In the video I answer a few questions:
1. How do I spot volume breakouts during the day?
2. How do I set alerts at IB?
3. How did I get an account at Goldman Sachs?
4. How do I find stocks moving in the pre-market?
If you send me an email your question or use my contact page to ask a question your question will likely be answered in the next installment of this (perhaps weekly) series.
Disclosure: No positions in any stock mentioned. This blog has a terms of use and you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well; my full terms of use is incorporated by reference into this post.

#1 by sleepy on January 16, 2010 - 12:57 am
i didnt even look at the video yet but in advance thank you!
#2 by tbohen on January 16, 2010 - 4:26 pm
I’ve kicked around opening a Scottrade account for the HOD for close to a year but since I’m an IU subscriber I’ve preferred to use the IU chat as a filtered HOD list.
What are your thoughts on that, is it better to have your own HOD or use all the eyeballs and alerts in IU watching the HOD?
#3 by Reaper on January 16, 2010 - 6:13 pm
If you wait for people in chat to announce you will get the alerts slower than if you looked for them yourself. That is why I use both.
#4 by Jamal Chahboune on January 16, 2010 - 6:33 pm
Hey Tim, I will just offer some insight to supplement Reaper’s opinion as I was also curious before I tried the function myself. In my opinion the HOD list is vastly over-rated. 99% of the stocks that will come up won’t even be volatile enough to be deemed trade worthy (remember, we want big moves). Also, many of the stocks will simply make a new high due to random order flow which will result in either no continuation or no short selling opportunities (they will just go sideways). This is even more true for Scottrade’s list which as far as I know doesn’t let you customize it to your specific needs…..therefore you could have lots of stocks appearing that do not fit your price and volume requirements. I (did) use EquityFeed which has a customizable HOD list (I would search for stocks on AMEX, NYSE and NASDAQ with at least 1 million shares traded between 2 and 20) and even with my filtering I got so much junk that I just ended up ignoring it and stuck to playing the biggest % gainers on the day. So many stocks will appear that are not even in play that the whole process is just a waste. Yes it is nice to say to yourself “If i had an HOD list I could have bought that supernova while it was still a baby” The truth is perhaps 1 out of a 1000 on the HOD list will make a good move. Even if you have a large knowledge of big ass former runners such as SPDE, ZOOM and OPXA you will find that former runners will also flatter to deceive. I think a better strategy is to stick to the biggest percentage gainers and play them (aka Pennystocking) long, or in you case short
. Since I know you use Thinkorswim, this is easily doable on their platform on the scan section. Not having an HOD list will also prevent from too much over-trading since most of the opportunities are poor.
#5 by tbohen on January 16, 2010 - 4:29 pm
Oh and a question for next video:
Who is your favorite part time trader who you have met in person and who has beaten you in arm wrestling in Las Vegas?
I know there are probably hundreds of possible answers but I have my fingers crossed for a a mention in your next video!!
#6 by Kevin on January 16, 2010 - 6:19 pm
Just like to say thanks for making this video, very helpful.
#7 by Jamal Chahboune on January 16, 2010 - 6:38 pm
Oh and Tim, if you do want to try it out don’t bother going through the hassle of opening a Scottrade account and getting a 2nd class HOD list. Equityfeed have a free 30-day trial. Download their software and check it out for yourself.
#8 by tapout_mma on January 16, 2010 - 10:30 pm
I agree Scottrade HOD list very over rated…Never made a penny off that feature…Plus you can barely read it because it scrolls way to fast…And don’t believe the hype about freezing or slowing down the list…Can’t be done!
#9 by johnc on January 17, 2010 - 1:15 am
I’m curious to find stocks on the virge of breaking out the night before, so I can prep myself for the mornings.
#10 by thedonger on January 18, 2010 - 10:08 pm
Great new feature, Reaper. Man, after my little experiment I have no idea how you find time in your life to do all this! But it’s way cool you are doing the video mailbag. I tend to learn better by listening and watching then simply reading, so this mailbag video is right up my alley.
Keep it up.
#11 by ibanezx123 on June 6, 2011 - 12:49 am
Cool thanks. ;0