WHY the pattern day trade rule (PDT) is a problem for small account growth …

… and how my $2,000 Small Account Journey strategy addresses it. 

January 1st I started teaching and trading the $2,000 Small Account Journey strategy.

I teach from a daily watchlist and send trade alerts straight to your smartphone before I enter and exit.

There were 8 trades in the first 6 weeks.

The $2,000 grew to $7,327 or 266%.

The strategy works one trade at a time on the best tech stocks in the world.

Each trade has limited risk and high probability.

And while the strategy rewards swing trading, if I can cash a few up fast, who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?!

Its rising popularity stems from addressing core issues when growing a small account.

One of which is the dreaded pattern day trade rule.

If you’ve ever traded with less than $25,000 you know what I mean.

The problem!

It’s Friday and you’re riding a big win on a penny stock up 50% and want to sell before happy hour.

What a wonderful way to end a week that saw you crush 3 day trades in your small account.

Enter the dreaded pattern day trade rule.

If you sell that 50% winner, your account, suspended, from opening any news trades for 90 days.

That’s one quarter of the year!

So you hold until the following week.

At which point the gains have not only evaporated, but the loss wipes out the prior week’s gains.

As for the strategy taught in the $2,000 Small Account Journey?

There were 8 trades in the first 6 weeks.

The pattern day trade rule allowed for 18 day trades during that period. 

Of which there were only 3. 

Results not typical. Nothing is guaranteed.

That’s because the simple strategy I’m teaching often rewards swing trades. 

Start your $2,000 Small Account Journey today

So now that the Buffalo Bills have lost (crying), I’m no longer focused 100% on small-caps, but instead, I’m dialed in and 110% on small-caps ha. Let’s go!

As always, we’ll get started Monday morning with Lightning Strike from 7-9A ET. Join the live stream here. Lightning Strike is where we try to find Monday’s most explosive small-cap, before it erupts.

If you’re new watch these live recaps:

• AMAM Lightning Strike (03:17)

• LUCY Lightning Strike (09:28)

• CRKN Lightning Strike (03:01)

Many busy professionals enjoy the Lightning Strike trade because it takes place before the work day. Lightning Strike has $799/Year in value and is included in Lightning Alerts. 

Education:

3 books I teach from

Monday’s Lightning List:

LANV, TMPO, and JFU are the breakdowns I’m watching to start the week. I sure like TMPO from $1.80’s because it has a big range to $4. JFU is light volume but the range from $8-$10 is hard to ignore with volume climbing late last week. 

LYT, GNS, COSM, and TOUR are the breakouts I’m watching Monday morning. GNS is my favorite to start the week only if it can hold the 50% retracement, otherwise I think it’s back to $1’s. COSM is also at the top of my list and looking good for a gap up Monday morning, though it may have extended a bit too much Friday into the close. 

Swing trade Lightning Alerts are sent to subscribers by text (RagingBull APP) and email in real-time just before I buy / sell. 

Lightning Alerts Portfolio:

Full transparency. I live stream my real-money portfolio in the chat room for subscribers from 4A-8P ET.

I’m swinging ORIC, PHVS, SMMT, BBAI, and long-term Hidden Gem LQMT headed into this week. Stop loss management is based on technical analysis. Goal is always 10-20% on swings within the range and 50-100% on Hidden Gems. 

New Hidden Gem:

I’ll have a new Hidden Gem stock for premium subscribers in the morning. I’ve identified a low float cash-flow positive nano-cap with fast growth and strong guidance. Range to significant potential resistance is 100-200%. In my view, this one checks all the boxes for a Hidden Gem. Of course, nothing is promised – trading is inherently risky. And it takes skill to discern what’s a great opportunity and what’s garbage

Hidden Gems has $999/Year in value and is included in Lightning Alerts. 

SAVE 70% on Lightning Alerts $1,999 $599 1-Year SALE or 80% $799 2-Year.

Goal for trades is always 10-20% within identified ranges. If you need help creating a trading plan I have a lesson and checklist you can download. Video Lessons > Page 3 > Weekly Game Plan (download checklist)

Lightning Alerts [LEARN MORE]

The Russell 2000 is stalling this morning after a really nice start to the year. Nothing concerning though, so business as usual.

Some of the stocks I thought would run this morning like DCFC, BBAI, and SDC have stalled. But all are still in play and I’ll monitor them closer if the IWM pushes higher, as I suspect that’s when they’ll get a bid. 

There are some names on the scanner in the live stream chat room that look appealing to me. SOUN, ATER, TMPO, and ATXI stand out. All of these have a big range to the upside and are strong today despite the market stalling. 

SOUN – This was a new winner recently and retraced the full move. But now it’s climbing right back to that level and has range to $3 if it breaks $1.90’s. 

ATER – Earnings winner with big upside range to $2’s. Base trade in the $1.30’s now, if that support holds I think this could keep going.

TMPO – On the light side of volume but for a swing the pattern is just too good to ignore. Volume has been rising lately too, so if $1.48 holds as support, range to $3 looks good.

