I recommend checking that edition as well, because it is still relevant.

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server. (*available only to PRO members)

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Of all the tickers on my watchlist, these are my high-probability trades for the coming week.

Read more

This year, however, I’ve become increasingly interested in mechanical trading, especially because of the possibilities AI has opened up.

I don’t come from a software development background, so coding had always been a major barrier for me.

Recently, I’ve become obsessed with research, backtesting, and coding my own trading system.

I believe I can outperform the machine as a discretionary trader in the short term.

But what about ten years from now? What happens when I have children? What about the days when I can’t be in front of my computer?

What about when I’m sick, or physically and mentally exhausted?

Over the long run, I believe it will be impossible to compete with the consistency of a machine.

So today I’m going to show you how I go from an idea, to research, to backtesting, and finally to implementing it.

At the time of writing, I’m not sponsored by anything I’ll mention below (tools, websites, etc.). Everything I show here is part of my actual process.

What tools I use for research

So it all starts with researching an idea. These ideas usually come from these places:

• Academic writings, which I usually find on: https://www.ssrn.com/ssrn/ or researchgate

• Substack or X

• QuantConnect, Google

• TradingView charts

For example, I read about a particular trader’s strategy, then I take his or her strategy and turn it into a mechanical strategy to see how it has performed over the last few years.

The process is pretty simple.

What tools do I use for backtesting?

To backtest all my ideas, I use:

• An AI coding agent (my favorite right now is Cursor AI)

• RealTest Software (the software that backtests my ideas)

• Norgate (my data provider)

You need clean data that you can rely on.

Don’t look for the cheapest solution, as they will have corrupt data, data you can’t trust.

The research + backtesting process

Okay, let’s assume I have an idea I want to test.

Let’s start with a simple idea:

• Buy when QQQ is above its 200-day moving average.

• Sell when it drops below its 10-day moving average.

• Continue buying every time QQQ crosses back above the 10-day moving average.

• Use a 5% stop loss.

Now, all I have to do is take these rules and tell the AI:

“Build me a RealTest code to backtest my strategy using these rules.”

This is the code the AI gave me.

Import:
    DataSource: Norgate
    IncludeList: QQQ
    StartDate: Earliest
    EndDate: Latest
    SaveAs: QQQ.rtd
    Adjustment: TotalReturn

Settings:
    DataFile: QQQ.rtd
    StartDate: Earliest
    EndDate: Latest
    AccountSize: 100000
    BarSize: Daily

Data:
    MA10: MA(C, 10)
    MA200: MA(C, 200)
    CrossAbove10: C > MA10 and C[1] <= MA10[1]

Strategy: QQQ_MA
    Side: Long
    Allocation: S.Equity
    QtyType: Percent
    Quantity: 100
    MaxPositions: 1

    EntrySetup: C > MA200 and CrossAbove10
    EntryTime: NextOpen

    ExitRule: C < MA10
    ExitTime: NextOpen

    ExitStop: FillPrice * 0.95
    ExitStopTime: Intraday

Then I copy this code and simply paste it into RealTest Software.

Then I click “Import and Test” in RealTest.

And this is the result of the study:

As you can see, the strategy is profitable, with a maximum drawdown of 30% over a sample of 429 trades and a profit factor of 1.27.

Of course, if you compare it with a “buy and hold QQQ” strategy, you’ll notice that it severely underperforms.

If you look at the image above, QQQ buy and hold had an 80% drawdown during the 2002–2003 bear market.

Meanwhile, the strategy kept you in cash, and you had a maximum drawdown of 30%.

Not all strategies are about beating QQQ buy and hold. Some are simply about reducing your drawdown.

For this test, I want to find out whether a simple trend filter can reduce QQQ’s drawdowns, how much return I give up in exchange, and how much time the strategy spends out of the market.

Before I look at the returns, I check whether the code actually trades the rules I intended. I inspect individual trades, compare the entries and exits with the chart, and look for differences between my original idea and the AI’s implementation.

What I find really cool is that you can see every trade your system took, complete with charts.

You can see how it performed year by year, how much exposure you had, and how many setups you had per month or per year.

The program is very versatile.

You can even give the program the parameters of your strategy, and it can optimize the strategy for different objectives, such as lowering drawdown or maximizing net profits.

Be careful about overfitting your strategy here! If your strategy is way too complex and has too many parameters, you have most likely overfitted it.

How I check whether a strategy holds up beyond the backtest

Once I have a working backtest, the next question is: how much of this performance comes from a repeatable edge, and how much comes from fitting the strategy to historical data?

This is where validation becomes important.

One approach is to divide the historical data into two separate periods:

• In-sample: the data I use to develop the strategy, choose its rules, and explore different parameters.

• Out-of-sample: data I keep separate and use to evaluate the strategy after its rules have been finalized.

For example, I could develop a strategy using the first portion of the available history, then test the exact same rules on the remaining period.

The important part is that I leave those rules unchanged. I want to see how the strategy performs on data that did not influence its development.

The trap: repeatedly checking the out-of-sample results

Let’s say the strategy performs poorly during the out-of-sample period.

I add a filter, change the moving average, adjust the stop, and run it again. The results improve.

That may feel like progress, but I have now used that period to make development decisions. It no longer provides the same independent check.

If I keep repeating this process, I can end up fitting the strategy to both periods while still calling one of them “out-of-sample.”

Simple strategies can be overfit too

A complicated strategy with dozens of parameters deserves scrutiny. But simplicity alone does not protect me from overfitting.

Imagine testing hundreds of combinations of moving averages, stops, entry rules, and market filters, then selecting the one with the best historical performance.

The final strategy might have only three rules. Those rules were still selected from a large number of alternatives.

That is why I need to consider the entire research process, including how many variations I tested before finding the version I want to trade.

A strong backtest gives me a reason to investigate further. Before putting money behind it, I want to see whether the strategy can hold up on data that played no role in its development.

Even then, a successful out-of-sample test provides additional evidence, not certainty about future returns.

What about automation?

A possible next step is automation, although I haven’t reached that stage yet. I’m still researching and testing.

From what I’ve read, RealTest can generate the orders a strategy needs for the next trading session.

A separate execution tool, such as OrderClerk, can then send those orders to Interactive Brokers.

RealTest itself does not place orders directly with a broker.

Another option is Python. Through a broker’s API, which allows software to communicate with your trading account, a Python program can check your strategy’s conditions and place, monitor, or cancel orders. Interactive Brokers supports this through its Python API.

This is something I’d like to explore in the future. If I get there, it could become a separate article showing exactly how I set it up and what I learn along the way.

Going from an idea to a fully tested trading system is no longer something reserved for professional quants or experienced programmers.

With AI, clean data, and tools like RealTest, you can research an idea, turn it into clear rules, backtest it, and study the results in a fraction of the time it used to take.

For me, this is the beginning of a longer journey. I’m still learning, testing, and refining my process. But I’m convinced that combining discretionary skill with mechanical systems can make me a more consistent trader over the long run.

If you want to follow along as I research, backtest, and eventually automate more strategies, make sure you’re subscribed. In future articles, I’ll share more systems, the results, the mistakes, and everything I learn along the way.

Stay disciplined, stay curious, and keep building your edge.

And if you’ve been thinking about joining our community, now is the moment.

Right now, the yearly plan is 49% off.

See you inside.

Get 49% Discount with Yearly Plan

Trade Setups of The Week

If you think this newsletter could help your friends, share it with them so it can reach as many traders as possible.

And here’s the fun part: when you share it, you can unlock special rewards + you will look smart in front of your friends :)

“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav

Friday was a tough day.

The market sold off sharply, especially technology and AI-related stocks. The Nasdaq lost more than 2% in a single session and roughly 4.5% for the week, while the S&P 500 finished the week down nearly 2%. Both recorded their worst week since June.

I know how it feels to watch your positions turn red, see a promising setup fall apart, and start wondering, “Am I doing something wrong?”

I feel that frustration too. Even when you accept that losses are part of trading, it can still be exhausting to stay disciplined when clean momentum is hard to find and progress keeps getting interrupted. This year has felt difficult, and I know many of you feel the same way.

As of this week, we are 100% cash. As you already know, I took only one trade all week, and I plan to stay defensive until I see a meaningful improvement in market conditions.

I’m comfortable waiting. I don’t need to have a position just to feel like I’m making progress.

Right now, I don’t believe we should be buying breakouts in this environment. If I decide to take any risk, my preference is for carefully selected pullbacks, with entries closer to support, clearly defined exits, smaller positions, and realistic expectations.

