The 12-Minute Morning Flow (7:00–7:12 ET)
Open “Gap & % Gainers” list (pre-market).
Sort by % change; scan the top 5–10 only.
Hard filters (pass/fail):
Price $1–$20 (sweet spot $5–$10).
%chg ≥ 10% (≥4% absolute minimum).
RVOL ≥ 5× (today vs 30-/60-day avg).
Float ≤ 20M (prefer ≤10M; sub-5M = rocket fuel).
Catalyst check (white-/blacklist below).
Float rotation quick glance: Volume / Float ≥ 1× already? Bump priority if so.
Liquidity guardrails:
Pre-mkt volume ≥ 300k (tighten to ≥ 1M for safer fills).
Bid/ask spread ≤ 1% (or ≤ $0.05 under $10).
Tag 1–3 tickers as A-setups (everything else = B/C or ignore).
Mark headline times to anticipate bursts: 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30.
What to Trade (and What to Skip)
A. Green-list catalysts (prefer)
Earnings beats/upside outlook
Clinical results / FDA approvals
Material contracts/partnerships (not fluff)
Sector tailwinds (theme rotation—AI, GLP-1, China ADRs, etc.)
Technical/short-squeeze breakouts (OK even with no news if tape is clean)
B. Red-list catalysts (avoid)
Buyouts / M&A at fixed price (turns into a barcode around deal level)
Obvious promo/pump (OTC, newsletter spam)
Bankruptcy/provisional delisting (too binary; hard to manage risk)
The Scanner Recipe (copy these ideas to your platform)
Universe: All US stocks, price $1–$20, not OTC, primary listing.
% Change: ≥ +10% (pre-market) → sort DESC.
Relative Volume (day): ≥ 5× (or “Volume ≥ 5 × avg 30D”).
Float: ≤ 20M (display float column; you’ll eyeball ≤10M first).
Pre-mkt Volume: ≥ 300k (raise to 1M on choppy days).
Optional momentum toggles: Price > VWAP, Price > 20/50-DMA.
Columns shown: %chg, Price, Volume, RVOL, Float, Sector, News flag, Rotation = Volume/Float.
Fast Prioritization Heuristics
A-tier: Price $5–$10, Float ≤10M, RVOL ≥10×, %chg ≥25%, clean catalyst, tight L2, rotation ≥1×.
B-tier: Price $1–$5 or $10–$20, Float 10–20M, RVOL 5–10×, %chg 10–25%.
Pass: No catalyst and messy tape, float > 50M, RVOL < 3×, thin/illiquid prints.
Timing & Session Edges
Prime window: 7:00–10:30 ET (most of your trades happen here).
Midday: Usually stand down unless a true anomaly trends.
Power hour (15:00–16:00): Only re-engage if the morning leader holds trend/flags above VWAP with volume.
Sizing, Risk & Do-Nots (keeps you alive)
Starter size only until it proves it can hold above VWAP/prev high.
Max risk per trade: 0.25–0.50R of daily stop; daily hard stop set in stone.
Liquidity check: Your order ≪ 2–5% of 1-minute volume.
Respect halts/SSR mechanics; never chase into first spike after a resumption.
No shorting early for beginners—unbounded risk; squeeze risk is real.
Walk away if the tape turns illiquid or spreads blow out.
Quick Read of the Tape (pre-entry sanity)
Level 2: stacked bids, refreshing buyer at VWAP/flag lows, speed of prints increasing on pushes, light volume on dips.
Structure: Clean pre-mkt flag, higher lows, holds pre-mkt high on the open, respects VWAP on pullbacks.
Bad tells: Stuffed breakouts with heavy offers, repeated reclaim-failures of VWAP, volume dying on pushes.
Minimal Watchlist Template (fill it in each morning)
A1: Ticker / Price / %chg / Float / RVOL / Rotation / Catalyst / Pre-mkt high / Levels to watch
A2: …
A3: …
Contingency: 2 B-tier names if the A’s die.
When Nothing Qualifies
Trade nothing. Or relax rules one notch (e.g., RVOL ≥ 3×, Float ≤ 30M) but demand cleaner technicals (above VWAP, tight flags, no overhang).
“Why this works” (mental model)
You’re engineering an extreme supply–demand imbalance:
Demand = big % gap + RVOL + attention (top of list) + credible catalyst
Supply = small float → fast float rotation → squeezes/continuation
Then you ride clean technicals and cut losers fast.
Screener:
tradingview.com/screener/oWkg0Nja/
Open “Gap & % Gainers” list (pre-market).
Sort by % change; scan the top 5–10 only.
Hard filters (pass/fail):
Price $1–$20 (sweet spot $5–$10).
%chg ≥ 10% (≥4% absolute minimum).
RVOL ≥ 5× (today vs 30-/60-day avg).
Float ≤ 20M (prefer ≤10M; sub-5M = rocket fuel).
