Strategies
Each strategy is written as a set of rules you could test: when to enter, where the stop goes, how to exit and when to leave the setup alone. The case studies follow one hypothetical account through the numbers.
Technical Analysis
Everything on technical analysis →-
Checklist · 4 min
Breakout or Fakeout: The Checks to Run Before You Buy the BreakBuy a breakout only after a daily close above the level on heavy volume, in a steady market, with room overhead and a stop you can size.
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Playbook · 4 min
Cup and Handle Breakouts: Trade the Handle, Measure the CupBuy the cup and handle only on a close above a shallow, quiet handle in a rising market, and let the handle low set the risk.
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Playbook · 4 min
Swing Trading With Fibonacci: Retracement Zones That Earn a TradeFibonacci retracements earn a trade only when a clear swing pulls back into the 38.2% to 61.8% zone and a reversal close shows buyers stepping in.
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Verdict · 4 min
Moving Averages as a Trend Filter: Pick the Side, Then the EntryUse moving averages to decide which side of the market to trade, and take entry timing from pullbacks, since crossovers are late by construction.
Swing Trading
Everything on swing trading →-
Verdict · 4 min
Swing Trading Indicators Worth Keeping: Trend, Momentum, VolatilityKeep a moving average, RSI and ATR, since each measures something different, and read volume from the bars.
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Playbook · 4 min
Intraday Swing Trades: Catch the Move and Be Flat by the BellOne intraday swing, taken on a VWAP pullback after the opening range and closed before the bell, removes gap risk at the cost of more trades and tighter rules.
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Playbook · 4 min
Swing Trading the Short Side: Setups for a Stock Heading LowerShort a stock only after it fails at a level, and size the trade so a gap through the stop is a loss you can take.
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Comparison · 4 min
Trend Following vs Mean Reversion: Which Losing Streak Can You Bear?Trend following and mean reversion can both work; choose the one whose losing streak you can sit through without changing the rules.
Options
Everything on options →-
Comparison · 4 min
Covered Calls on Dividend Stocks: When the Premium Pays for the CapCovered calls suit a dividend stock you would be content to sell at the strike, in a flat or slowly rising market.
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Playbook · 4 min
The Wheel Strategy: Honest Arithmetic on Puts, Shares, Then CallsThe wheel pays you to buy and sell a stock you like at prices you chose, and it carries the full downside of owning that stock.
ETFs
Everything on ETFs →-
Comparison · 4 min
Gold ETFs or Gold Miners: Which One Holds What You WantBuy bullion ETFs to hold gold itself; buy miner ETFs only if you want a leveraged bet on gold that also rides on how the companies are run.
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Verdict · 4 min
Inverse ETFs Reset Daily: Why Holding One for Weeks DriftsTreat inverse ETFs as tools for days: close or rebalance them on a schedule, and size them for the loss one bad day can bring.
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Verdict · 4 min
Swing Trade ETFs Before Single Stocks: The Case for Starting ThereLearn to swing trade on liquid index and sector ETFs, and move to single stocks only once your process has been tested.
Dividends
Everything on dividends →-
Case study · 4 min
Case Study: What One Dividend Cut Does to an Income PortfolioCap every holding, check dividend coverage by free cash flow each year, and treat a very high yield as a question to answer first.
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Comparison · 4 min
Dividend Stocks in a Taxable Account or an IRA: Where Each BelongsHigh-yield payers taxed as ordinary income belong in an IRA; qualified dividend payers cost less in a taxable account.
Prop Trading
Everything on prop trading →-
Checklist · 4 min
Prop Firm Daily Loss Plan: Stop Yourself Before the Firm DoesSet a personal daily limit at half the firm's and stop there, because the firm's limit is the line that ends the account.
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Case study · 4 min
Prop Firm Case Study: Same Evaluation, Opposite EndingsPlan a prop firm evaluation around the consistency rule from day one, because one big early day makes every later day carry more weight.
Earnings
Everything on earnings →-
Verdict · 4 min
Buying Calls Before Earnings: Paying for a Move Already Priced InBuying calls into a report pays only when the move beats what the option already prices; for an ordinary move, a spread or the shares cost less.
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Case study · 4 min
Case Study: A Swing Trade That Ran Into an Earnings DateRecord the next earnings date on every entry, and size any position held through a report for the gap, not the stop.
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Checklist · 4 min
Earnings Season Checklist: What to Check Before a Company ReportsBefore any report, price the gap in dollars at the implied move, then decide to hold, cut or step aside on purpose.
Investing
Everything on investing →-
Case study · 4 min
Mag 7 Case Study: How Much of Your Portfolio Is Seven Stocks?Count your look-through exposure to the seven before buying more of any of them, and set a cap on it in advance.
Retirement
Everything on retirement →-
Verdict · 4 min
The 4% Rule: A Starting Withdrawal Rate to Test, Then AdjustUse 4% to size the savings target and the first withdrawal, then let the portfolio's path and your guaranteed income set later years.
Before you trade a setup
Read the setup sheet first. It lists the timeframe, the entry trigger, the stop, the exit and the conditions that should keep you out, and that is usually enough to tell whether a strategy suits the way you trade before you read the argument for it.
Then paper trade it. Run the worked example again on a stock you follow, with your own stop and account size, and let the position size calculator turn the stop into a share count. The definitions cover the indicators and terms the rules depend on. Narrower questions come up once you start, and the guides take those one at a time.