Patience is a big part of this business. Sometimes that means sitting through a slow period, watching other people trade, and accepting that protecting your capital is enough for now.

Better days will come. I can’t tell you whether that will happen next week or further down the road. My priority is to preserve both our capital and the confidence we’ll need when conditions improve.

If this week hit you hard, take a breath. Give yourself some space before making your next decision. You don’t have to make everything back immediately. Come back to your plan, your risk limits, and the process you can repeat over the long term.

In this edition, I’ll walk you through a few interesting pullback candidates that fit the mean-reversion framework I’ve recently been testing in RealTest.

As I shared earlier, the strategy uses a z-score to identify unusually stretched conditions and look for a potential move back toward the average.

That backtest produced more than $1 million in net profits across 213 trades with a maximum drawdown of 33%.

The opportunities below fit that research framework. They are candidates to evaluate, and any trade I take will still need a clear entry, a defined exit, and a position size I’m comfortable risking.

For now, I’m staying patient, keeping risk small, and letting the market show me when it’s time to become more active.

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server. (*available only to PRO members)

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Of all the tickers on my watchlist, these are my high-probability trades for the coming week.

Read more

Most traders either miss the open or chase the first green candle.

I did both for years.

This entry tactic is …

Read more

Inside this issue, you’ll find high-probability trades with their charts, and next to each ticker, you’ll find the exact type of setup I’m watching plus the score it receives based on the 14 criteria of our strategy.

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server. (*available only to PRO members)

Also, below you’ll find the weekly market direction (an in-house algorithm created to tell you when it’s time to push and when it’s time to sit on the sidelines).

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Of all the tickers on my watchlist, these are my high-probability trades for the coming week.

Read more

I have some good news for you.

Starting today, you are receiving access to a powerful new feature, the upgraded Daily Opportunities Algo.

Every day after the market close, the algorithm scans the entire U.S. stock market, covering more than 10,000 tickers, then narrows that universe to roughly 1,500 to 2,000 stocks based on current market conditions.

From there, it ranks the strongest names using the 14 criteria in our Stock Selection Tool and highlights the highest-quality opportunities currently in Stage 1B, 2A, or 2B.

You will also be able to review the complete initial universe selected by the algorithm, not only the final top-ranked ideas.

The goal is to bring the strongest candidates across all our scanners into one daily workflow, while considering market conditions, relative strength, volume, sales growth, price action, key moving averages, volatility, sector, liquidity, and more.

Where can you find it, and how can you access it?

Upgrade your account to PRO, then join our Discord server.

Once you’re in the Discord server, go to the Daily Opportunities channel.

Here’s an example of what it looks like:

All stocks are run through the 14 criteria and receive a score.

How it helps you

The Daily Opportunities Algo helps you focus your attention on the strongest areas of the market instead of manually searching through thousands of tickers every day.

It filters the full U.S. market down to the best stocks available.

It can help you:

• Save research time: Start with a filtered list of high-quality candidates rather than running multiple scans and reviewing the entire market yourself.

• Stay aligned with market conditions: The maximum possible score adjusts based on the broader market environment, helping you understand how favorable current conditions are for finding quality opportunities.

• Find stocks in actionable stages: Focus on names currently in Stage 1B, 2A, and 2B, including mean-reversion opportunities, bullish trends, and confirmed breakout candidates.

• Understand why a stock was selected: Review the score and the factors behind it, then decide whether the chart offers a valid setup for your own trading plan.

• Build a stronger watchlist: Add relevant tickers to your watchlist, monitor their price action, and create alerts for the specific entry conditions you want to see.

• Get a broad market snapshot: Use the market overview to see how stocks are distributed across stages and market conditions, which can help guide where to focus your research.

How to Use It

1. Wait for the market close.

2. Review the results shortly after the close.
   The scanner starts running once the market closes and sends the daily opportunities within the first 30 minutes after the close.

3. Add the relevant tickers to your watchlist for the next trading day.

4. Set your alerts.
   You can use Entry Radar Pro+ or set manual alerts based on the specific setup and entry trigger you are waiting for.

And that’s it.

You now have a powerful daily workflow that scans the entire U.S. market, filters for the strongest stocks, and helps you focus your time on the opportunities that matter most.

Real-time examples.

Every one of these breakouts was identified by the Stage Scanner.

There are many more that could perform well over the coming weeks.

I now personally use this scanner to build my daily focus list, and you can do the same inside the Freedom Trades PRO Membership.

Get 49% Discount with Yearly Plan

Trade Setups of The Week

If you think this newsletter could help your friends, share it with them so it can reach as many traders as possible.

And here’s the fun part: when you share it, you can unlock special rewards + you will look smart in front of your friends :)

“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav

Inside this issue, you’ll find high-probability trades with their charts, and next to each ticker, you’ll find the exact type of setup I’m watching plus the score it receives based on the 14 criteria of our strategy.

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server. (*available only to PRO members)

Also, below you’ll find the weekly market direction (an in-house algorithm created to tell you when it’s time to push and when it’s time to sit on the sidelines).

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Of all the tickers on my watchlist, these are my high-probability trades for the coming week.

Read more

The tool’s workflow is:

By using this tool, your win rate will improve and your overtrading will decrease as you will get more selective with your entries and stock selection.

It will eliminate the discretionary part of the strategy, and you’ll stop guessing when to enter and when to sit on the sidelines.

In this article, we’ll learn how to use the Entry Radar and Stock Selection Tool

How to get access

To access the tool, you must be a PRO+ Member of the Freedom Trades community.

There are 3 simple steps.

1. Go to ft.wtf/subscribe

2. Select the PRO+ plan and subscribe

3. Send me a DM on Substack with your Tradingview username.

How to install the tool

Once you receive access, you simply :

1. go to the TradingView chart, Select Indicators.

2. Select invite-only

3. Select Entry Radar PRO+

Now I’m going to tell you what you should pay attention to and how each one works

How the tool appears on the chart

Stock Selection - How It Works

To enable it, simply go to the indicator settings and enable “Stock Selection” and/or “Entry Radar”

There are 13 criteria the tool uses to calculate the score.

All of these criteria are part of the Freedom Trades Strategy.

Before this tool, there was a checklist you had to follow. That took a lot of time, but this tool calculates everything for you, so you no longer have to sit there wondering whether or not you’re sticking to the plan.

In this example, SNDK receives a score of 100 out of 100.

The filter takes into account three key components of our strategy:

1. How the overall market is performing (we know that 3 out of 4 stocks follow the overall market)

2. The stock’s price action

3. The stock’s fundamentals

And it calculates all of this in REAL TIME.

So, the market conditions, fundamentals, and price action are all in place for it to gain 100 points.

Now, my recommendation is:

There are over 10,000 stocks listed in the U.S., ask yourself, why wouldn’t you buy the best products out there?

It’s your money. When you go shopping, you look for the best product out there, and that’s exactly what you should do when you want to invest your money in a stock.

The tool also takes into account how the overall market is performing.

When the SPY is above the 20MA, the tool will instantly subtract 20 points, so it will tell you to stay on the sidelines and that it’s better to hold cash.

All criteria are customizable based on your strategy, but if you want to follow the Freedom Trades Strategy, I recommend leaving them as is.

You can also customize the size of the table and its position on the tool’s dashboard.

This tool does not replace the need for setup, you still have to look for setups (I’ve shared all the setups we use here).

Once you build your focus list using this tool, you look for setups and then add all the tickers to the Entry Radar +

Entry Radar + How it works

To enable the “Entry Radar” feature, simply go to the indicator settings and select “Entry Radar.”

Now, in the Dashboard under “Watchlist,” simply paste or type all the tickers from your focus list.

The tool supports up to 31 tickers, which it can monitor in real time.

The entry is based on 5 key criteria:

• RVOL

• LOD <% ATR

• Daily range < % ATR

• Previous Daily High

• 5 ORB or/and 30 ORB

Basically, if all these criteria are met, the ticker turns green.

VERY IMPORTANT - TOOL LIMITATIONS

There are nuances, as with any tool, the success rate can’t be 100%, otherwise, everyone would get rich, right?

I want you to pay very close attention here to what you need to look for.

If this doesn’t happen, it means this isn’t a good day for a breakout since the volume is so low.

On a day when the ticker breaks out, we want to see at least 140% RVOL at the close, a sign that institutions are accumulating the stock and buyers are in control.

However, if the stock advances and breaks out on low volume, many of these breakouts won’t be meaningful and will fade either that day or in the following days.

