Defense Wins the Game
One thing that really clicks with experience is how keeping drawdowns small becomes the game-changer.
Early on, everyone’s focused on finding the next big winner — but over time, you realize it’s not about how much you can make when things are good... it’s about how little you lose when things aren’t.
You start to trust that when the market comes back in your favor, you don’t need to force it. A couple of solid days — 1, 2, maybe 3 — and you’re not just back to even, you’re pushing new highs.
That’s when you truly get the value of good defense. Not being stubborn. Not trying to prove anything when conditions aren’t right. Just staying light, protecting capital, and keeping your mental game intact.
Because once you master that, you stop digging holes — and making progress becomes a lot easier.
Stay patient. Stay sharp. The offense is easy when you’re not spending all your energy climbing out of a deep drawdown.
PrimeTrading is an equity SWING trading community to learn & trade alongside experienced traders. It's like sneaking into a trader's POD, where you can see us execute & discuss...but in ours, you can also interact and ask questions.
I would have killed for such an opportunity when I started trading! 🔥
Education & mentoring from Alex & experienced traders. (10 Experienced Traders team)
See how I execute intraday while I share all my trades with explanations live.
Alex's daily market commentary, Portfolio updates, trade explanations, and daily FocusList.
Share & Discuss potential trade ideas with an amazing, like-minded community.
Talk Sectors, Macro Economy, Cryptocurrencies & much more!
Talk about mental game & psychology to evolve as a trader!
Live trading and Q&A live sessions 2x week.
Trade & learn with us, from Novice to Expert!
Cheers, Alex 🛡️✌️
Try it 1-month FREE with the code “TRIAL25”.
MARKET ANALYSIS
PRICE (QQQE)
Wow…
That gap above the base structure and into the 21dma-structure retest got faded hard today, and instead of building a constructive right side, we went right away for the rollover/new lower low scenario.
We’re back in a downtrend price discovery with nothing to do.
BREADTH (MCSI/MCO)
Downtrend is well in place. Breadth is contracting, wind at our face.
MCO is in a downtrend and is slowly becoming deeply oversold at -2.14σ.
MCSI is in a downtrend below its 10dma, re-accelerating, and is getting into deep oversold territory at -1.61σ.
360° MARKET VIEW (TRADERSLAB TLMM DASHBOARD)
TradersLab Trend State Model: Correction
Pullback signal since 2025/10/24
MARKET INTERNALS
Uptrend above rising 21dma-structure. UGLY backtest and daily reversal off the 21dma-structure retest today.
Uptrend above rising 21dma-structure. UGLY backtest and daily reversal off the 21dma and multi-month base structure retest today.
/BTC (Bitcoin)
Downtrend below declining 21dma-structure. Accelerating down…new low….ugly.
SECTORS & THEMES
Top 10 Leading THEMES - Relative Strength RANK sorted (W/ Leading & Setting up Stocks)
Top 10 Leading SECTORS - Relative Strength RANK sorted (W/ Leading & Setting up Stocks)
LEADERS STALKLIST
Liquid Leaders Universe (top RS)
WBD, GOOGL, GOOG, WDC, STX, AVGO, CAT, APH, COHR, CSCO, C, NU, GE, MU, TSM, AMAT, TER, VRT, LRCX, SNOW, NVDA, GEV, CEG, ASML, KLAC, EXPE, RIVN, CRWD, GLW, AMD, PLTR, CVNA, DDOG, TSLA, VST, SHOP, IBM, APP, INTC, JOBY
Liquid Leaders RS Heat Map
A quick visual of daily Relative Strength vs SPY, helping you spot which stocks are leading or lagging on any given day.
That WL is shared as a community WL that you can access in Tlab.
Liquid Leaders DAILY-structure Pullback scan
None
Episodic Pivot scan (Potential new Leaders)
None
PORTFOLIO UPDATE
No trades - all cash.
NEW:
ADDED:
TRIMMED:
INTRADAY ATTEMPTS:
OUT:
POSITIONS/TRADES LIVE EXPLANATIONS REVIEW (Shared live in Discord):
Try TradersLab.io — your faster research workflow.
Build your plan in minutes with top-down market dashboards, sector/money-flow views, and screeners that drill down to leading stocks—all in one platform.
It’s the same set of TradersLab scans I use to build my Focuslist, now in an app built for every swing or position trader’s daily routine.
Open the app → TradersLab.io
Try it 1-month FREE with the code “TRIAL”.
Want to keep reading The Prime Report? Subscribe below to see my game plan and top ideas for tomorrow.
See you there!
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, GAMEPLAN, and TOP IDEAS 11/20
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to PrimeTrading to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.