ATXI – The last spike in December didn’t hold up but today’s move looks better. A pivot at $1.78 and upper $2’s from back in October looks like the range.

Goal for trades is always 10-20% within identified ranges. If you need help creating a trading plan I have a lesson and checklist you can download. Video Lessons > Page 3 > Weekly Game Plan (download checklist)

Lightning Alerts [LEARN MORE]

SWVL, MDVL, GSUN, VEDU, HOLO, and PHIO are all stocks that prior to late last week appeared to be pricing for bankruptcy. 

SWVL is a swing trade I’m in from this group. 

Not in GSUN yet but that and HOLO stand out to me for more momentum early in the week. GSUN has 248 months of cash left so with China reopening, this could get some legs. For HOLO I want to see it above $4.50’s Monday to be in play, blue sky breakout above if it keeps going. 

ORIC, LHDX, FNGR, EZGO, AMAM, PHVS, SMMT, and CDZI are all continuation patterns that spiked recently and have come back to life last week. 

ORIC and AMAM are swing trades I’m in from this group. 

PHVS and SMMT continue to be favorites, however, Summit was a bit heavier Thursday and Friday than we’ve seen on previous pullbacks in this bull flag. PHVS clearly setting up at $12, watch for a $15-$18 move. Strong cash position for PHVS. SMMT had fantastic news ($500M up front in a deal up to $5B) and it is likely to lead to more positive headlines. If it holds $4 I’ll be watching SMMT for a move to $6.  

FNGR and LHDX are better looking retracement trade ideas with very big upside range. FNG has room to $6 and LHDX to $1 again. If PHVS continues with light volume and SMMT doesn’t hold low $4’s, these two become top of the list. 

Thank you for subscribing to my Weekly Watchlist, I appreciate it. As a subscriber I wanted to let you know that I’m able to offer the following in Lightning Alerts:

• 20+ Swing Trade Alerts per month via chat, SMS text, and email
• Live Trading Room with 10+ Daily Trade Recommendations (Monday-Friday 7A-5P ET)
• Nightly (8P ET) and midday (Noon) new tickers to watch and open trade analysis
• Ongoing Coaching and Mentorship with me, Jason Bond
• Subscribers alerted in real-time BEFORE I buy and sell (Industry trend setter)
• Transparency! Live stream of my real-money portfolio Monday-Friday 7A-5P ET

The live stream chat room is great for day traders, swing traders, part time or full time traders, especially for people with full time jobs. 

Below are the payment options:

• 1-year is $1,999 $699
• 2-year is $3,998 $899

Click here to get real-time alerts on the Weekly Watchlist stocks and many, many more.

Momentum stocks SMMT, PHVS, and AMAM continue to trade nicely. SMMT finally saw some selling into last week’s breakout so we’ll need to see if the rising trendline at $4 holds for another setup. PHVS has been hovering just shy of the $12 resistance and I think it lands in the $15’s if this keeps up. AMAM had a monster spike on Friday, no doubt due to the swelling of short interest after that 1,000%+ 1-day rally. I continue to monitor all recent spikers for Fibonacci retracement swings. 

ORIC is my favorite swing setup and if you look at the weekly chart you’ll see why. Range is to $7, initially, but I think it’ll climb to $10 after the recent good news it had. It’s in play above $5-$5.50 and one I’ve been talking about for a week. Cash need is low here with 33.1 months of cash left based on a quarterly cash burn of -$19.94M and estimated current cash of $220.2M. One thought I have is Pfizer may eventually just scoop the entire company. 

SOUN made a monster move Friday but I refrained from putting it on the MondayMovers list because their cash need is high. The company has 1 month of cash left based on a quarterly cash burn of -$24.54M and estimated current cash of $8M. Since there was no news driving it Friday, I thought they might be running it up into dilution. This morning it’s up 14% on a gap so I guess I thought wrong, for now. I liked the pattern Friday and still do, so if it holds $2, I think $3-$4 is possible. My big concern here is I’m pretty confident we see an offering, so despite loving the pattern, the risk seems too high.

VATE has 7 months of cash left based on a quarterly cash burn of -$7.65M and estimated current cash of $17.7M leaving the overall risk of dilution low. Friday’s bullish engulfing candle leads me to believe it could trend between $$2.50-$3. Stop loss is below $1.50 from here as that should act as a base trade if this is to work. It’s possible the upside range has been chewed up here but so long as it’s above $1.50’s I’ll monitor. 

NBY jumped 40% on Friday but I don’t trust this one. They recently did a reverse stock split so 1 for 35, have a history of high dilution, and given their overall cash need is high i.e. 3.2 months of cash left based on a quarterly cash burn of -$1.82M and estimated current cash of $1.9M, an offering is likely coming soon. SRGA is another that looked good Friday but has a high cash need and history of diluting often. Whether day or swing trading, you need to watch out for these pump and dumps. 

