Can Anyone Be a Successful Day Trader?

If you’ve ever wondered if you have what it takes to succeed as a day trader, then I have good news.

Small traders have been “locked out” for 25 years.45+/

Days from now, that could change forever.
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Maybe you’ve noticed that some traders just seem to get it. Those are outliers, guys in this game who are truly gifted. But that’s not me, and I’ve done really well at trading. I truly believe anyone can succeed at this. It just takes two things.

Here’s the Daily Accelerator agenda for today:

• The Big Picture: Why I believe anyone can succeed at trading, and what it takes.
• Watchlist: The oil and gas cycle repeats again, here’s how to play it this week.
• On My Radar: A classic 80s movie every trader should watch, AI rations, and why I eat 2-in-12.

The Big Picture

I’m often asked what it takes to be a successful day trader. My take is a little different, because there’s nothing exceptional about me in any way. I grew up on a farm, built a successful internet business, and sold that business to retire and trade full-time.

That said, growing up on a farm helps. You grow up in the Midwest, on a farm, you get that google old boy work ethic.

When you’re on the farm, you work ‘til the job’s done. There’s no quitting time. There’s no bell that rings. If there’s a pile of manure that needs shoveling, you shovel until it’s shoveled. If there’s corn that needs to be planted, you keep running that tractor ‘til the corn’s in the ground because it might rain tomorrow.

I think work ethic and discipline are what separates me. I believe it’s how you can separate yourself, too. Everybody can work hard and be disciplined. That being said, some people look up to those naturally gifted traders and think “I don’t need to be disciplined or work hard.”

I think that’s a mistake.

My Take

I’m only exceptional in one way, and you can do the exact same thing. It takes what some might consider a ridiculous amount of work and discipline. Anyone can do that. I believe it’s what separates the average person who is successful, from the truly gifted.

If you’re a complete beginner, start with: How to Become a Successful Day Trader.

Up next, the oil and gas cycle continues.

Watchlist

Going into the weekend, it looked like there might be a decent resolution around the Strait of Hormuz. As the weekend went on, it broke down. By Sunday afternoon it was clear. On Monday oil and energy would gap up. The markets would gap down.

Yesterday, President Trump posted on social media that the U.S. “will work closely with Iran.” Oil stocks tried to fill the gap. Then the promised U.S. Navy blockade on Iranian ports started. Oil & energy rebounded.

This 2-month United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO) chart tells the story:

I’m still cautiously optimistic that this will get sorted out. But this market is for short-term trading. It’s all about patterns. And this cycle is repeating every single week. Until this gets resolved, keep these oil and gas stocks on your watchlist.

• Sky Quarry Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYQ) gapped up on Monday. Volume was relatively heavy, with 4.6x float rotation by noon.
• TMD Energy Limited (AMEX: TMDE) also gapped up and then faded into the late morning Monday on thin trading.
• Turbo Energy S.A. (NASDAQ: TURB) is a solar storage play that rides energy sector moves. It was thinly traded in the morning session.
• Trio Petroleum Corp. (AMEX: TPET) is a true penny oil & gas exploration play. I don’t like trading true penny stocks, but this one moves with the sector.
• Robin Energy Ltd. (NASDAQ: RBNE) is an oil & gas storage and shipping company. It’s a low-float play. Volume was very low, only 785k shares traded by noon. Keep an eye on this one for when the conflict is resolved or when big headlines send oil & gas up again.

While none of these plays filled the gap (as of noon), they all faded after the social media post.

How to play these oil and energy plays:

At the front end of the week, it’s all the same names for day trading. Understand that any headline or social media post can change things in an instant as we saw on Monday (April 13). Trade the patterns and know your risk.

If the cycle repeats as we head into Friday, there will be talks of weekend discussions. These stocks will settle back down, and it will likely repeat every week until it’s over.

On My Radar

• Are you more “Crash” Davis or “Nuke” LaLoosh? This 80s classic is a fun watch for traders. Especially if you look up to the outliers.
• Say it ain’t so: AI companies are rationing use because computing power is running low. All the more reason to run your own offline model.
• Is intermittent fasting good for your brain? I eat 2-in-12 and skip lunch because it helps me think clearly when I need it the most.