If the ticker in question meets all the criteria and starts alerting you, but 90 minutes have already passed and the RVOL is below 30%, I want you to ignore that alert.

You’ll see that at the end of the day, many stocks tend to spike, but as I said, these aren’t valid signals because it’s normal for the RVOL to be above 30% after 4–5 hours into the session.

What you actually want to see is massive volume in the first 30–60 minutes, with a 30-minute ORB and the price exceeding the previous day’s high, while the range and LOD are below 60%.

That’s when it’s time to buy.

How to Customize It

There are plenty of ways to customize Entry Radar

Simply select the “Settings” option on the indicator, then scroll down in the “Inputs” menu and change the parameter you want.

You can change the opening range to either 5 minutes or 30 minutes.

You can also change the table’s position and size anywhere on the chart.

You can also change the colors and the timeframe on which it appears.

How to Set an Alert for Entry Radar

You don’t have to sit in front of your computer 24/7 waiting for a ticker to turn green.

You can set an alert.

Make sure these two options are turned on

And now, all you have to do is right-click on the table

and select “Add alert on Entry Radar PRO+”

Next, make sure the time frame is set according to your ORB strategy, either 30-minute ORB or 5-minute ORB, otherwise, if it’s set to daily, you’ll receive an alert at the end of the day.

I recommend setting it to 5 minutes.

Then select “Create” to set up the alert.

You can also customize where you want to receive the alert, either by email, directly on TradingView, or even as a text message on your phone.

If you select “Notifications”:

Below, select where you want to receive the alert and the time range.

So you don’t have to check every second to see what your favorite ticker is doing.

This indicator simply sends you an alert when all conditions are met.

Entry Radar Criteria Explained

RVOL > 30% in the first 120 minutes from the open:

Volume is an important factor. Volume is generally the edge that trading stocks offers you. The reason I switched from trading futures (which is what I did early in my career, when I was still a break-even trader) is because those markets are incredibly efficient..there’s little edge to be found.

You’ll see that most unprofitable traders and scammers are in the Forex/Futures industry.

The reason most traders are profitable in stocks is because institutions (the big money, those who move the market) leave footprints.

It’s impossible to build a large position without triggering that big volume candle. Now, of course, high volume doesn’t always mean accumulation, it can also mean distribution, which is why it’s important to combine it with price action. O

f course, there will be times when a stock moves without volume, but more often than not, this will be a fakeout.

So, to cut a long story short, yes, you need to check the RVOL criteria; you want to see that RVOL above 30% as soon as possible, the more time that passes, the more likely it is to be a normal day.

If RVOL is around 50% by the end of the day, the chances of this being a breakout day are minimal, you understand? I also want you to understand that everything I teach here, and in general, are things you need to take, as the Americans say, “with a grain of salt.”

Nothing in trading is set in stone...there are many nuances. And what we’re trying to do is stack different edges in such a way as to maximize our probability of having a winning trade.

LoD < 60% of ATR

LoD is how far the price has already traveled off today’s low, measured against a normal day. ATR is the average daily range over the last 14 days, so 100% means “about one full normal day of movement.” If LoD is 30%, the stock is still close to the low. If LoD is 80%, it has already run most of a normal day off that low, and you are late.

I want this under 60% because the entry has to have room. Your risk on these trades is usually defined by the low of the day. The closer you are to that low, the smaller the risk and the more room the stock still has to work. Once you are 60% or more of ATR above the low, you are paying up for a move that already happened. The stop is far, the reward is whatever is left, and that is a bad trade even if the stock keeps going.

Same idea as RVOL and time. Early, LoD should be small. If by 10:30 the stock is already 70–80% off the low, the easy part is gone. You do not “catch up” by chasing it. You wait for the next one.

And again, 60 is not a law. Some of the best days push through it and never come back. The point of the filter is to keep you from making that the habit.

Daily range < 65% of ATR

Range is the whole day so far, high to low, against that same ATR. LoD tells you where you are inside the day. Range tells you how much of the day has already been used.

A stock can be near the low and still have a huge range, if it spiked and came all the way back. That is not the same thing as a tight, controlled open. If the high-to-low is already 65% or more of a normal day, a lot of the fuel is burned. Buying there means you are often buying the middle or the end of the move, not the start.

I want both. LoD under 60 so I am not extended off the low. Range under 65 so the day itself is not already stretched. When both are true and RVOL is already above 30% in the first couple of hours, you have volume and you still have room. That is the combination.

If the range is already near a full ATR by lunch, treat it like the late RVOL example. It can still trend, but the odds that you are early are much lower.

PDH previous day high

PDH is simply: did today’s price clear yesterday’s high? YES or NO.

Yesterday’s high is a real level. Everyone can see it. A lot of stock that “looks strong” is just bouncing inside yesterday’s range. That is noise. When price takes out the prior day’s high, the stock has left that range. That is the footprint. Someone is willing to pay above a level that held yesterday.

One nuance: a wick through yesterday’s high and an immediate failure is still a break on the table, and it can be a trap. YES means the level was cleared. It does not mean it is going to hold. That is why it sits next to the other filters and next to the actual price action, not instead of them.

ORB opening range break

The opening range is the high of the first part of the regular session. On the radar that is either the first 5 minutes (9:30–9:35) or the first 30 minutes (9:30–10:00). YES means price is above that high.

The open is where the first real fight happens. The 5-minute version is faster and it fails more often, because the first five minutes are full of noise. The 30-minute version lets that fight settle. If buyers still cannot get above the opening high after half an hour, I do not need to be in it. If they do, the open resolved up, and that is the direction I want.

This is the same stacking idea. ORB without RVOL is often a fakeout, exactly like a move with no volume. ORB with RVOL, a fresh PDH, and LoD and range still inside those limits is a stock that broke the open, broke yesterday, showed size, and is not extended. That is as much of an edge as this screen is meant to give you.

FAQ

The ticker I’m watching with Entry Radar broke above the 5-minute ORB or 30-minute ORB, but now it shows “no.” Why?

The tool calculates price in real time. If the other four criteria are valid but the price is below the 5-minute ORB, it will no longer show as valid. This helps protect you from fakeouts.

The stock has earnings in 4 days, but the tool says I can enter. What should I do?

As a general rule, avoid stocks with fewer than 5 days until earnings. The reason is simple: you won’t have enough time to build a cushion before the report. Of course, there are exceptions with fast movers that have very high average daily range percentages.

I added a penny stock to my list and Entry Radar says it’s time to enter. What should I do?

Avoid it. We do not trade penny stocks. The tool is meant to be used only for tickers that meet the stock-selection criteria.

Does Entry Radar scan for setups or patterns?

No. You still need to scan for setups yourself. There is no tool at the moment that can scan for setups with high accuracy. Entry Radar scans for five filters that improve your win rate and reduce overtrading:

RVOL

LOD <% ATR

Daily range < % ATR

Previous Daily High

5 ORB or/and 30 ORB

Trade Setups of The Week

If you think this newsletter could help your friends, share it with them so it can reach as many traders as possible.

And here’s the fun part: when you share it, you can unlock special rewards + you will look smart in front of your friends :)

“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav

We launched the new Stock Selection and Entry Radar tool this Wednesday.

It is available to all PRO+ members.

You can find more details here

NEW: For each setup, we’ve included the score the ticker achieved.

Inside this issue, you’ll find 7 high-probability trades with their charts, and next to each ticker, you’ll find the exact type of setup I’m watching.

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server. (*available only to PRO members)

In addition, you’ll find 8 other tickers showing the setups they’re forming, though they still need some time before our entry signal is triggered, nevertheless, you should add them to your watchlist.

Also, below you’ll find my full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners and the weekly market direction (an in-house algorithm created to tell you when it’s time to push and when it’s time to sit on the sidelines).

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners:

Read more

From now on, you’ll know exactly whether a ticker is a BUY or not.

You no longer have to manually filter through hundreds of tickers.

You no longer have to guess or even rely on me.

What’s more, it will tell you exactly when to buy and when to sit on the sidelines.

Introducing two new tools: Entry Radar & Stock Selection.

Stock Selection helps you filter thousands of tickers in minutes and find only the best stocks.

Entry Radar helps you know exactly when to enter a trade, so you stop staring at screens all day.

How It Works

Stock Selection

Enter any ticker you want using Tradingview, and the tool gives you a score based on the filters in the Freedom Trades strategy.

That’s it.

It’s that simple.

Let’s look at a few examples.

