$XYZ worth watching.
$ABC ww.
$UVX ww for a bounce.
Watch $MNO here.
Watching $RST to see what it does.
Watch $EFG.
Watch $MNO around vwap.
Watch? Watch what? Are we talking about a show on Netflix or something? What exactly is $XYZ worth watching FOR? Watch it run without you IF the “idea” works? If the idea didn’t work, then you’re thrilled you only watched. Dodged a bullet there! And by the way, “here” isn’t a price and means nothing, especially on a stock that’s moving quickly. TLRY probably moved $1 while you were typing that.
What’s the problem with all of those “ww” ideas?
Besides the fact that without A LOT more information, you really have no clue what the person is actually watching for?
For those of you in chat, you already know that any “ww” (worth watching) posts drive me bat poop crazy. Seriously, I hate the posts and wish I would take the “w” key away from many traders. That would present a few problems with some stock tickers though. The same thing goes for these posts on twitter and that includes the ones that contain a chart with some random lines drawn on them.
What many don’t understand is WHY I hate “ww” so freakin’ much.
What’s the big deal Wayne?
Well, in this blog, I’m going to tell you what the big deal is and why I’m so passionately against the “ww” crap in chat and/or on twitter.
You’re a mere spectator. And the problem with spectators? They don’t get paid.
The word “watch”: verb: look at or observe attentively, typically over a period of time.
As we talked about in our FEAR WEBINAR, (come back AFTER you're done with the blog and click those words to watch it!) being a spectator is a HUGE problem for many aspiring Day Traders. It’s actually THE biggest problem we come across. And I’ll mention again it was by far THE single biggest obstacle I personally had to overcome in my Day Trading career.
All these posts/ideas/opinions about all these stocks “worth watching” are overwhelming traders and programming them to WATCH instead of TRADE. Once you’ve engrained into your brain that you’re watching instead of doing, it becomes incredibly difficult, if not impossible for many, to undo. Without even realizing what is happening, you end up teaching yourself to be a spectator rather than an active market participant.
It’s that very definition of the word “watch” that causes the problem. Watching a stock will not make you any money. Observing, looking at and/or staring at the chart of a stock will not make you any money either. Watching isn’t trading. ANYONE, and I do mean ANYONE, can learn a few chart patterns, the basics of L2 and T&S and start to recognize some potentially profitable stock setups. That’s freakin’ easy! But as you know, Day Trading is freakin’ hard!
So, Wayne, if anyone can learn the chart patterns and find the setups, what’s so hard about it?
Like any profession, it’s EXECUTION that pays. You can have all the book smarts and knowledge in the world about Day Trading, but if you can’t EXECUTE you will not make a dime let alone become and stay consistently profitable over the long haul.
You can’t simply watch, you must act. You must push that freakin’ buy button.
Day Trading is ALL ABOUT YOUR ABILITY TO EXECUTE TRADES. Personally, I feel it’s all about executing and nailing the proper entry too. But this is exactly what so many can’t figure out. They can’t figure out how to execute, especially consistently. Sure, they SEE the setup as all that watching has taught them that. But they can’t get themselves to push the button in the first place and/or manage the trade properly (follow their rules) once they are in. Sound familiar to anyone? This was ME for far too long!
You’re a spectator. You’re just WATCHING. This is especially accurate for the risk averse traders out there. It’s also accurate for you rule breakers too. You have the list of rules, hopefully they’re hanging on your wall. You see them, but that’s it. You’re merely watching them hang on your wall. What’s the point of having rules if you’re just watching them typed out on a piece of paper? You have to implement and follow your rules.
I’ll also mention when you say something is worth watching, you’re making a huge assumption that other people can read your mind and that they will see the same thing in the chart and tape as you do.
What’s clearly and easily seen by one can often be impossible for others to even get a glimpse of…
On a side note, this is exactly how so many (too many) in your chat and/or social media try to pull the wool over your eyes. They throw out countless ideas and things worth watching. Later on, when the dust is all settled, they talk about the 1-2 that worked. Darn it! I was watching all the ones you mentioned that didn’t work! What about the other dozen ideas? What happened to them? Did you stop watching those? If so, WHY?
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. If I throw enough darts, even blind folded, I’ll eventually hit the target.
Why do so many even do this? Because they want nothing more than to be watched too. THEY want to be what’s “ww”. They want to convince YOU that you need to watch them and their trade ideas all day long. Many of these “traders” actually care more about the attention they get than actually making money. It’s crazy I know, but it’s true. We see it all the time. Social media has turned the need to be watched and liked into a full-time job for far too many. It’s like being in high school all over again. And I hated high school.
Remember, it’s easy to make a call. It’s hard to actually execute that call and put your own money at risk.
There are two other problems with “ww”:
1: The more you let others convince you that their stock(s) is “ww”, the more you have to watch. The more you’re watching, the more likely you are to miss something. Having too much to watch and being completely overwhelmed is another HUGE problem for traders. For example, coming up with a watch list every day is the easy part. Narrowing down the list and deciding on the few you’re watching at the open, that’s the more difficult part. Not as hard as executing, but easier than throwing symbols on a list. If you’re trying to watch everything, you’ll end up trading nothing.
2: The more you watch without actually executing, the more and more FOMO is building inside your brain whether you realize it or not. And the more FOMO you have the more likely you’re going to allow that FOMO to get you to push the button exactly when you should NOT be pushing the button. Eventually the FOMO gets so bad you say WTF, Why NOT!? You finally push the button on some random dart throw set-up versus the other dozen A+ Setups that already passed you by that day. You finally cry uncle and give in. Usually at the exact wrong time.
Finally today, let’s address “screen time”. You hear all the time the only way to learn how to trade is to “put in the screen time”. While I completely agree that screen time is critical, that statement is wildly incomplete and missing what is truly most important.
Sure, screen time is super important. However, if you’re spending time in front of the screens only WATCHING, you’re never going to get it. If you’re spending time in front of the screens watching the wrong stuff, you’re never going to get it either. One must spend time, LOTS of time, in front of the screens actively participating in the markets. That’s the experience you need. You have to practice and not on paper. There’s ZERO emotion in paper trading and your emotions are ultimately what you need to master.
Keep in mind, if you’re spending time watching and following along with some pump and dumper, you’re wasting your time and developing bad habits that are going to be extremely difficult to break. Or if you’re spending time watching and following along some chat room with a clown owner/moderator who doesn’t even trade and just throws dozens of worth watching stocks at you all day long, you’re wasting your time too. The worst person to learn from is a spectator. They’ll simply teach you how to watch more.
Stop watching and start DOING. Push the freakin’ button.
Quickly to those CPDTs out there: If you’re truly trying to help other traders, stop the worth watching crap. Tell them exactly what you’re watching for, WHY and when/if the stock is WORTH TRADING.
Before we go today, if you haven’t heard we’re all hanging out together this Thursday (September 27th, 2018) right after the closing bell. Join us (BYOB) and I bet you’ll laugh at least a little bit and you may even learn something.
Click the picture below to register (it’s FREE):
Thanks for reading! Questions? Comments? Reach out and/or leave a comment below.