I’ve been trading since 2017.
I had to remind myself that it’s 2026, and next year will be a decade since my first trade.
Since then, I’ve figured out what I have to do to make money consistently…
This is the tool I built to help you trade.
But it wasn’t like that in the beginning. When I started I was as eager as you are now, and I made every mistake there is.
Those mistakes taught me the rules I trade by today.
I’d have saved a lot of time and money if somebody had sat me down on day one and made me learn them first.
If you’re reading this, then you’re well past day one. But there’s lessons that took me years to learn (and pay for).
Instead of paying for them with your hard earned money, I’m going to give you them for free.
1. Learn The Basics
The market looks complicated at first. Don’t let that stop you.
Before you touch anything advanced, make sure you understand the simple stuff. What a breakout is. What support and resistance are. How volume confirms a move. How to set a stop.
I studied everything I could get my hands on before I placed a trade.
Most people who try this never get good at it. Learning the fundamentals properly is how you end up in the minority that does.
2. Respect The Risk
Low-priced stocks can make you money fast. They can take it away faster.
I’ve watched a lot of traders blow up because they couldn’t manage their risk. The ones who last are disciplined about it.
Size your positions carefully and never put everything into one name. Know the most you can lose before you buy.
When I started, that number was $200 a trade.
3. Be Patient
I’ve seen traders make fast decisions and lose their whole account on them. Don’t be that guy.
Wait for the right setup. Sometimes the best trade is no trade.
If you think you’re going to get rich overnight, forget it. Most traders lose. The ones who make it keep going after the losses that stop everybody else.
4. Know The Catalyst
News moves stocks every day. If you don’t know why a stock is running, you’re trading blind.
So check the news on anything you’re about to trade. But I don’t trade the news itself.
I let the price action tell me whether the news is real. The chart tells the truth, and the headline doesn’t always.
5. Learn From Mistakes
Everybody loses. I still lose, and I’ve been doing this for years.
The good traders ask what the loss taught them. They fix that one thing and move on.
Don’t let one bad trade cost you the next 10 good ones. Don’t let one loss break your confidence.
6. Numbers Aren’t Everything
Trading is math, but it’s also people. Every candle on the chart is somebody buying or selling.
People are driven by fear and greed. When I look at a chart I’m asking where the buyers are and where the shorts are trapped.
Get in the heads of the other traders and you’ll read your own setups better.
7. Don’t Do It Alone
Trading is an individual sport. That doesn’t mean you can’t get help.
I learned from Tim Sykes. I trade alongside friends who are better than me at certain things.
Having people to run ideas past shortens the learning curve more than anything I know. So does having people who’ll tell you when you’re wrong.
8. Stay Calm
Some days feel incredible. Some are brutal.
The market will humble you. When it does, panicking only makes it worse.
In November 2025 I gave back a big chunk of my year in about 5 weeks.* What got me out of it was sizing all the way down and getting back to the basics. Not revenge trading.
If you feel your heart rate climbing, take a breath. Reassess, then decide.
9. Set Reasonable Goals
Ask yourself why you’re trading. Maybe it’s extra income or maybe it’s a full-time career. Whatever it is, make the goal specific and measurable.
“Make millions” isn’t a goal.
When I started, my goal was $500 to $2,000 a day. Small and repeatable. I could tell at the end of every day whether I’d done my job.
Take these to heart and you skip most of the mistakes that take out new traders.
I’m telling you because I wish somebody had told me. You’ll still make mistakes, but hopefully now you’ll avoid some of these.
The best traders apply these lessons every day…
This is my #1 tool for new traders.
Stay sharp,
Jack Kellogg
*Past performance does not indicate future results