I picked one large-cap stock, one mid-cap stock, and one penny stock just to show you the difference and what kind of results they offer.

For example, a ticker like NVDA gets 80 out of 100, while a ticker like NKE gets only 65.

My recommendation is not to trade any stock that receives a score below 80.

But there are some stocks that hit 100. Those are the golden goose.

And now you can scan tens of thousands of tickers using these filters.

The filter takes into account three key components of our strategy:

1. How the overall market is performing (we know that 3 out of 4 stocks follow the overall market)

2. The stock’s price action

3. The stock’s fundamentals

And it calculates all of this in REAL TIME.

Automatically. Without any discretion.

This way, filtering a watchlist of 200 tickers no longer takes several hours,in just a few minutes, you’ve created your focus list!

Before, we had a checklist that you had to go through manually, now, you simply enter the ticker into TradingView, and it tells you the exact score.

But that’s not all!

Introducing Entry Radar +

Entry Radar + tells you exactly when it’s time to enter that particular ticker.

How does it work?

Once you have your focus list/watchlist,

you copy those tickers and paste them into the tool.

That’s it.

Entry Radar monitors up to 34 stock symbols for you.

When all criteria are met, the name turns green, flashes, and can alert you.

You don’t have to stare at the screen 8 hours a day to track every stock symbol.

When a ticker meets all the criteria, it lights up and can send you an alert.

This means you can actually take all the tickers that appear in the high-probability newsletter.

Copy them and paste them into this tool, and it will tell you when it’s time to buy them.

Here’s an example of the tool used in real time with SNDK (a position I currently hold).

And for those of you who don’t feel like it or don’t have the time to spend hours each week scanning all the tickers, this is the new workflow you’ll be using.

That means it will literally take you 5 minutes to set everything up for next week.

I’ll prepare a video to show you that what I’m saying here is true and that I can set everything up in less than 5 minutes.

Once you enter those 10–20 tickers into this tool, it will tell you exactly when to enter and when not to.

You won’t have to wait for the alert on Discord anymore, and you’ll get better fills since you might be faster than me.

From day one, my goal has been to help you become an independent trader!

I can’t stand the concept of a “guru” or receiving “signals.”

I want to teach you a skill you’ll have for life!

It’s time to become self-sufficient, and this tool will give you the confidence to act on your own ideas.

Basically, I’ve incorporated the Freedom Trades strategy into two tools:

Stock Selection and Entry.

With Stock Selection, you’ll know exactly whether your trade idea is high probability or low probability, and whether you should avoid it.

And with Entry Radar+, it will tell you exactly when it’s time to enter your best trade idea.

AND NOW FOR THE BEST PART.

For newcomers who want to join our community and access the new tool, it’s available with the new PRO+ plan.

So join us, there are over 100 of us here, united by a single goal: FREEDOM!

Get 49% Discount with Yearly Plan

How to gain access if you’re already a PRO member of the community.

For those who are already members, simply contact me via Substack DM or message me on the Discord server with your TradingView username, and I’ll give you access to the tool.

Trade Setups of The Week

If you think this newsletter could help your friends, share it with them so it can reach as many traders as possible.

And here’s the fun part: when you share it, you can unlock special rewards + you will look smart in front of your friends :)

“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server. (*available only to PRO members)

In addition, you’ll find 8 other tickers showing the setups they’re forming, though they still need some time before our entry signal is triggered, nevertheless, you should add them to your watchlist.

Also, below you’ll find my full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners and the weekly market direction (an in-house algorithm created to tell you when it’s time to push and when it’s time to sit on the sidelines).

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners:

Read more

A setup used by legendary traders such as William O’Neil, Mark Minervini, Quallmagie, Ariel Hernandez, Gill Morallis, and many other USAC champions.

This setup is called the Flat Base Breakout.

What is a Flat Base Breakout?

A Flat Base Breakout is a technical analysis signal that occurs when an asset’s price breaks above the resistance level of a long, tight sideways consolidation period.

It often indicates that buyers have absorbed available supply and that the stock may be ready to begin a new upward move.

Here’s what it should look like in theory, and below I’ll show you some real-life examples.

How to Identify a Flat Base on a Chart

To identify it on a chart, you need to look for:

But that’s not enough!

There are some clear criteria that increase the likelihood of a monster trade!

1. A prior move of at least 40% or more is required.

Before this accumulation zone (sideways price action) forms, a strong upward move is needed. And this base will represent the consolidation period.

2. The duration of the base must be at least 4 weeks.
   There’s a reason for the saying, “the bigger the base, the higher the upside.”

The reason a minimum of 4 weeks is needed is to give the stock enough time to digest this 40% or greater move.

During this period, it also weeds out the weak holders because many investors will be late to the move and will get caught up in this choppy trading, leaving them mentally and financially exhausted.

3. During this consolidation period, the price, from the highest point to the lowest, should not fall by more than 20%.
   You don’t want a stock with erratic movements, you want to see relative strength and that the stock manages to hold its price.

4. On the day of the breakout, you want to see at least 1.5x Relative Volume.
   This increased volume indicates strong demand from those driving the price, the big money (institutional buyers), which will increase your likelihood of a successful trade..

Examples of a Flat Base Breakout

Many people, myself included, learn better visually, so I’ve prepared a few examples of successful flat base breakouts, and below we’ll also discuss failed base breakouts.

What I’m going to show you below is a real trade I made in HPE that ended up yielding a return of approximately 100% before I sold it. (I entered the trade on April 16, 2026.)

As you can see, HPE had all the right ingredients.

1. It had moved about 70% before entering a 10-month consolidation phase.

2. The base lasted 10 months.

3. The range from the highest point to the lowest was a maximum of 25%.

4. At the time of entry on that day, the Rvol was over 1.5x.

And if you look again, HPE began to form another base after this move of over 100%. But something is different, this time, the price is much more erratic. (We’ll discuss that a little later.)

Let’s move on to another example.

LITE (on the daily timeframe), notice how, after a 200% move, LITE forms a base with absolutely no volume, and then breaks out two months later with increased volume.

Notice how it breaks out even before earnings, leading to another 160% move, at which point it forms another consolidation period of about two months, after which it moves another 200%.

Another trade I took was DELL.

This one is a bit different because it doesn’t follow all the rules and is a combination of a flat base breakout and an EP setup, but I want to show it to you because real-world examples aren’t always perfect.

The price breaks out of the two-month base with increased volume and then consolidates for the next 10 days, at which point I buy that undercut.

And I ride it for about a 30% gain.

And if we look further back at what happened, we find exactly the same pattern forming right now, as we speak.

And these patterns form over and over again on tens of hundreds of stocks. (Some examples that come to mind right now for you to check out are NVDA, BE, PL, MU, SNDK, and AMD.)

Of course, not everything is perfect, there are also

Failed Base Breakouts

Here’s an example that had all the ingredients

Notice how the OSCR (daily timeframe), at the time of my entry, had a 2-month base; in fact, on the day I entered, it had 2x Rvol. So the volume confirmed the entry only to trigger my stop loss the next day.

It gapped down the next day, then reversed, and then started to chop.

One thing was missing here, and that’s why I got stopped out.

And that was: THE GENERAL MARKET.

If you look at August 20, 2026, the SPY fell by 0.84%, and overall, the price action was terrible for the vast majority of stocks.

So the lesson here is that if you don’t have the general market on your side, the likelihood that a breakout will work is low.

Even the legendary William O’Neil says:

“three out of four stocks usually follow the overall market trend, whether it’s up or down. That’s why it’s critical for you to learn to follow, not fight, the market.”

I want to be honest with you and tell you that in real-life trading, there is no such thing as a perfect flat base breakout setup. And many of them will feel uncomfortable.

Here’s an example

Notice how, on the chart below (OKTA, daily timeframe), if rule number 2 (the duration of a base) isn’t followed, the price movements are much less significant.

However, if you’re trading on a shorter timeframe, you can take advantage of these “mini bases.”.

How can you improve your ability to identify a flat base breakout setup?

Simple.

Study hundreds of charts.

Take every winning stock from the current and previous years (those with gains of at least 100%) and mark their support levels and the moment they broke out on each chart.

Actually simulate on the charts where you would have entered and where you would have exited.

Also mark the failed breakouts. Why did they fail? What was missing? What were the general indexes doing at the moment that particular stock was attempting to break out?

Another helpful thing is to learn what stage that stock is in. (An idea popularized by Stan Weinstein)

Common Mistakes Traders Make When Trading Flat-Base Breakouts

The most common mistake, one I’m guilty of as well, is:

- Entering too soon.

