You say no all the time. To 99% of all stocks and to 80% of all setups.
Most charts look “okay.” Okay trades bleed capital and confidence.

2) You get comfortable with boredom.
If trading feels exciting, you’re probably doing it wrong.
The best phases feel quiet: Either you are waiting for good setups or sit in big winners.

3) The work happens before the move.
Creating a watchlist. Defining levels. Calculating risk.
When it triggers, there’s no debate. Only execution.
It takes me 1 second to execute a planned trade.

4) You accept missed trades.
Missing a winner hurts.
Sitting in bad trades hurts much more.
There a re lot of stocks moving higher without showing a good setup.

5) You let the market come to you.
No chasing. No hoping. No convincing yourself. Just waiting for great setups.

When you trade fewer, better setups:
– Stress drops
– Mistakes shrink
– Confidence builds
– Results finally compound

There is nothing that feels better:
- The planned trade.
- The one you waited weeks for.
- Low risk. Real upside.

That’s where the money is.

[behappyalways]

gm. don't be like this guy. always use stops
https://x.com/Mayhem4Markets/status/2022301823340511274

[winston]

Why tight stop-losses often hurt investors

The practice can unintentionally undermine investments’ long-term performance by truncating exposure and amplifying behavioural frictions

Viewed in isolation, tight stop-losses appear prudent. But what looks like good risk control at the trade level can become opportunity destruction at the portfolio level.

by Xinyu Xiong

Source: Business Times

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/wealth ... -investors

[winston]

Here’s why UBS thinks market volatility is no reason to exit equities

By Tanay Dhumal

Periods of market stress are common and history suggests that long-term investors are usually better off staying invested with diversified portfolios.

Since 1981, the S&P 500 has experienced an average maximum drawdown of around 14% during the year, yet the index has finished negative only a limited number of times over the past several decades.

When the VIX volatility index rises to elevated levels, the S&P 500 has historically delivered above-average returns over the following 12 months.

Missing just the market’s best week or best quarter during that period, would have significantly reduced the overall return.

Rather than exiting equities entirely, UBS recommends maintaining diversified portfolios and broadening exposure across sectors and regions.

Source: investing.com

https://www.investing.com/news/economy- ... es-4561571

[behappyalways]

How to trade in 2026
https://x.com/Mayhem4Markets/status/2042745272481005829

[behappyalways]

Day trading accounted for 37% of total trading volume in the first two months! Those under 30 are...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fKM6zfamYf8