Good morning, traders…
Every trader falls into one of three categories:
Novice, Comfortable, and Pro.
Right now, you’re in Novice or Comfortable.
To become a Pro, you need:
- Time
- Practice
- Study
- Preparation
- Confidence (which only comes from repeated positive experiences)
Yet most never get to Pro because they make the same mistakes over and over.
They try a setup fewer than 10 times, quit too early, and strategy hop from style to style.
Sound familiar?
Let’s fix it, right now.
The best setup for developing traders is simple…
Breakout → Pullback → Buy.
It forces patience, lowers risk, and builds long-term confidence.
Those three things matter more than anything else when you’re learning to trade.
(Even if you’re more experienced, you can still weaponize this setup in your trading.)
This Is The Only Pattern You Need To Start Trading Options…
The “Breakout → Pullback → Buy” Setup
The setup looks like this:
- A stock breaks above a crucial resistance level
- It pulls back to support (VWAP, a key moving average, or the recently broken resistance level)
- You buy the bounce off that support for continuation higher
Rather than buying the breakout (and risking a fakeout)…
You’re waiting for the pullback, then entering once the stock has proven it can hold support and resume the move.
You’ll see this pattern on both short-term and long-term timeframes, 5-minute and daily charts alike…
This setup has three crucial advantages that change the game for developing traders:
- It forces patience. You can’t chase the breakout. You have to wait for the pullback. That builds discipline into your process from day one.
- It lowers risk. Buying the pullback gives you a better entry than buying the breakout. Your stop is tighter. Your risk/reward improves automatically.
- It builds long-term confidence. When you execute the same setup repeatedly (and it works), you develop trust in your process. That confidence only comes from repeated small wins, over and over again.
The problem is that new traders don’t give setups enough R&D…
They trade the setup a handful of times, lose on a few trades, and decide it doesn’t work.
Then they jump to a different strategy and start over.
SPOILER ALERT: The new strategy doesn’t work either.
And so the vicious cycle repeats, on and on, until they’re broke.
That’s strategy hopping (a recipe for disaster).
You need 100 trades minimum to evaluate whether a setup works for you.
100 trades give you a real dataset.
100 trades expose you to different market conditions.
100 trades force you to refine your execution.
But the vast majority of aspiring traders never get to 100 trades because they give up early.
They don’t have the grit, the fortitude, or the wherewithal to give their setup the stress test it needs.
Don’t be that trader.
- Pick Breakout → Pullback → Buy.
- Execute it 100 times.
- Track every trade.
- Build your confidence through repetition.
5 Upcoming Events I Don’t Want You To Miss
Building A School In Indonesia To Honor Austin Fuller
Earlier this year, one of our most helpful and engaged community members, Austin Fuller, passed away tragically in an auto accident.
We’re raising $25,000 to build a school in Bali, Indonesia, named after Austin.
We’re currently at around $5,000 in donations.
Tim Sykes is promoting the fundraiser. And everyone who donates receives a personal thank-you note.
Not only will this school honor Austin’s memory in perpetuity, but it will also fundamentally change the lives of the children in the area.
Free ThinkorSwim Chart Setup Course (Next Week)
This one’s coming within a week.
I’m releasing a complete course showing you how to make your charts look exactly like the ones in my webinars.
You’ll get a setup video, a shared-item link, and a walkthrough sheet.
I’ll e-mail you the details.
No more guessing why your charts don’t match mine.
In-Person Training Event in Florida (January)
Join me in beautiful Florida for a one-day training session in January.
This will be low-cost, just to cover my hosting expenses.
Friday dinner, Saturday full-day training, Sunday … golf.
50 spots only.
To get your spot before they run out…
Message Becca in the Smart Data Trading Chat Room.
The LAST Options Bootcamp of 2025 (December 10-11)
Free to attend.
8 hours of teaching.
16 pages of notes provided.
Want to learn the setup I used to turn $50 into $1,260 in just 2 months?*
I see you, and raise you…
I’ll teach you my 5 best-performing options strategies … in just 2 days:
AI’s $34 Trillion Trump Shock (December 10)
When Tim Sykes identifies a rapidly-developing catalyst as “the most explosive trading opportunity of his career…”
I listen.
Right now, Washington insiders are making moves that 99% of traders are completely unaware of. These moves are set to spark a $34 trillion surge into AI stocks…
The last time this type of phenomenon happened, it fueled individual rallies as big as 120%, 238%, and even 432% in a short period.*
This catalyst can only happen once. With the clock ticking toward the end of 2025, there are no do-overs.
That’s why Tim is hosting an emergency briefing on Wednesday, December 10th at 8 PM ET.
During this one-time meeting, he’ll explain:
- Why this historic shock could unleash a $34 trillion surge through a tiny $4 trillion subsector…
- How this phenomenon has fueled past moves as big as 120%, 238%, 432%…*
- Why chasing “the next hot AI stock” could be a costly mistake…
- Tim’s unique AI trade idea, 100% FREE…
Get Tim’s FREE AI Trade Idea on December 10th
I’ll see you there.
Happy trading,
Ben Sturgill
*Past performance does not indicate future results