Often, you’ll be eager to get into a stock, but the market won’t serve up these trades on a silver platter. You have to be patient and allow at least 4 weeks for that base to form.

Over time, you’ll notice that the fastest upward moves are the least sustainable; they’re erratic movements that trigger stop-outs for both longs and shorts.

-- Not taking into account what the group that stock belongs to is doing.

As we know, stocks move in groups; if that group lacks a catalyst, it will be hard for the stock to move. If you’ve chosen a laggard instead of a leader, you’ll either get chopped up or end up with a lower return that will eat into your edge.

--Traders ignore volume.

You want to see at least 1.5x Rvol when the breakout occurs. The vast majority of breakouts that fail are those that don’t have a surge in volume.

How I Increase the probability of a successful flat base breakout

Increase the probability of this trade

Combine it with the fundamentals.

You want to see accelerated growth in sales. (Sales are the heart of a business.)

If you look at the examples above, they all had one thing in common: they had accelerated growth in sales.

Many companies break out on high volume after earnings. Because when the market, analysts, and institutions realize that sales growth has accelerated, they need to reprice their models and start their “buying” program.

Also, as I mentioned above,

Check how the market is performing.

If the general market isn’t performing well, 90% of breakouts will fail.

Keep the market in mind.

There are several tactics for knowing when to be aggressive and when to be defensive. But one of them (the simplest) is to check if the SPY price is above the 10- and 20-day moving averages.

Flat base breakouts are easy to understand in theory. The real work is finding them early, filtering out weaker candidates, understanding the broader market, and managing the position once you are in.

That is why I built the Freedom Trades PRO Membership.

Every week, I share high-probability stock ideas, top-ranked scanner setups, market context, and the exact swing-trading framework I use to make decisions. When I enter or exit a trade, PRO members receive real-time alerts and can follow the reasoning behind the move.

You also get access to our private Discord community.

If you want to spend less time guessing and more time following a repeatable process, PRO gives you the framework to do it.

Get 49% Discount with Yearly Plan

Trade Setups of The Week

If you think this newsletter could help your friends, share it with them so it can reach as many traders as possible.

And here’s the fun part: when you share it, you can unlock special rewards + you will look smart in front of your friends :)

“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server. (*available only to PRO members)

In addition, you’ll find 9 other tickers showing the setups they’re forming, though they still need some time before our entry signal is triggered, nevertheless, you should add them to your watchlist.

Also, below you’ll find my full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners and the weekly market direction (an in-house algorithm created to tell you when it’s time to push and when it’s time to sit on the sidelines).

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners:

Read more

To be free.

To not have anyone else set my schedule.

To be in control of my own life.

For me, that happened in January 2026.

BUT

It wasn’t easy.

And it comes with some hidden challenges.

Today, I’m going to show you exactly what you need and some IMPORTANT criteria you need to keep in mind before taking this step.

What Nobody Ever Talks About in Trading

Unfortunately, there’s a major difference between trading full time and living off your trading profits.

And this isn’t mentioned anywhere in the courses that influencers are trying to sell.

You can start trading full-time relatively easily and early on.

But making a living off your trading profits takes many more years and a lot more capital.

How much money you actually need to live off your trading profits

Let’s start with the second most important thing

CAPITAL

Well, this amount is entirely personal.

That is to say

It depends on your fixed and variable costs.

But don’t worry…I won’t leave you hanging.

We’ll run some simulations, and I’ll show you exactly how to calculate how much capital you need.

To run this simulation, we’ll use an average U.S. city as our example.

That is, not the most expensive, but not the cheapest either, in terms of living costs.

Based on current 2025–2026 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Numbeo, and cost-of-living studies, here is the individual annual cost for a single man living in a medium-cost U.S. city (Columbus OH, Indianapolis IN, Pittsburgh PA, Oklahoma City OK)

Let’s take the moderate scenario and say your living expenses are $60,000.

Now we need to calculate how much capital you need to make a living from full-time swing trading.

My recommendation is to never risk more than 5% of your total capital… otherwise, it will eat into your equity curve, and you’ll never be able to grow that account.

Especially in the beginning.

later on, you can become more aggressive depending on your goals, age, etc.

Okay, here comes the hard part.

It’s probably going to hurt when you see this.

But let’s assume you have an average return of 20%.

Which is extraordinary, by the way.

And let’s take 25% of the profits. (Not from the account, but from the profits.)

So:

With a 20% annual return and withdrawing 25% of your profits each year, you need about $1,200,000 starting capital to pull out $60,000 per year.

I know this is soul-crushing…

I know.

You would have expected a smaller amount.

But this is the reality that no guru on Substack or X will tell you.

And keep in mind that I haven’t even factored in taxes…

You don’t believe me.

Let’s run a simulation with 200k in starting capital and an annual withdrawal of 60,000.

You’d use up your account in 7 years...

A fixed dollar withdrawal that is too big relative to capital and edge will destroy the account.

And this simulation is based on the assumption that you will earn a 20% return every year.

Which won’t happen.

You’ll have better years and worse years.

And in 10 years, you’ll have at least one year where you break even, or even worse, a year where you lose money.

And think about it: many people don’t have that $200,000.

And ask yourself if $20,000 is enough.

Maybe it is for day trading.

BUT

Don’t despair,,,there’s still a way!

What should you do?

You have 3 options:

Both are good options.

But the easiest one is to build another source of income and reduce your living expenses.

By its very nature, swing trading gives you more time.

Time you can use to start a part-time venture.

That way, you won’t overtrade and you’ll let your account compound.

AND

There’s another hidden benefit.

WHEN YOUR INCOME DOESN’T DEPEND SOLELY ON TRADING

you’ll be mentally freer and able to risk your capital more effectively.

It is much harder to improve your performance than to find another revenue stream.

So now that I’ve defined that, I want you to understand that there’s a difference between:

Trading for a living and trading full time.

It’s much harder to trade for a living because you need a minimum of 1 million in capital.

Another question that probably comes to mind is:

After how long of profitability should I quit my job?

I said I’d tell you later what’s more important than capital.

Well, it’s: Profitability.

Why would you?

It will ruin you mentally, emotionally, and socially.

Instead, I recommend a minimum, an absolute minimum, of 6 months of profitability.

So you can get through 2 quarters.

But to be honest, even that’s not enough.

I’d say two years of profitability is a much better track record.

Personally, I quit my job after almost three full years of profitability as a swing trader and several more years as an investor.

You also want to have savings covering at least two years that you can fall back on in case your full-time trading doesn’t work out or you have a bad year.

That way, you won’t have to dip into your initial swing trading capital.

And take my word for it.

It really does affect you mentally.

Even though we’re in a massive bull run, in 2026 it wasn’t easy for me to execute trades.

Because money becomes scarcer, and you start to adopt a very conservative mindset.

Which comes with two sides to it.

ALSO

This is something almost nobody talks about, but it matters more than you think.

Fix your personal life before going full time trading

If your life is chaotic, your trades will reflect that.

If your financial situation is unstable, you’ll feel pressure with every decision.

If your relationships are strained, this will affect your focus and emotional control.

Trading is, in and of itself, already mentally demanding.

When you add personal stress to the mix, it becomes exponentially harder to stay disciplined and consistent.

That means:

Because once you commit to trading full-time, there’s no turning back.

You can’t blame a job, a boss, or external circumstances.

It all comes down to you and your decisions.

And if your foundation is weak, trading will expose it very quickly.

Now that you’ve checked off all these points, there’s just one more thing you need to get started

Equipment & Tools for Swing Trading

I didn’t start with this because it’s the most obvious thing.

You need a good chair to sit in for hours.

Don’t skimp on this one.

• You need a desk.

• And at least one monitor.

I personally have two monitors. I don’t think I need more than that.

But I couldn’t have done what I do with just one monitor.

Also,

Don’t skimp on your internet plan.

• You need a good, fast internet plan.

As for tools, you’ll need:

- a trading journal

- charting/scanner software

- a good broker.

That’s it.

These will probably cost you around $2,000 in total.

You’re now ready to start swing trading full-time, or part-time if you still don’t have the required capital.

This isn’t easy for most people.

Not like it’s portrayed online.

Unfortunately, the reality is that you can’t start full-time with 10k, or even 100k.

But that shouldn’t discourage you.

You can start anytime while holding down a job.

Work hard.

Be consistent.

And your dream will come true.