Catalyst check (white-/blacklist below).
Float rotation quick glance: Volume / Float ≥ 1× already? Bump priority if so.
Liquidity guardrails:
Pre-mkt volume ≥ 300k (tighten to ≥ 1M for safer fills).
Bid/ask spread ≤ 1% (or ≤ $0.05 under $10).
Tag 1–3 tickers as A-setups (everything else = B/C or ignore).
Mark headline times to anticipate bursts: 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30.
What to Trade (and What to Skip)
A. Green-list catalysts (prefer)
Earnings beats/upside outlook
Clinical results / FDA approvals
Material contracts/partnerships (not fluff)
Sector tailwinds (theme rotation—AI, GLP-1, China ADRs, etc.)
Technical/short-squeeze breakouts (OK even with no news if tape is clean)
B. Red-list catalysts (avoid)
Buyouts / M&A at fixed price (turns into a barcode around deal level)
Obvious promo/pump (OTC, newsletter spam)
Bankruptcy/provisional delisting (too binary; hard to manage risk)
The Scanner Recipe (copy these ideas to your platform)
Universe: All US stocks, price $1–$20, not OTC, primary listing.
% Change: ≥ +10% (pre-market) → sort DESC.
Relative Volume (day): ≥ 5× (or “Volume ≥ 5 × avg 30D”).
Float: ≤ 20M (display float column; you’ll eyeball ≤10M first).
Pre-mkt Volume: ≥ 300k (raise to 1M on choppy days).
Optional momentum toggles: Price > VWAP, Price > 20/50-DMA.
Columns shown: %chg, Price, Volume, RVOL, Float, Sector, News flag, Rotation = Volume/Float.
Fast Prioritization Heuristics
A-tier: Price $5–$10, Float ≤10M, RVOL ≥10×, %chg ≥25%, clean catalyst, tight L2, rotation ≥1×.
B-tier: Price $1–$5 or $10–$20, Float 10–20M, RVOL 5–10×, %chg 10–25%.
Pass: No catalyst and messy tape, float > 50M, RVOL < 3×, thin/illiquid prints.
Timing & Session Edges
Prime window: 7:00–10:30 ET (most of your trades happen here).
Midday: Usually stand down unless a true anomaly trends.
Power hour (15:00–16:00): Only re-engage if the morning leader holds trend/flags above VWAP with volume.
Sizing, Risk & Do-Nots (keeps you alive)
Starter size only until it proves it can hold above VWAP/prev high.
Max risk per trade: 0.25–0.50R of daily stop; daily hard stop set in stone.
Liquidity check: Your order ≪ 2–5% of 1-minute volume.
Respect halts/SSR mechanics; never chase into first spike after a resumption.
No shorting early for beginners—unbounded risk; squeeze risk is real.
Walk away if the tape turns illiquid or spreads blow out.
Quick Read of the Tape (pre-entry sanity)
Level 2: stacked bids, refreshing buyer at VWAP/flag lows, speed of prints increasing on pushes, light volume on dips.
Structure: Clean pre-mkt flag, higher lows, holds pre-mkt high on the open, respects VWAP on pullbacks.
Bad tells: Stuffed breakouts with heavy offers, repeated reclaim-failures of VWAP, volume dying on pushes.
Minimal Watchlist Template (fill it in each morning)
A1: Ticker / Price / %chg / Float / RVOL / Rotation / Catalyst / Pre-mkt high / Levels to watch
A2: …
A3: …
Contingency: 2 B-tier names if the A’s die.
When Nothing Qualifies
Trade nothing. Or relax rules one notch (e.g., RVOL ≥ 3×, Float ≤ 30M) but demand cleaner technicals (above VWAP, tight flags, no overhang).
“Why this works” (mental model)
You’re engineering an extreme supply–demand imbalance:
Demand = big % gap + RVOL + attention (top of list) + credible catalyst
Supply = small float → fast float rotation → squeezes/continuation
Then you ride clean technicals and cut losers fast.
Screener:
tradingview.com/screener/oWkg0Nja/
Gabriel Amadeus
The Real World - Stocks Campus:
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Crypto, this is what we trade.
Learn profitable trading systems or build your own, just like I did.
jointherealworld.com/?a=f7jkjpg8kh
The Real World - Stocks Campus:
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Crypto, this is what we trade.
Learn profitable trading systems or build your own, just like I did.
jointherealworld.com/?a=f7jkjpg8kh
Related publications
Disclaimer
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.
Gabriel Amadeus
The Real World - Stocks Campus:
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Crypto, this is what we trade.
Learn profitable trading systems or build your own, just like I did.
jointherealworld.com/?a=f7jkjpg8kh
The Real World - Stocks Campus:
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Crypto, this is what we trade.
Learn profitable trading systems or build your own, just like I did.
jointherealworld.com/?a=f7jkjpg8kh
Related publications
Disclaimer
The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.
