Sami Abusaad Interview: Getting to Know a Top Trader

To help you get to know T3 Live’s growing bench of trading talent, we’ve launched a series called “Meet the Traders” so you can get an inside look at how our team operates.

Today, we are proud to introduce you to Sami Abusaad, T3 Live's Director of Education, and creator of our Strategic Swing Trader and Strategic Day Trader programs.

1) How did you first get involved with the markets?

In 2005, I had $20,000 saved from an accounting job and I didn't know what to do with it.

I then  found out that the second richest man in the world made all of his money from investing. That man was Warren Buffett, and I immediately became fascinated by the markets.

I also read about a 21 year old kid from New York who made $1 million in less than a year.

That provided a sense of hope to me.

I thought “if he can do it, I can do it too!”

I opened a brokerage account and funded it with $16,000.

In six months, I made about $10,000.

In a year, I was at $50,000.

I did this by playing swing longs in a bullish market.

My brother was as amazed by my results as I was, and he gave me the following words of wisdom:

 “If you can make that kind of money through “Buy and Hold”, imagine how much you could make trading actively!”

He was referring to stocks on  the“Highest Gainers/Losers” list for the day.

I listened to his advice. I started trading actively every morning.

Within a few months, I lost all my profits… and another $15,000.

That's when I realized that I didn’t know quite as much as I thought I did.

A few months later, while scouring the Internet for trading resources, I came across Zacks.com, a financial website similar to Yahoo! Finance.

Zacks.com was running a one-year trading challenge and the winner of that contest would receive a $100,000 job offer.

I participated in that contest, and guess what?

No, I didn’t win. But I did receive something better than winning the challenge — I became friends with the winner: he had turned $100,000 into $2 million in less than a year.

He told me he had been a full time professional trader for 15 years – and that he learned it all from a small company called Pristine. He encouraged me to read their book Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader.

Not only did I read it immediately, I registered for all of the free workshops available at the time and then went on to take Trading the Pristine Method (TPM) and Advanced Technical Strategies (ATS), which was known as TPM II. The rest, as they say, is history.

(Editor's Note: T3 Live acquired Pristine in 2014)

2) So what are you doing now?

I am an active day and swing trader, averaging seven trades per day.

I focus on stocks in my trading, but my trading style can be applied to all markets, including futures, commodities, options, forex, and more

I am also an educator for T3 Live and serve as Lead Moderator for the T3 Live Strategic Day Trader room.

As much as I enjoy trading, I think teaching is my calling. I run several education programs, including our Earnings Engine course.

And in 2017, we launched a new swing trade coaching program called Strategic Swing Trader.

3) Do you use a specific trading methodology?

Yes, I trade primarily 3 proprietary strategies in day trading.

• Gaps: I focus on professional gaps that break long-term trends and ignite new trends.
• Climactics: Stocks that experience a parabolic price acceleration to the point of exhaustion.
• 15-Minute Chart Plays: These are afternoon plays that trigger off the rising or declining 20 ma on the 15 min chart. It could be a pullback-type entry or a breakout/breakdown.

In Strategic Swing Trader, I primarily focus on catching stocks during their bottoming/topping period, or later while they are transitioning.

I use various patterns and advanced tactics to enter into those plays, and I try to catch them early on.

Trading earnings is also very important to me.

4) How do you unwind from the ups and downs of trading?

I like to take evening walks and play sports, including basketball and soccer.

5) Do you believe in setting stop losses?

Yes, absolutely.

But often, traders wrongly think of a stop as an exact point on a chart. I use an area, rather than an exact number.

6) Are you concerned about high-frequency and algorithmic trading?

Yes I am, because they make the market more efficient.

A more efficient market means fewer opportunities.

However, smart traders can still find plenty of opportunities to make money each day if they put the work in.

7) What is 1 thing traders can do today to start getting better results?

Trade in samples and evaluate each sample dispassionately like a scientist.

This way, you can figure out what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong.

Don't let emotions or pride get in the way of improving.

8) What would you be doing if you weren't a trader?

I would dedicate more time to the outdoors.

But in the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun teaching and trading.

P.S. Looking for a more effective and consistent approach to trading? Check out Strategic Swing Trader and Strategic Day Trader.