I know this because I’m living it.

You just need to start

Look, I didn’t write this to discourage you.

I wrote it because I wish someone had been this honest with me before I made the leap.

If you’re serious about building toward that freedom, whether you’re still working a job or already trading part-time, PRO is the next logical step.

You’ll get the structure, the accountability, and the real-time insights that most traders never get to see.

And right now is the best time to start.

The yearly plan is 49% off. If you’ve been sitting on the fence, this is the moment.

See you inside.

Get 49% Discount with Yearly Plan

Trade Setups of The Week

If you think this newsletter could help your friends, share it with them so it can reach as many traders as possible.

And here’s the fun part: when you share it, you can unlock special rewards + you will look smart in front of your friends :)

“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server. (*available only to PRO members)

In addition, you’ll find 13 other tickers showing the setups they’re forming, though they still need some time before our entry signal is triggered, nevertheless, you should add them to your watchlist.

Also, below you’ll find my full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners and the weekly market direction (an in-house algorithm created to tell you when it’s time to push and when it’s time to sit on the sidelines).

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners:

Read more

Most traders hold too long.
They watch the stock extend, feel the euphoria, and convince themselves it will keep going… until a big chunk of their open profits disappears.

By the time you finish reading this, you will know exactly when to start selling a winning stock.

No more guessing. No more giving back gains.

This isn’t theory or personal opinion.

A researcher named Denis Hamel ran a 13-year backtest across 5,506 U.S. stocks, covering nearly 50 million stock-days from 2012 to 2025.

He asked one simple question: how far above the 50-SMA do stocks actually extend, measured in ATR?
The numbers are brutal… and they should change how you manage every winner from now on.

Here’s what we’re going to cover:

1. The full distribution of extreme ATR extensions (and where almost 70% of them die)

2. Exactly how to use those numbers for your exits (trim levels at 7, 8, 9 and 10+ ATR)

3. A simple way to apply this on any chart in under 10 seconds

4. A high-probability bonus setup that turns the same data into parabolic shorts

What is ATR and what does “extension above the 50-SMA” actually mean?

Before we look at the numbers, let’s make sure the two concepts we’re using are crystal clear.

50-SMA
The 50-day Simple Moving Average is just the average closing price of the last 50 days.
It shows the medium-term trend.

ATR (Average True Range)
ATR measures how much a stock usually moves in a day.
If a stock has an ATR of $2, it means that on a normal day it moves about $2 up or down.

ATR extension above the 50-SMA
This simply answers the question:
“How many normal daily moves is the stock currently above its 50-day average?”

Example:

• Stock price = $100

• 50-SMA = $90

• ATR = $2

The stock is $10 above the 50-SMA.
$10 ÷ $2 ATR = 5 ATR above the 50-SMA.

That’s it.
The higher this number, the more stretched (and statistically dangerous) the move becomes.

Now that you understand the language, the data below will make perfect sense.

What the Numbers Show

Here is the full distribution of extreme ATR extensions above the 50-SMA:

Read those numbers carefully.

Out of every 100 times a stock reached an extreme extension above the 50-SMA, almost 70 of those times it stopped at 7 ATR.

Only 22 made it to 8.

Less than 6 made it to 9.

The odds of continuation drop dramatically with each level.

What This Means for Your Exits

The moment a stock reaches 7 ATR above the 50-SMA, you are statistically in a zone where most extensions end.

That does not mean you sell everything.

It means you start trimming.

Here is how I think about it:

• At 8 ATR: Trim at least 20-30% of your position. The odds are stacked against further extension.

• At 9 ATR: You are now in the top 6% of all extreme moves. Tighten your stop aggressively or unload a big chunk.

• At 10 ATR and beyond: You are in rare air. Less than 2% of extreme moves ever get here. If you still have a full position, you are gambling, not trading.

The goal is not to catch the absolute top.

The goal is to protect the majority of your gains while the probabilities are still in your favor.

The Real Edge Is in What You Keep

The edge comes from how you manage the trade once it is in your favor.

A stock up 8 ATR above its 50-SMA has already done the hard work for you.

Your job at that point is not to get greedy. Your job is to lock in the majority of that move before the odds flip.

Think about it this way: if 69% of extreme extensions stop at exactly 7 ATR, and you consistently hold through that level looking for more, you are going to give back a large chunk of your open profits on most trades.

Over hundreds of trades, that adds up to a significant drag on your equity curve.

Trim early, trim often at extended levels, and let a small runner go for the outlier move.

That is how you stay consistent.

How to Apply This to Your Trading

You do not need a 50-million-day dataset to use this.

You just need to know where your stock is relative to its 50-SMA, measured in ATR.

On TradingView, this is straightforward to calculate or script.

You can get the indicator here (it’s completely free): https://www.tradingview.com/script/oimVgV7e-ATR-multiple-from-50-MA/

Once you have that number, the rule is simple:

7-8x ATR above the 50-SMA = start trimming, no exceptions.

The data does not care about your conviction.

It does not care how good the chart looks.

It just tells you that 69% of the time, this is where the extension ends.

Use that information.

BONUS - Transform the ATR Extension into a Short Setup

Just as this data tells you when it is time to trim a long position, you can also use it as an indicator for a setup called the Parabolic Short.

This is a very high-probability trade, but it needs to be managed right.

Here are a few examples.

AXTI showed 11x ATR above the 50-SMA. Guess what happened next. It dropped 44%.

At the time of writing this, CAR is sitting at a 24.7x ATR multiple above the 50-SMA.

What do you think happens next after 15 green candles and just one red one?

Here’s the answer:

82% drawdown.

The data is clear.
Most extensions die at 7 ATR.

If you want more frameworks like this, real-time examples, and a community of traders who actually manage winners the same way, join the Pro community.

And right now is the best time to do it.
The yearly plan is 49% off.

Get 49% Discount with Yearly Plan

Trade Setups of The Week

If you think this newsletter could help your friends, share it with them so it can reach as many traders as possible.

And here’s the fun part: when you share it, you can unlock special rewards + you will look smart in front of your friends :)

“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav

This way, you’ll learn to recognize them faster as well.

On top of that, in this special edition I’ve posted 18 charts I like and believe are setting up for another leg higher.

To see exactly when I buy and what I sell in real time, join the private Discord server.

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners:

Read more

What initially drew me to him was his broad perspective on both the market and life.

I couldn’t believe this guy was in his twenties.

And that’s due to two factors, in my opinion:

1. starting early in life. (He started trading when he was just 13 years old.)

2. a life full of challenges, as he himself says: “Suffering can be a great motivator.”

Today I’m sharing the most powerful lessons from the trader who made millions in just few years.

According to market wizard book From January 2020 through December 2025, Lukas compounded at an average annual rate of 309.3%, while keeping maximum drawdown to 35.5%.

Lukas has for sure one of the most extraordinary performance records in modern retail trading.

These are my notes after reading Market Wizards by Jack Schwager.

Trading Lessons from Lukas Frohlich

Perhaps the biggest “secret” to finding alpha (or the so-called “edge”) is revealed right at the beginning of the interview, when he is asked how he decides what to buy or sell.

Lukas answers between the lines:

“I don’t mind volatility and chaos in the markets because I think that is where mistakes are made, which creates opportunity.”

Lukas Frohlich

He is referring to the fact that traders can identify market inefficiencies here and exploit them.

Many shy away from volatility as it can seriously damage your account.

However, volatility often reveals the emotions of market participants, and emotions do not represent calculated decisions; they are inefficient, they lead to errors, and this is not likely to change anytime soon.

How Lukas Frohlich Got Started in Trading

Early in his career, Lukas would short small-cap stocks that gapped up sharply.

What set him apart from others in this field was that:

“ I analyzed SEC filings, identifying companies with an impending working capital problem. I also analyzed news releases that caused the stocks to rally to determine which were bogus and which might indicate a turning point for the company.”

Lukas Frohlich

He placed short trades based on his own research and used stop-loss orders to limit losses.

When asked how he chose his stop-loss levels:

“I had multiple ways of stopping out. Sometimes I would use a new daily high as a stop. Other times, I would set the stop a certain percentage above my entry price. I also used standard deviation-based moves above the opening price as a stop—a method I was fond of because it adjusted to market volatility.”

Lukas Frohlich

But the interesting part is that he doesn’t get stuck in the “small-cap stocks” space like most traders do.

It’s interesting because I know how difficult it is to adapt and keep learning once you’ve found success in a particular area.

