MICHAEL PARNESS is Chief Trader and Educator at Affinity Trading and CEO of World Series of Trading, the world's first Fantasy Sports for Stocks ­educational platform. He has been featured as an expert on CNBC, FOX News, CNN, Reuters, Bloomberg, and many other programs, and his rags-to-riches life story was optioned by actor and director Dustin Hoffman. He has also been honored at the United Nations for his charity work with abused children, and his best­selling book, Rule The Freakin' Markets!, has provided thousands of individual inves­tors with practical trading tips for reading the markets and trading with confidence-without the help of brokers or analysts. He is the proud father of two beautiful daughters, Emma Grace and Joelle.

Foreword ix
Michael Di Gioia

Chapter 1: Wishing You a Slow Rise 1

Setting Goals 2

1 Percent a Day Keeps the Ka-Chingos Comin'! 3

Don't Be in Such a Rush to Lose Your Money 4

Chapter 2: Bear with Me 5

The Achilles Have It 6

Identifying Your Achilles' Heel 6

Chapter 3: Breakout City and Riding the Horse to Gains 11

The 10 a.m. Intraday Break 11

The Play 12

The Technical Breakout 16

The 52-Week-High Breakout 16

Buy Low and Sell High? 18

The All-Time-High Blue Skies Breakout 24

Chapter 4: Power Trading 25

Be You...Be Powerful! 26

Intraday Primer 26

Time Frames 29

9:30-10:00 a.m.: Gaps 30

10:00-1:00 p.m.: 10 a.m. Rule in Effect 32

1:00-2:30 p.m.: Lunchtime Lull/Reversal 33

2:30-3:20 p.m.: Post-Lunch Activity 34

3:20-3:40 p.m.: Afternoon Lull 34

3:40-4:00 p.m.: Market on Close/End of Day 35

8:00-9:30 a.m./4:00-8:00 p.m.: After-Hours, News Rules! 35

Time Frame Examples 37

News Trader 38

Swing Trades 40

Gap Me, Baby 41

Laggards 41

Market Close 42

After Hours 42

Chapter 5: [...] to [...] Million 45

Bull, Bear-I Don't Care! 45

Chapter 6: Options (Pretty) Basic Primer 49

What Are Options? 50

Underlying Assets 51

Rights and Obligations 52

Weekly Options 55

Option Strategies Introduction 60

Spreads 62

Chapter 7: Trading Options 65

Out-of-the-Money Options 65

More than One Month Out 69

Leveraging and Hedging 71

Index Options 73

LEAPs 77

Straddles 78

Strangles 82

Bull Spread 83

Bear Spread 85

Chapter 8: Trading Gaps Animal Spirit Guide (Stalking, Leopard) 87

What Are Gaps? 87

Planning Your Gap Trade 92

Daily Gap Goals! 92

Objectives 94

News/News/News 95

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are, Mr. Gap! 96

Order Flow 97

Managing Risk 98

Know When to Hold 'Em or Fold 'Em 100

Believe! 102

Trading Gap Downs 103

Trading Gap Ups 106

Chapter 9: My Favorite Animal Spirits 109

Gap Fades 110

Earnings Runs 113

Earnings Straddles 121

FOMC Fades 123

10:00 a.m. Rule Plays 126

Chapter 10: Trading Gaps Using Technical Analysis 133

Reversal Bars 134

Doji 134

When to Enter 136

Reversal Bars 141

The OOPS Entry 145

Gap and Goooooooooo!!! 147

Exit Strategies 152

Taking Profits 156

Know When to Fold 'Em 159

Using Stops 161

Gaining an Edge 165

Chapter 11: News Rules! Trading News 171

Laggard News 171

Guidelines for Trading News 172

News Stories 174

Potential News 183

Managing Risk 185

Chapter 12: Trading Laggards 187

What Is a Laggard? 187

If It Looks Like a Laggard, and It Smells Like One... 188

Watchlists 188

Sectors 188

News and Laggards 192

Chapter 13: Trends Are Your Friends 193

Stick with the Trend! 194

Window Dressing 196

Earnings Runners 199

FOMC Runs 206

The January Effect 210

Chapter 14: Finding Your Own Animal Spirit 215

Next Steps 215

Choices 216

Laws of Attraction 216

Are You a Leopard? 218

Chapter 15: Zen and the Art of Rich 221

Society 221

Control... 222

Money 223

Cockroaches 224

Integrity 225

Zen 226

Chapter 16: What Animal Spirit Are You? 229

About the Author 231

Index 233