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Patterns To Watch

Trade Less. Win More. Here’s When to Show Up.

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 1/21/2026 5 min read

Most traders feel that they’re working hard.

Especially if they’re following my process. They study the right patterns, learn from the best charts, and even execute solid trades.

But they’re doing it at the wrong time of day. And it’s killing their progress.

The market gives us a small window of opportunity every trading day. A stretch of time where stocks rip higher and charts show us clean patterns, free from clutter.

If you miss this window, you’re making it harder on yourself.

The good news is: You don’t need to sit in front of your screen all day. You just need to show up during the most explosive hours.

This is how small accounts can potentially grow at a quicker rate than the rest of the market.

The best, most explosive moves every day, free from clutter.

It’s not about trading more, it’s about trading the strongest setups when it matters most.

Every day, five days a week, this window opens.

Don’t leave any more money on the table in 2026 …

Recent Examples

On January 15, a 13D/A filing revealed Madryn Asset Management increased its stake in Venus Concept Inc. (NASDAQ: VERO) to 91%.

That single filing ignited a massive momentum shift. The next morning, January 16, VERO exploded 804%*. And the price action followed my pattern perfectly.

On the VERO chart below, every candle represents one trading minute:

VERO chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
VERO chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

On January 20, Top Wealth Group Holding Limited (NASDAQ: TWG) spiked 220%* after announcing acquisition news.

The price action gave us another opportunity for a breakout trade:

TWG chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
TWG chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

Also on January 20, Corvus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CRVS) announced positive data from its trial for a treatment of Atopic Dermatitis.

The stock spiked 199%* after the news broke. And we saw another breakout setup:

CRVS chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
CRVS chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

Yesterday, January 21, the momentum continued.

PAVmed Inc. (NASDAQ: PAVM) spiked 350%* after announcing a new contract with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

And another breakout:

PAVM chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
PAVM chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

I was buying shares of PAVM in the $14 range, because I was early to the move and I knew what to look for.

See the post below about PAVM:

The Most Valuable Time of Day

There’s something special about the early hours. Before the bell and before the chaos of the day takes over.

It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. And the momentum is pure.

During premarket hours, stock spikes haven’t alerted the masses of short sellers yet. And they’re not slowed down by midday fatigue.

It’s when the cleanest patterns form. We can clearly see the breakout setup on the chart before the crowd piles in.

You don’t need to trade all day to win. You just need to show up in the morning. When the energy is raw and the spikes are fresh.

Drag yourself out of bed, start a pot of coffee, and get ready for the cleanest trade patterns of the day.

Every morning brings new spikes and new trade opportunities.

Pay attention during premarket hours. You can sleep any other time of day.

Cheers

 

*Past performance does not indicate future results



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Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity.
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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”