But he’s not like everyone else, he manages to recognize that scalability becomes an issue once your account grows past seven figures, and in 2020, he shifted his focus to mid-cap stocks.

And that’s what I want to talk more about here, since we mainly swing trade mid-cap and large-cap stocks.

The mid cap era

What makes it even more impressive is that, for mid-cap stocks, he uses breakouts on the long side.

Imagine you’ve been used to going short your entire career, you even have “The Short Bear” as a nickname, but you don’t let that define you, and you do a complete 180-degree turn toward the long side.

“The mid-cap breakout trade is a specific strategy that works during strong bull markets and outperforms almost anything in the 7th–9th inning of a bull market, during the euphoria phase.”

Lukas Frohlich

He manages to identify the bull market that is taking shape in 2020, the biggest opportunity in the last 12 years, and capitalizes on the investors’ euphoria..

“I traded stocks with a market cap in the $1 to $5 billion range, since these are the stocks that tend to move the most when they move. I also preferred stocks with smaller floats, as smaller floats mean greater potential for explosive upmoves.

I focused on themes and stories that were being hyped on social media.”

Lukas Frohlich

If you look at my previous post, where I talked about how I find the next winners, that’s exactly the approach Lukas uses.

He is aware of the market environment (the euphoria phase) and knows it’s time to push.

Then he identifies the themes and sectors that are in an uptrend.

Next, he filters stocks based on his setups; he prefers stocks valued between 1 and 5 trillion because they have enough volume and liquidity for him to enter with his account, and smaller floats because they have greater potential to skyrocket.

I wanted to see the stock consolidate for a while before heading to new highs. Ideally, the stock would trade in the upper 50% of the consolidation before breaking out.

Lukas Frohlich

This is pretty much what a stock should look like before it skyrockets.

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And Lukas doesn’t buy just any stock simply because it meets his stock criteria.

No, he looks for a catalyst.

There are many potential catalysts: a positive earnings report, the company rolling out new products, favorable government policy, and so on.

To increase the likelihood that this trade will be successful, you need relative volume. And that relative volume often comes hand in hand with a catalyst.

Another very important filter for me is the 200MA.

You often send me all kinds of tickers and ask for my opinion.

As long as that ticker is below the 200MA, don’t touch it. There’s no trade.

If you study the tickers that have seen the biggest gains in recent years, you’ll notice that the majority of the move happened above the 200MA.

So you won’t lose anything, in fact, it’ll save you from trouble, just as Lukas says:

if you wait to buy until the price gets above the 200-day moving average, you can reduce the likelihood of getting into big trouble.

Lukas Frohlch’s entry, stop-loss, and take-profit strategy

One thing I personally think I should work on more is adding to my position.

What’s interesting here is that Lukas uses pyramid positioning

“Typically, I tried to start with about two-thirds of my intended position.

When my initial entry was pre-breakout, I often used the breakout as a spot to add a pyramid position.

I used pullbacks to the 20-day EMA as entry points. I also added within a new consolidation that might form after an upswing.”

So he starts small, and then adds to his position incrementally as the price moves in his direction.

His goal is to be at the beginning of a major trend. And if he succeeds in doing that, he can significantly increase the size of his position.

If a new setup presents itself within the trade, Lukas isn’t afraid to add to his position, as he’s prepared to sacrifice his initial profits if the trade doesn’t work out.

I would add the amount of stock such that if the stop was hit, the loss on the added position would exactly offset the remaining open profits on my prior long position at that point.

if a pyramid addition didn’t work as expected in short order, the entire trade would be dead to me, and I would get out.

When asked where he puts the brake, Lukas replies

If I were buying within a consolidation anticipating an upside breakout, I would use a stop below the consolidation. If I were entering on a breakout, my stop would be below the low of the breakout day.

To take profits, I use either the 10MA or the 20MA, but Lukas uses the EMA, which is the exponential moving average that takes price action into account.

As the move progressed and I was well ahead on the trade, I would use a stop below the 20-day EMA initially and the more sensitive 9-day EMA if the move turned parabolic.

The Disadvantages of This Strategy

When he started talking about the challenges of strategy, I could totally relate.

I believe that the hardest part of the vast majority of strategies that involve a discretionary component is patience.

Being able to do nothing during unfavorable periods.

And Lukas puts it best:

“Being able to step away when the market environment is not suitable is the hard part in applying this strategy.

I used to think big money was made by being very active as a trader, but now I believe it’s made by sitting on winning positions.”

I’d like to wrap up with a little motivation from Lukas and how he managed to get through the tough times in his trading career:

Lukas isn’t just a trader with extraordinary results, he’s living proof that discipline and adaptability beat raw talent in the long run.

He started shorting small-caps at age 13, then had the courage to admit when his strategy was no longer scalable and make a complete 180-degree shift to going long on mid-caps, right in the midst of market euphoria.

What strikes me most about him isn’t the 309% annual return, but his mindset: “Big money is made by sitting on winning positions.”

In a world where everyone wants to do something every day, he tells you plainly: big money is made by having the patience to let good trades run.

For him, trading isn’t just about money… it’s about freedom.

Trade Setups of The Week

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“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav

I know how I feel right now, and how many of you are probably feeling the same way.

The markets are chaotic, the setups aren’t working the way they used to, and my account balance is dropping.

Frustration, doubt, and sometimes even anger set in.

But I want to remind myself of one essential thing: I’ve been through this before.

Chopiness is part of the cycle.

Drawdowns aren’t a sign that I’ve “lost my edge,” but proof that I’ve been in the market long enough to experience them.

The best traders aren’t the ones who avoid drawdowns, but the ones who weather them without compromising their discipline or capital.

I need to take a breath and accept reality. This isn’t the time to fight the market. It’s time to protect myself

To reduce risk.

Filter my setups. Take only the clearest ones, the ones with the highest probability.

Take a break if needed.

Reread my journal. Review the last 20–30 trades. Did I deviate from the rules? Or is it just normal variance? The answer will show me the way

This period will pass. The markets will calm down, trends will return, and my edge will find fertile ground again. But only if I’m here when it happens.

I won’t increase my positions. I won’t change my strategy. I’ll protect my capital, stick to the process, and let time do the rest.

I’ve been through this before. I’ll get through this too.

This is a message I wrote for myself in my journal, but I felt it would help many of you, so I decided to start this issue of the newsletter with it.

Below I’ll write about the next opportunities I see, which positions I’d like to add to, and the weekly market direction.

This is my performance from previous years.

Copy my complete strategy and start trading these high-probability trades here:

High Probability Trades

Full list of tickers generated by my custom scanners:

Read more

And it’s all thanks to the idea generator = that is, a scanner.

This scanner essentially scans the entire market and provides me with trading ideas based on the filters I select.

I have a total of 5 scanners, and today I’m going to share 4 of them with you.

(*We use the 5th one in the PRO community.)

And I’m not just going to share the links, I’m also going to teach you how to use them and what to look for.

All the links are to Finviz, and you don’t need a premium account to access them…they’re completely free.

Before I give you the links, I want you to understand how I come up with trading ideas.

How I Come Up with Trading Ideas - A Top-Down Approach

A good trading idea doesn’t start with a setup.

It starts with the market.

The first thing I analyze is: how are the major indexes performing?

• Is the market in an uptrend?

• Is it in a downtrend?

• Is it choppy, with no clear direction?

This step is essential.

William O’Neil studied market behavior from 1900 to the present.

One of his conclusions was:

3 out of 4 stocks are moving in the same direction as the overall market.

That’s why you always need to pay attention to the overall context.

You might have the best setup on a chart. But if the market comes under heavy selling pressure, your odds drop significantly.

A simple way to gauge market strength for long side: If the 10-day MA is above the 20-day MA and the VIX is below 20, you can go push.

If the 10-day MA is below the 20-day MA and the VIX is above 20, reduce your position size and consider staying in cash.

Identify the strong group

Once you understand how the market works, the next step is to identify the groups that are showing strength.

Most emerging themes move in groups.

For example, if NVDA starts to move, it’s very likely that AMD or MU will join the move as well.

Your job is to identify the group’s leader.

Why?

Because, historically, leaders tend to deliver higher returns than laggards.

At the same time, when the group starts to weaken, leaders tend to hold up better. Laggards usually fall more sharply.

A simple way to track sectors is to have a separate watchlist with the following ETFs:

• XLK – Technology

• XLY – Consumer Discretionary

• MAGS – Magnificent 7

• XLC – Communication Services

• XLI – Industrials

• XLRE – Real Estate

• XLU – Utilities

• XLB – Materials

• XLF – Financials

• XLP – Consumer Staples

• XLE – Energy

• XLV – Health Care

Basically, here you have all the important sectors, plus the Mag 7.

