Why I’m Focused On the Front Side

I’m actually a little disappointed in myself.

I missed more than one great opportunity last week (or chose the wrong play).

The good news is that there are lessons to be learned even when you mess up.

Long story short, the best pattern to capitalize on right now is these big runners we’ve seen.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can just buy anywhere and hope for the best.

Because even if they’re uptrending…

Even if they’re spiking perfectly…

When the blow-off top comes (where all the shorts get squeezed)…

There just aren’t that many buyers left.

And that means one of my all-time favorite patterns has been very, very weak…

Why Now Is Not the Time for Dip Buys

The dip buy is one of my all-time favorite patterns. And usually, I’m very disciplined about my entries.

Last week I was watching ClearOne Inc. (CLRO) because…

• It’s a former runner.

• It was holding most of its gains from when it started running a couple weeks ago.

• It had formed support in the $9.70 to $10 range.

On July 9, it had a huge morning spike up to the $12s (circled on the chart below).

Source: Stocks To Trade

CLRO, 7/7/26 to 7/9/26, support established around $10 per share.

My thesis was that if it could dip to $10, there would be solid support and it might be able to run back to the $12s.

But I got too excited and bought it in the high $10s.

CLRO finally dipped to $10, double bottomed there, and bounced nicely. Sadly, I was already out.

When you start choosing entries that are not ideal, this is what you get…

Source: Stocks To Trade

CLRO, 7/9/26, 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., 1-min candle, support confirmed, but I was overaggressive.

At least I wisely didn’t chase. But when it got to the $10s, I talked myself into thinking “this is good enough.”

No, that’s NOT good enough.

You cannot be sloppy with your entries.

Here’s another trade with a similar lesson…

Don’t Chase a Weak Breakout

If you’ve been paying attention recently, we’ve seen a lot of weak breakouts over the day’s high.

So, again, I wisely avoided chasing Wrap Technologies Inc. (WRAP), but I was impressed by the uptrend and breakout over resistance at $2.50…

Source: Stocks To Trade

WRAP, 7/9/26, 1-min candle, solid uptrend, resistance/support at $2.50.

I figured because the uptrend was so solid that I could risk a few cents a share and I didn’t want to miss it.

So, once again, FOMO made me get a little overaggressive.

Source: Stocks To Trade

WRAP, 7/9/26, after-hours, 1-min candle, poor entry.

The worst part of it is that I should never have taken that trade. Why?

Because I missed the trade I should have taken…

Source: Stocks To Trade

ELPW, 7/9/26, 1-min candles, after-hours spiker.

Because of my own bias, I missed Elong Power Holding Limited (ELPW), which was a great after-hours runner.

Again, you don’t want to be on the back side of these. You want to be on the front side.

But an even bigger mistake was missing Julong Holding Limited (JLHL).

Source: Stocks To Trade

JLHL, 7/9/26, 1-min candles, after-hours supernova.

JLHL was beautiful. Once it broke above the day’s high at $15, it went to $27 in two minutes. This is a perfect example of why I’m focusing on the front side.

Try to position yourself ahead of any big spike. You have to be quick and you MUST be prepared.

And it just keeps happening … again and again and again.

In This Market, Focus On the Front Side

It all comes down to knowing how these things trade. These are my recommendations to grow your “front side” knowledge:

• Focus on getting in before or during the initial breakout, rather than chasing a blow-off top.

• Be very careful with dip buys right now.

• Study former runners. And I mean REALLY study them.

• Witness it in real time.

• Remember that being in a boring or bad trade can distract you from preparing for a great setup. Don’t let your bias get in the way.

• Smart traders sell into strength. It’s okay to sell too soon (sometimes it’s better).

• Build pattern recognition by studying my 7-step framework. It plays out again, and again, and again.

Jack Kellogg is a master of the 7-step framework. He’s studied it so much that now he’s able to flip from short to long as a stock is making its move.

That’s not to say that Jack trades perfectly every time. You don’t have to be perfect, okay?

For me, the takeaway is how Jack has become a master at pattern recognition. I love this from Jack:

“There are just repeatable patterns over time. And nothing is an exact science. People want an exact science, and that’s why they fail at trading.

Nothing is an exact science in trading. It’s just similar […] all we have is our information on what’s happened before, because without that, I have no idea what’s going on.

The key to your future is hidden in the past.”

Jack’s getting wise in his young old age. Or it might have to do with his Viking look.

The biggest lesson here is to study these inside and out.

If you sell too soon, don’t worry. If you miss out, don’t worry.

It’s all about trying to witness it, trying to capitalize in real time (or as near real time as possible).

Ideally, you want to try to be there for these big spikes and then sell into the spikes.

Right now, I wouldn’t recommend trying to get any dip buys. Which is VERY different from my past thoughts.

But as always, you MUST adapt to what the market gives you.

That means being faster. It means maybe waking up earlier.

Whatever you do, don’t let FOMO mess with you. Remember, cash is a position too.

If you have any questions, email me at [email protected].

Cheers,

Tim SykesEditor, Tim Sykes Daily