HOTH, LANV, and KALA are 3 breakouts I’m watching. HOTH is my favorite because their cash need is low based on 25.7 months of runway on a quarterly burn of -$2.25 and estimated current cash of $19.3M. I’m using Fibonacci retracement here and thinking if it holds $7’s, it’ll test $12’s again. LANV is a bigger small cap but if it takes out $10, there’s blue sky above. KALA has been the strongest but if I’m the company I build my war chest into this move, so be careful of dilution, even though $25M came with their last round of favorable news. 

GFAI is up about 50% this morning and I’m monitoring this cash flow positive security and protection services company closely. It was a big spiker last spring and if it holds near $.20, there’s a big upside range to $.40. 

Too many stocks to talk about this week in just one watchlist. Join Lightning Alerts to get my nightly and daily watchlists as well. 

Trading is a very emotional pursuit. I strongly recommend reading Trading In The Zone and The Disciplined Trader to help think objectively about your trades. Both books are by Mark Douglas and come with my highest book recommendation I could give you.

I recently created a trading plan checklist and how to video. If you recall, this is what helped me identify SMMT around $1 before it doubled into the $4’s within a week, PHVS in the $3.50’s before it ran to the $11’s same day, and who can forget AMAM at $.56 before it ran 1,007% the same day. Feel free to download the PDF and use it as a guide.

The Lightning Alerts live stream chat room schedule is 7-11A ET and 2-5P ET daily. The main topic centers around day trading.

• 7-9A ET Daily Strike
• 9:30-10A ET Gap and Go
• 10-11A ET Swing Trading
• 2-4P ET Swing Trading
• 4-5P ET Moon Shots

The newsletter schedule is 8P ET nightly, 12P ET daily, and 2P ET Friday (Monday Movers). The main topic centers around swing trading.

Day trades are alerted in the live streaming chat room. The goal on all day trades is 10-20% unless otherwise noted. Stop losses are based on technical analysis. The premarket scanner, powered by Scanz, sorts stocks under $20, up 2-10% (middle column) and 10%+ (right column). The 10%+ stocks are the Daily Strike candidates. Both columns start the 4A ET session at a $200,000 liquidity filter and switch to $1,000,000 at the open. 

PRO TIP: Here’s the checklist I use to find these monsters:

1. Amazing news (filter out puffery)
2. Big range (50-100% to major resistance)
3. Float (smaller = could run faster through range)
4. Short interest (higher = turbocharged breakout)
5. Dilution risk (must be medium to low)
6. Entry (am I chasing)
7. Take the trade

Swing trades are alerted in the live streaming chat room, RagingBull APP, and email in that order. The chat room and APP alert delivers instantly and at the same time. The email alert is slower to arrive. For swing trades, I buy after subscribers have been alerted. This means once the email lands in my inbox, I look to buy or sell. For you to receive a swing trade alert from me, a trade plan must have been discussed in the newsletter first. The goal on all swing trades is 10-20% unless otherwise noted. Stop losses are based on technical analysis.  

Long-term trades are alerted by email before I buy. For you to receive a long-term trade alert from me, a trade plan must have been discussed in the newsletter first. The goal of long-term trades is 50%+ unless otherwise noted. 

Here are 25 terms you should know. Please let me know in chat if I’m missing anything or you have clarifying questions. 

Stocks tend to move in 3 patterns. The way I visualize this is in breakdowns (fishhook), continuation patterns (bull flag / pennant), and breakouts (rocket). This chart on MANU is a good visual of how I see the market i.e. fish hook (red), pennant (black), and rocket (green). Breakdowns and breakouts are my favorite because they present the most volatility and range in both directions. 

Fishhook a.k.a. Breakdown chart pattern. The fishhook pattern emerges on a sharp downward move in the stock price through support on heavy volume and tends to be quick in duration and severe in magnitude. Excellent for Swing Alerts.

Pennant a.k.a. Continuation chart pattern. A pennant will have a period of consolidation inside the triangular flag shape on lower volume followed by a breakout, outside the triangular pattern, on higher volume. Excellent for Swing Alerts.

Rocket a.k.a. Breakout chart pattern. A rocket is when the stock price moves outside a defined support and resistance level with increased volume. Enter long on a break above resistance or short on a break below support. In penny stocks, breakouts are often accompanied by dilution which for the most part, destroys the momentum. I use Dilution Tracker to gauge offering risk. Excellent for Lightning Alerts.

To better understand day and swing trading chart patterns I recommend The Candlestick Course.

It is not wise to try and mirror my trades. And it’s especially unwise to chase trades. There is nothing wrong with us being in the same trades but remember, I am not a financial advisor, my results aren’t typical, I likely have more experience than most, and my tolerance for risk is high. Instead of mirroring I’d like you to learn from what I’m doing and create your own trade plan. Trading is hard and most traders lose money. Those willing to work at their trading are most likely to get better at trading. Those looking to get rich quickly will likely blow up their accounts. I had a good year in 2021 and a bad year in 2022. In an effort to be as transparent as possible, whether I have a good or bad year in 2023, I am committed to live streaming my open day, swing, and long-term positions during the day and publishing my statements at the end of each month for all to see. I hope to have a very, very good year. I hope you have one too.