Analyze them one by one.

Look for sectors that are trending upward. Look for those that have relative strength compared to the market.

Only then do you move on to the next step.

Individual Stocks: Finding Setups

I’ve shared all the setups I use here:

Many traders believe that the setup is the most important thing.

In reality, it is the least important of the three elements:

1. General market

2. Group or sector

3. Individual setup

What increases your probability of a successful trade the most is the context.

What is the market doing?

What is the sector doing?

Is your stock a leader or a laggard?

The setup isn’t a magic formula. It isn’t the only reason a trade works.

Its main objective here is to define your risk.

It helps you avoid random trades made without a clear plan.

For example:

• In an undercut and rally setup, the stop-loss can be placed below the key level where the undercut occurred.

• In an earnings gap (EP), the stop-loss can be placed below the low of the day (LOD).

• In a flat base breakout setup, the risk can be defined below the pivot or below the relevant support level.

The setup gives you a clear point of invalidation.

That’s its real value.

You don’t enter a trade just because it “looks good.” You enter because you have a favorable context, a leader from a strong group, and a clear level at which your trade is invalidated.

Search for relative strength

Another extremely important factor is relative strength.

You want to find stocks that outperform the market and outperform the rest of their sector.

During good times, these tend to be the first to break out.

During difficult times, these tend to hold up better.

What scanners do I use?

1. CANSLIM , a scanner that provides stocks fitting William O’Neil’s strategy.

Link to the scanner: Link

Developed by the legendary William J. O’Neil, CANSLIM is the ideal formula for identifying top-performing stocks.

This filter helps us identify market leaders, companies with excellent fundamentals and momentum, poised for a potential breakout.

The filters are designed to highlight stocks that meet the golden rules:

• Market Capitalization & Liquidity: Market Cap > $2B

• Average Volume > 2M.

We avoid illiquid companies and focus on those where we can enter and exit cleanly.

• Aggressive Growth: Sales Growth Q/Q and TTM > 25%.
  We look for companies that are generating massive revenue right now.

• Institutional Transactions > 0.

  This confirms that funds and banks are accumulating the stock (a vital criterion in CANSLIM).

• Price near the highs of the last 20 and 50 days.

True leaders hit new highs, we’re not looking for stocks on sale.

Use this scanner to create your weakly watchlist.

Look for clear consolidation patterns on the chart (Cup and Handle, Flat Base).

Buy Point: Enter when the price breaks through resistance on high volume.

Here’s an example of a trade I took using this scanner.

HPE appeared in this scanner in April before it skyrocketed.

2. A scanner that finds the hottest stocks, I check this daily.

You can access it here: Link

Focused on identifying the “hottest” stocks, ideal for aggressive momentum trading and potential short squeezes.

This scanner identifies stocks with explosive performance, a small float, and huge market interest.

Here are the filters:

Small Float: Float < 500M.

There are few shares available for trading.

When demand increases, the price easily skyrockets due to limited supply.

Explosive Momentum: Performance: Quarter +30%.

The stock has already risen massively in the last quarter, confirming its status as a short-term market leader.

Short Squeeze Potential: Short Float > 20%.

Many traders are betting against the stock. If the price continues to rise, they will be forced to buy to cover their positions, fueling an even more dramatic price surge.

Volume and Liquidity: Average Volume > 2M and Current Volume > 1M.

There is sufficient liquidity to ensure good order execution.

Institutional Accumulation: Institutional Transactions: Positive.

In addition to retail investors, “big money” is also supporting the rally.

Volatility: Volatility: Weekly – Over 5%.

We are looking for significant price movements, which are essential for swing trading.

How I Use It

Unlike CANSLIM, here we focus more on market psychology and supply-demand imbalances, targeting stocks prone to rapid price surges.

I check this watchlist daily.

Watch for Pullbacks: Look for technical patterns such as “bull flags” or tight consolidations after the initial +30% move.

Don’t buy the stock when it’s already overextended.

RKLB appeared in this scanner, where I captured a nearly 100% move using the “undercut and rally from the 50MA” technique.

3. A screener that identifies stocks forming bases at beaten-down levels.

Here is the link to the scanner: Link

This scanner, “Bases at Beaten-Down Levels,” looks for stocks that have been heavily sold off but are beginning to form a base.

The idea is simple: potential for a rebound.

What the scanner filters for

• Small-cap: Market Cap > $300M.

  It avoids micro-caps but remains in the riskier and more volatile segment.

• Weak recent trend: YTD performance down.

  It looks for stocks that have lagged behind and could be “reversed” by the market.

• Well Below Highs: 200-Day SMA: price 20–20% below, and 52-Week High/Low: 30% or more below.

  This indicates the stock is still “beaten down,” not already overextended.

• Minimum Liquidity: Average Volume > 1M and Current Volume > 1M.

  You want enough volume for the move to be tradable.

• Good volatility: Weekly > 4%.

  We’re looking for stocks that move enough for a swing trade.

• Above $1: this filters out very cheap junk stocks.

• Positive institutional interest: a sign that it’s not just a retail bounce.

How to Use It

This isn’t a scanner you should “buy blindly.” It’s for finding reversal candidates.

Look for a clear base: tight consolidation, stabilizing volume.

Check for the first signs of a rebound: higher highs, higher lows, volume at the breakout.

Enter only if the base begins to validate itself, not just because the stock seems cheap.

Keep your stop tight; with these stocks, the rebound can be quick, but so can the failure.

DUOL appeared in this scanner after the stock formed a 6-month base and moved toward the 200MA.

4. IPO screener.

Link to the scanner: Link

This weekly scanner looks for recent IPOs with a healthy profile: mid-cap, good liquidity, and institutional interest. All you need to do is check it once at the end of the week.

What the scanner looks for

• Recent IPO: IPO Date: Within the last year.

We’re looking at new listings where price discovery is still underway.

• Mid-cap: Mid-cap.

It avoids extremes and focuses on stocks that can generate significant trading volume.

• Institutional buying: Institutional Transactions: Positive.

A sign that “big money” is coming in.

• Good volume: Average Volume > 1M.

Without liquidity, the signal isn’t worth tracking.

How to use it

At the end of the week, note which stocks remain strong.

Look at the post-IPO structure on the chart: base, consolidation, breakout.

Add only the stocks that are holding up well and have volume to your watchlist.

In this ticker, Q appeared after forming a cup-and-handle pattern and then creating a base where the previous all-time high became support.

Bonus: How to Scan for the Best Opportunities and Be Early for the Rotation

I have another tactic that I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere.

But it will give you a huge advantage.

First, go here and check out the top 10 best-performing industries sorted by week.

At the time of writing this article, here’s what it looked like for me:

Now the next step is to use this scanner I created, and all you have to do is change the industry based on which one is the top-performing industry that week here:

In other words, if “Silver” is in first place, you’ll select “Silver”; if it’s “semiconductors,” you’ll select “semiconductors,” and so on.

Then you take the tickers that appear there, add them to a watchlist, and start running them through the filters of the strategy we use in the Freedom Trades community.

Another thing to pay attention to here is “Relative Volume.”

If you see that an industry has an RVOL above 2, as in the example above, it’s clear that a rotation is taking place in that sector at the time of the scan.

This is valuable information because often a capital rotation doesn’t last just a week, it can last for several quarters.

Make sure to switch industries as I mentioned earlier and check them before the market closes or after it has closed, not in pre-market trading.

If you have a job, or simply can’t devote a lot of time to it, which is the norm for the vast majority of us who do swing trading.

You don’t have to check all of them every day.

It’s enough to go through them once a week, over the weekend, add the relevant stocks to a main watchlist, then filter from there and build your focused list.

If some of the screeners don’t return any tickers, it’s because you’re checking them during the pre-market session.

!!! These screeners are meant to be checked before the market closes or immediately after closing.

Join a community of swing traders united by a single goal: Freedom! +2,918% cumulative return (Jan 2024 – Jan 2026)

The results filtered through this process are exactly the ideas I include every Saturday in High Probability Trades.

You can access this week’s edition below:

Trade Setups of The Week

If you think this newsletter could help your friends, share it with them so it can reach as many traders as possible.

And here’s the fun part: when you share it, you can unlock special rewards + you will look smart in front of your friends :)

“One trade closer to freedom.”
Vladislav